What is the default expiration time (TTL) for input_file in Azure OpenAI Batch API?

Question

What is the default expiration time (TTL) for input_file in Azure OpenAI Batch API?

Hồ Văn Cón 10

Hello Microsoft Support,

I am currently using the Azure OpenAI Batch API. When I create a batch job, I upload an input_file using the files.create method and then pass the input_file_id into batches.create.

My question is:

What is the default expiration time (TTL) for the uploaded input_file in Azure OpenAI?

Will it automatically expire after a certain period (e.g., 24h, 48h), or is it retained until I explicitly delete it?

If there is a retention policy, can it be configured, and where is this documented?

Thank you in advance for clarifying.

SRILAKSHMI C 8,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-19T10:11:35.4633333+00:00

Hi Hồ Văn Cón,

Following up to see if the below answer was helpful. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you!
SRILAKSHMI C 8,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-22T06:22:32.04+00:00

Hi Hồ Văn Cón,

Just checking in to see if you have got a chance to see my response to your question in resolving the issue.

If you are still facing any further issues, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are happy to assist you.

Looking forward to your response and appreciate your time on this.

If you feel that your quires have been resolved, please accept the answer by clicking the "Upvote" and "Accept Answer" on the post.

Thank you!

1 answer

Your answer

SRILAKSHMI C 8,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-19T10:11:35.4633333+00:00

Hi Hồ Văn Cón,

Following up to see if the below answer was helpful. If this answers your query, do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you!
SRILAKSHMI C 8,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-22T06:22:32.04+00:00

Hi Hồ Văn Cón,

Just checking in to see if you have got a chance to see my response to your question in resolving the issue.

If you are still facing any further issues, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are happy to assist you.

Looking forward to your response and appreciate your time on this.

If you feel that your quires have been resolved, please accept the answer by clicking the "Upvote" and "Accept Answer" on the post.

Thank you!

Answer 1

SRILAKSHMI C 8,620 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Hồ Văn Cón,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A,

Thank you for your question about the expiration time (TTL) of input_file when using the Azure OpenAI Batch API.

By default, uploaded files do not automatically expire. If you don’t set an expiration, they will remain available until you explicitly delete them. This means there’s no short-term automatic expiration (e.g., 24 or 48 hours).

To control retention, you can configure an expiration using the expires_after parameter when uploading the file with files.create. This parameter supports values between 14 and 30 days (1,209,600 to 2,592,000 seconds). Setting an expiration is also useful if you are managing large volumes of batch jobs, as it increases the file capacity per resource from the default 500 files up to 10,000.

Currently, retention beyond 30 days isn’t supported natively, so if you need longer retention, you will need to re-upload files or manage them manually.

For details and examples, please see the official docs Azure OpenAI Batch – How to Use.

I Hope this helps. please Do let me know if you have any further queries.

If this answers your query, please do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful.

Thank you!

Hồ Văn Cón 10 Reputation points

2025-09-12T02:02:26.25+00:00
Thank you for clarifying the TTL and retention configuration for input_file in the Azure OpenAI Batch API. That was very helpful.

I have a follow-up question:

Where exactly are these uploaded files stored?

Are they persisted in an Azure Blob Storage container that belongs to my OpenAI resource (and if so, can I access that container directly)?

Or are they stored in a **managed storage service** that is internal to Azure OpenAI and not accessible to customers? Are the files guaranteed to be stored in the **same region** as my Azure OpenAI resource for compliance and data residency?

This would help me confirm compliance and data governance requirements.

Thank you again for your support.
Hồ Văn Cón 10 Reputation points

2025-09-16T03:13:24.14+00:00

Hi @SRILAKSHMI C ,

after batch processed and i got a output files. But i wanna down all file in a query not using retrieve api to get file by file. Can i do that?
SRILAKSHMI C 8,620 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-09-17T07:14:07.99+00:00

Hi Hồ Văn Cón,

Thank you for your follow-up question regarding downloading output files from the Azure OpenAI Batch API. I completely understand the need for an easier way to download all batch results in one go.

At present, there isn’t a single bulk download or query option to retrieve all output files in one request. The service is designed so that each file (input or output) must be retrieved individually using the Files API (files.retrieve and files.content). This design ensures security and controlled access to each file, but it does mean that you cannot fetch all files with a single API call.

The recommended approach is to automate the retrieval process programmatically. You can start by calling batches.retrieve or batches.list to obtain the metadata for your completed batch. From there, extract the list of output file IDs associated with that batch. Once you have the file IDs, you can iterate through them and use files.retrieve or files.content to download each file one by one.

If you want to make this simpler, you can script the process (for example, using Python, PowerShell, or another SDK). That way, instead of manually calling the API for each file, your script will automatically loop through all the file IDs and download everything with a single command from your side.

Currently, Azure OpenAI does not expose direct access to the underlying storage container, nor does it provide a built-in “download all” feature. If bulk download is important for your workflow, I recommend raising this as feedback through your Azure support channel or UserVoice so the product team can consider it for future updates.

Output files are only available via the Files API, one at a time. Bulk download isn’t supported natively, but you can achieve the same result by scripting a loop to fetch each file sequentially. Direct storage access is not exposed for compliance and governance reasons.

I Hope this helps. please Do let me know if you have any further queries.

If this answers your query, please do click Accept Answer and Yes for was this answer helpful.

Thank you!

Share via

What is the default expiration time (TTL) for input_file in Azure OpenAI Batch API?

1 answer

Your answer