---
title: "Enable and disable PITR"
url: "https://docs.yugabyte.com/stable/manage/backup-restore/point-in-time-recovery/enable-pitr/"
---

# Enable and disable PITR

Create and manage snapshot schedules to enable point-in-time recovery in YugabyteDB

A snapshot schedule automatically takes periodic snapshots of a YSQL database or YCQL keyspace and retains them for a configured duration. Creating a schedule is what enables [Rewind to PIT](/stable/manage/backup-restore/point-in-time-recovery/rewind/ "Rewind to PIT") and [Clone to PIT](/stable/manage/backup-restore/point-in-time-recovery/clone/ "Clone to PIT") for that database or keyspace. You cannot rewind unless you create a schedule first.

[Inspect at PIT](/stable/manage/backup-restore/point-in-time-recovery/inspect/ "Inspect at PIT") uses history retention flags and does not require a schedule. [Restore to PIT](/stable/manage/backup-restore/point-in-time-recovery/restore/ "Restore to PIT") restores a specific snapshot and also does not require a schedule, though a schedule is one way to produce the snapshots you restore.

## Create a schedule

To create a schedule, use the [create\_snapshot\_schedule](/stable/admin/yb-admin/#create-snapshot-schedule "create_snapshot_schedule") command with the following parameters:

- Interval between snapshots (in minutes).
- Total retention time (in minutes).
- The name of the database or keyspace.

For example, to create a schedule that produces a snapshot of a YSQL database once a day (every 1,440 minutes) and retains it for three days (4,320 minutes), execute the following command:

```sh
./bin/yb-admin \
    --master_addresses <ip1:7100,ip2:7100,ip3:7100> \
    create_snapshot_schedule 1440 4320 ysql.<database_name>
```

The equivalent command for a YCQL keyspace is the following:

```sh
./bin/yb-admin \
    --master_addresses <ip1:7100,ip2:7100,ip3:7100> \
    create_snapshot_schedule 1440 4320 <keyspace_name>
```

The following output is a unique ID of the newly created snapshot schedule:

```output.json
{
  "schedule_id": "6eaaa4fb-397f-41e2-a8fe-a93e0c9f5256"
}
```

You can use this ID to [delete the schedule](#delete-a-schedule "delete the schedule") or [rewind to a point in time](/stable/manage/backup-restore/point-in-time-recovery/rewind/ "rewind to a point in time").

## Delete a schedule

To delete a schedule and disable Rewind and Clone for that database or keyspace, use the [delete\_snapshot\_schedule](/stable/admin/yb-admin/#delete-snapshot-schedule "delete_snapshot_schedule") command with the ID of the schedule to delete:

```sh
./bin/yb-admin \
    --master_addresses <ip1:7100,ip2:7100,ip3:7100> \
    delete_snapshot_schedule 6eaaa4fb-397f-41e2-a8fe-a93e0c9f5256
```

## List schedules

To see a list of schedules that currently exist in the cluster, use the [list\_snapshot\_schedules](/stable/admin/yb-admin/#list-snapshot-schedules "list_snapshot_schedules") command:

```sh
./bin/yb-admin \
    --master_addresses <ip1:7100,ip2:7100,ip3:7100> \
    list_snapshot_schedules
```

```output.json
{
  "schedules": [
    {
      "id": "6eaaa4fb-397f-41e2-a8fe-a93e0c9f5256",
      "options": {
        "interval": "60.000s",
        "retention": "600.000s"
      },
      "snapshots": [
        {
          "id": "386740da-dc17-4e4a-9a2b-976968b1deb5",
          "snapshot_time_utc": "2021-04-28T13:35:32.499002+0000"
        },
        {
          "id": "aaf562ca-036f-4f96-b193-f0baead372e5",
          "snapshot_time_utc": "2021-04-28T13:36:37.501633+0000",
          "previous_snapshot_time_utc": "2021-04-28T13:35:32.499002+0000"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```

You can also use the same command to view information about a particular schedule by providing its ID:

```sh
./bin/yb-admin \
    --master_addresses <ip1:7100,ip2:7100,ip3:7100> \
    list_snapshot_schedules 6eaaa4fb-397f-41e2-a8fe-a93e0c9f5256
```

## Configuration details

By default, the history retention period is controlled by the [history retention interval flag](/stable/reference/configuration/yb-tserver/#timestamp-history-retention-interval-sec "history retention interval flag"). This is a cluster-wide global flag that affects every YSQL database and YCQL keyspace, whether or not PITR is enabled.

When a snapshot schedule is configured for a particular database or keyspace, the per-database retention period is the maximum of the global history retention period and the snapshot interval specified for that schedule.

For example, if the global history retention period is 8 hours, but a schedule takes snapshots every 4 hours, then a snapshot taken at time t0 will have all data from (time t0 - 8h to time t0), even if that means two snapshots have overlapping and duplicate copies of the same detailed change data.