---
title: Manage databases
description: An InfluxDB 3 Cloud database is a named location where time series data is stored. Each database can contain multiple tables.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/
estimated_tokens: 1423
product: InfluxDB 3 Cloud
version: cloud
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/
date: '2026-06-25T02:12:58-04:00'
lastmod: '2026-06-25T02:12:58-04:00'
---

An InfluxDB 3 Cloud database is a named location where time series data is
stored. Each database can contain multiple tables.

> [!Note]
> **If coming from InfluxDB v1**, the concepts of databases and retention policies
> have been combined into a single concept–database. Retention policies are no
> longer part of the InfluxDB data model.
> However, InfluxDB 3 Cloud does
> support InfluxQL, which requires databases and retention policies.
> See [InfluxQL DBRP naming convention](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/create/#influxql-dbrp-naming-convention).
> **If coming from InfluxDB v2, InfluxDB Cloud (TSM), or InfluxDB Cloud Serverless**,*database* and *bucket* are synonymous.

**If coming from InfluxDB v2, InfluxDB Cloud (TSM), or InfluxDB Cloud Serverless**,*database* and *bucket* are synonymous.

## Retention periods

A database **retention period** is the maximum age of data stored in the database.
The age of data is determined by the timestamp associated with each point.
When a point’s timestamp is beyond the retention period (relative to now), the
point is marked for deletion and is removed from the database the next time the
retention enforcement service runs.

By default, data does not expire. When you [create a database](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/create/),
you can optionally set a retention period.
The minimum practical retention period is 1 hour (`1h`).

Database retention periods can be [updated after creation](/influxdb3/cloud/reference/cli/influxdb3/update/database/).
For tables within a database, you can [set table-specific retention periods](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/tables/create/#retention-period)that override the database retention period.

For complete details about retention periods, including duration formats, precedence
rules, and deletion behavior, see[Data retention in InfluxDB 3 Cloud](/influxdb3/cloud/reference/internals/data-retention/).

## Database, table, and column limits

InfluxDB 3 Cloud places the following limits on databases, tables, and columns:

### Database limit

**Maximum number of databases**: 100

### Table limit

**Maximum number of tables across all databases**: 10000

InfluxDB 3 Cloud limits the number of tables you can have across *all*databases to 10000
.

InfluxDB doesn’t limit how many tables you can have in an individual database,
as long as the total across all databases is below the limit.

Having more tables affects your InfluxDB 3 Cloud installation in the
following ways:

[](#may-improve-query-performance-view-more-info)

**May improve query performance** *View more info*

Schemas with many tables that contain[focused sets of tags and fields](/influxdb3/cloud/write-data/best-practices/schema-design/#design-for-performance)can make it easier for the query engine to identify what Parquet files contain
the queried data, resulting in better query performance.

[](#more-puts-into-object-storage-view-more-info)

**More PUTs into object storage** *View more info*

When using cloud-based object storage as your data backend, the more tables you
have, the more `PUT` requests there are into your object store as InfluxDB
persists data to Parquet files. Each `PUT` request incurs a monetary cost and
increases the operating cost of InfluxDB 3 Cloud.

### Column limit

**Maximum number of columns per table**: 500

Each row must include a time column, with the remaining columns representing
tags and fields.
As a result,
a table can
have one time column and up to 499*combined* field and tag columns.
If you attempt to write to a table and exceed the column limit, the write
request fails and InfluxDB returns an error.

Higher numbers of columns has the following side-effects:

[](#may-adversely-affect-system-performance)

May adversely affect system performance

InfluxData identified 500 columns as the safe limit
for maintaining system performance and stability.
Exceeding this threshold can result in[wide schemas](/influxdb3/cloud/write-data/best-practices/schema-design/#avoid-wide-schemas),
which can negatively impact performance and resource use,
depending on your queries, the shape of your schema, and data types in the schema.

## [Create a database](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/create/)

Use the influxdb3 CLI or HTTP API to create a new database in InfluxDB 3 Cloud.

```

# influxdb3 CLI
influxdb3 create database \
  --retention-period 30d \
  DATABASE_NAME

# HTTP API
curl --request POST "https://instance-id.enterprise.influxdb.io/api/v3/configure/database" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer AUTH_TOKEN" \
  --data '{
    "db": "DATABASE_NAME",
    "retention_period": "30d"
  }'
```

[Read more ](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/create/)

## [List databases](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/list/)

Use the influxdb3 CLI or HTTP API to list databases in InfluxDB 3 Cloud.

```sh
# influxdb3 CLI
influxdb3 show databases

# HTTP API
curl --request GET "https://instance-id.enterprise.influxdb.io/api/v3/configure/database" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer AUTH_TOKEN"
```

[Read more ](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/list/)

## [Delete a database](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/delete/)

Use the influxdb3 CLI or HTTP API to delete a database from InfluxDB 3 Cloud.

```sh
# influxdb3 CLI
influxdb3 delete database DATABASE_NAME

# HTTP API
curl --request DELETE "https://instance-id.enterprise.influxdb.io/api/v3/configure/database?db=DATABASE_NAME" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer AUTH_TOKEN"
```

[Read more ](/influxdb3/cloud/admin/databases/delete/)

#### Related

* [influxdb3 CLI](/influxdb3/cloud/reference/cli/influxdb3/)
* [Database API reference](/influxdb3/cloud/api/v3/#tag/Database)