Documentation

influxctl database update

The influxctl database update command updates a database’s retention period, table (measurement), or column limits in InfluxDB.

Usage

influxctl database update [flags] <DATABASE_NAME>

Arguments

ArgumentDescription
DATABASE_NAMEName of the database to update

Flags

FlagDescription
--retention-periodDatabase retention period (default is 0s or infinite)
--max-tablesMaximum tables per database (default is 500, 0 uses default)
--max-columnsMaximum columns per table (default is 250, 0 uses default)
-h--helpOutput command help

Examples

Update a database’s retention period

influxctl database update --retention-period 1mo mydb
Valid durations units
  • m: minute
  • h: hour
  • d: day
  • w: week
  • mo: month
  • y: year
Example retention period values
  • 0d: infinite/none
  • 3d: 3 days
  • 6w: 6 weeks
  • 1mo: 1 month (30 days)
  • 1y: 1 year
  • 30d30d: 60 days
  • 2.5d: 60 hours

Update a database’s table limit

influxctl database update --max-tables 300 mydb

Update a database’s column limit

influxctl database update --max-columns 200 mydb

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New in InfluxDB 3.5

Key enhancements in InfluxDB 3.5 and the InfluxDB 3 Explorer 1.3.

See the Blog Post

InfluxDB 3.5 is now available for both Core and Enterprise, introducing custom plugin repository support, enhanced operational visibility with queryable CLI parameters and manual node management, stronger security controls, and general performance improvements.

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For more information, check out:

InfluxDB Docker latest tag changing to InfluxDB 3 Core

On November 3, 2025, the latest tag for InfluxDB Docker images will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments.

If using Docker to install and run InfluxDB, the latest tag will point to InfluxDB 3 Core. To avoid unexpected upgrades, use specific version tags in your Docker deployments. For example, if using Docker to run InfluxDB v2, replace the latest version tag with a specific version tag in your Docker pull command–for example:

docker pull influxdb:2