Knowledge Base

How do I remove old backups?

Updated on June 29, 2026

Overview

By the end of this article, you will be able to free up space on your CodeGuard account by removing old backups. It explains the two available approaches — reducing your backup retention settings or deleting backups manually — and then walks through the manual removal steps in the Backup History Management section of a website's settings.

Two ways to remove old backups

There are two ways to clear space. Reducing your backup retention settings affects every website on your account and removes the old backups automatically; you can find the steps in the CodeGuard support article on backup retention settings [insert link]. Removing backups manually lets you prune individual websites and databases, and is covered below.

Remove old backups manually

1. Navigate to your website's settings page: click the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of your site on your dashboard, then click the Settings tab on the left side of the screen.

The Backup History Management section of your website settings, where old backups are pruned.The Backup History Management section of your website settings, where old backups are pruned.

Figure 1: The Backup History Management section of your website settings, where old backups are pruned.

In the Backup History Management section you can remove ("prune") old backups for your website files and for any databases associated with it.

2. Open the drop-down and select the date and time of the last backup you want to keep, then click Permanently delete backups. All backups before that date are removed from your account.

This process may take a few hours, depending on the number and size of backups being removed. When it finishes, your account's storage usage reflects the updated size of your backups.

If you have questions about removing backups, contact CodeGuard support.