Cleanmedia Setup Guide

This guide will help you set up Cleanmedia for your Dendrite Matrix server. Cleanmedia is a data retention policy tool that helps manage media storage by implementing configurable retention policies for both remote and local media files.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure that:

Dendrite is properly configured and running.
You have the correct file paths for your media storage.
You understand which media files you want to retain/remove.

Configuration Options

You can customize Cleanmedia's behavior through environment variables in your docker-compose file:

CRON

The CRON variable determines when Cleanmedia will run its cleanup routine. Examples:

environment:
  - CRON=0 0 * * *    # Daily at midnight (default)
  - CRON=0 */6 * * *  # Every 6 hours
  - CRON=0 0 */2 * *  # Every 2 days at midnight
  - CRON=0 0 * * 0    # Weekly on Sunday at midnight
  - CRON=0 12 * * 1-5 # Weekdays at noon

CLEANMEDIA_OPTS

The CLEANMEDIA_OPTS variable controls how Cleanmedia performs its cleanup:

-c /etc/dendrite/dendrite.yaml: Path to your Dendrite configuration file. Leave it as is.
-t 30: Keep media for 30 days (adjust number as needed).
-l: Include local user media in cleanup (optional).
-n: Dry run mode - simulates cleanup without deleting files.
-d: Debug mode for more verbose output.

Example Configurations

Conservative cleanup (90-day retention, remote media only):

environment:
  - CRON=0 0 * * *  # Daily at midnight
  - CLEANMEDIA_OPTS=-c /etc/dendrite/dendrite.yaml -t 90

Aggressive cleanup (7-day retention, including local media):

environment:
  - CRON=0 */12 * * *  # Twice daily
  - CLEANMEDIA_OPTS=-c /etc/dendrite/dendrite.yaml -t 7 -l

Test run (dry run with debug output):

environment:
  - CRON=0 0 * * *  # Daily at midnight
  - CLEANMEDIA_OPTS=-c /etc/dendrite/dendrite.yaml -t 30 -l -n -d

Important Notes

Always test new configurations with the -n (dry run) flag first.
Local media cleanup (-l flag) should be used with caution as files might not be retrievable after deletion.
User avatars are automatically preserved.
The service depends on the monolith service being available.
Volume mounts must match your Dendrite configuration.

Troubleshooting

Missing Files
- Verify volume mount paths match your Dendrite configuration.
- Check file permissions in mounted directories.
- Ensure Dendrite service is running properly.
Service Won't Start
- Check logs: docker compose logs cleanmedia.
- Verify Dendrite configuration file path.
- Ensure monolith service is running.
Unexpected Deletions
- Always test with -n flag first.
- Review debug logs with -d flag.
- Check retention period settings.

Next Steps

For more detailed information about Cleanmedia features and configuration options, visit the Cleanmedia documentation.

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