---
title: Manually drop chunks | Tiger Data Docs
description: Manually drop chunks from your hypertables based on time value
---

Drop chunks manually by time value. For example, drop chunks containing data older than 30 days.

Note

Dropping chunks manually is a one-time operation. To automatically drop chunks as they age, set up a [data retention policy](/docs/build/data-management/data-retention/create-a-retention-policy/index.md).

## Drop chunks older than a certain date

To drop chunks older than a certain date, use the [`drop_chunks`](/docs/reference/timescaledb/hypertables/drop_chunks/index.md) function. Provide the name of the hypertable to drop chunks from, and a time interval beyond which to drop chunks.

For example, to drop chunks with data older than 24 hours:

```
SELECT drop_chunks('conditions', INTERVAL '24 hours');
```

## Drop chunks between 2 dates

You can also drop chunks between 2 dates. For example, drop chunks with data between 3 and 4 months old.

Supply a second `INTERVAL` argument for the `newer_than` cutoff:

```
SELECT drop_chunks(
  'conditions',
  older_than => INTERVAL '3 months',
  newer_than => INTERVAL '4 months'
)
```

## Drop chunks in the future

You can also drop chunks in the future, for example, to correct data with the wrong timestamp. To drop all chunks that are more than 3 months in the future, from a hypertable called `conditions`:

```
SELECT drop_chunks(
  'conditions',
  newer_than => now() + INTERVAL '3 months'
);
```

## Learn more

- [Create a data retention policy](/docs/build/data-management/data-retention/create-a-retention-policy/index.md): Automate chunk deletion based on age.
- [Understand chunks](/docs/learn/chunks/understanding-chunks/index.md): How chunks work and why they matter.
- [`drop_chunks()` reference](/docs/reference/timescaledb/hypertables/drop_chunks/index.md): Full API reference with all parameters.
- [`show_chunks()` reference](/docs/reference/timescaledb/hypertables/show_chunks/index.md): List chunks before dropping them.