Neon branch expiration: set it at creation, especially via API

TL;DR: Months later the storage bill tells the story. ## The rule - Console: "Automatically delete branch after" defaults to checked, 1 day. - API/CLI: no expiration by default; set it explicitly (1 hour, 1 day, 7 days) or schedule deletion. - Pick the lifetime from the use case: PR previews = 1 day, CI test runs = 1 hour, dev branches = 7 days or manual. ## Checklist - Every automation that creates branches sets expiration or deletes in a cleanup step; no exceptions. - Audit existing branches for ancient API-created ones with no expiration. - Expiration deletes the branch permanently, same as manual deletion; make sure nothing durable lives only on an expiring branch. - For branches that must persist (staging, prod), uncheck expiration deliberately, not by accident.

Fix

1. Months later the storage bill tells the story. ## The rule - Console: "Automatically delete branch after" defaults to checked, 1 day. - API/CLI: no expiration by default; set it explicitly (1 hour, 1 day, 7 days) or schedule deletion. - Pick the lifetime from the use case: PR previews = 1 day, CI test runs = 1 hour, dev branches = 7 days or manual. ## Checklist - Every automation that creates branches sets expiration or deletes in a cleanup step; no exceptions. - Audit existing branches for ancient API-created ones with no expiration. - Expiration deletes the branch permanently, same as manual deletion; make sure nothing durable lives only on an expiring branch. - For branches that must persist (staging, prod), uncheck expiration deliberately, not by accident. Expected: this specific failure stops.

When to use

You hit exactly this: Neon branch expiration: set it at creation, especially via API in Neon branch expiration.

When not to use

A different error, or the same symptom in a different tool. This page only covers the failure above.

Compatibility

Neon branch expiration.

Root cause

The pipeline's branches never expire, because API and CLI branches have no expiration by default.

Edge cases

• # Branch expiration: the default differs by creation path ## The trap An engineer tests branch creation in the Console, sees tidy auto-deletion, then ships a pipeline using the API.

Neon's branch management docs (verified live 2026-09-26): Console branch creation defaults auto-delete to 1 day (options 1 hour, 1 day, 7 days); API and CLI branches have no expiration by default.