Create

Use the influxdb3 create database command, the HTTP API, or InfluxDB 3 Explorer to create a database in {{< product-name >}}.

• Create a database using the influxdb3 CLI
• Create a database using the HTTP API
• Create a database using InfluxDB 3 Explorer
• Retention period
• Database naming restrictions
• InfluxQL DBRP naming convention
• Database limit

Create a database using the influxdb3 CLI

Use the influxdb3 create database command to create a database. Provide the following:

• Database name (see Database naming restrictions)
• {{< product-name >}} {{% token-link "admin" "admin" %}}
• (Optional) Retention period. If omitted, data doesn't expire.

{{% show-in "core" %}}

[!Important]

Retention periods are immutable in Core

In {{< product-name >}}, retention periods can only be set when creating a database and cannot be changed afterward. If you need to change a retention period, you must create a new database with the desired retention period and migrate your data. {{% /show-in %}}

# Create a database with a 30-day retention period
influxdb3 create database --retention-period 30d DATABASE_NAME

# Create a database with a 90-day retention period using authentication
influxdb3 create database \
  --retention-period 90d \
  --token AUTH_TOKEN \
  DATABASE_NAME

# Create a database with infinite retention (default)
influxdb3 create database DATABASE_NAME

Replace the following:

• {{% code-placeholder-key %}}DATABASE_NAME{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}: the name of the database to create
• {{% code-placeholder-key %}}AUTH_TOKEN{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}: your {{% token-link "admin" %}}

Create a database using the HTTP API

To create a database using the HTTP API, send a POST request to the /api/v3/configure/database endpoint:

{{% api-endpoint method="POST" endpoint="{{< influxdb/host >}}/api/v3/configure/database" %}}

Include the following in your request:

• Headers:
  • Content-Type: application/json
  • Authorization: Bearer with your {{% token-link "admin" %}}
• Request body (JSON object):
  • db (string, required): Database name
  • retention_period (string, optional): Retention period. If omitted, data doesn't expire.

{{% show-in "core" %}}

[!Important]

Retention periods are immutable in Core

In {{< product-name >}}, retention periods can only be set when creating a database and cannot be changed afterward. If you need to change a retention period, you must create a new database with the desired retention period and migrate your data. {{% /show-in %}}

# Create a database with a 30-day retention period
curl --request POST "{{< influxdb/host >}}/api/v3/configure/database" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer AUTH_TOKEN" \
  --data '{
    "db": "DATABASE_NAME",
    "retention_period": "30d"
  }'

# Create a database with a 90-day retention period
curl --request POST "{{< influxdb/host >}}/api/v3/configure/database" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer AUTH_TOKEN" \
  --data '{
    "db": "DATABASE_NAME",
    "retention_period": "90d"
  }'

# Create a database with infinite retention (default)
curl --request POST "{{< influxdb/host >}}/api/v3/configure/database" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer AUTH_TOKEN" \
  --data '{
    "db": "DATABASE_NAME"
  }'

Replace the following:

• {{% code-placeholder-key %}}DATABASE_NAME{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}: the name of the database to create
• {{% code-placeholder-key %}}AUTH_TOKEN{{% /code-placeholder-key %}}: your {{% token-link "admin" %}}

Response

A successful request returns HTTP status 200 with the database configuration.

Create a database using InfluxDB 3 Explorer

[!Caution] Currently, you can't set a retention period when creating a database in Explorer. To create a database with a retention period, see one of the following:

• Create a database using the influxdb3 CLI
• Create a database using the HTTP API

{{% show-in "core" %}}

[!Important]

Retention periods are immutable in Core

After creating a database in {{< product-name >}}, you cannot change its retention period. {{% /show-in %}}

Use the InfluxDB 3 Explorer web interface to create a database in {{% product-name %}}:

1. If you haven't already, see how to get started with Explorer and connect to your {{% product-name %}} server.
2. In Explorer, click Manage Databases in the left navigation.
3. Click + Create New.
4. Enter a database name.
5. Click Create Database.

For more information, see Manage databases with InfluxDB 3 Explorer.

• Retention period
• Database naming restrictions
• InfluxQL DBRP naming convention
• Database limit

Retention period

By default, data does not expire. When creating a database, set a retention period to automatically delete expired data and optimize storage.

Retention period syntax

The retention period value is a time duration value made up of a numeric value plus a duration unit. For example, 30d means 30 days. The retention period value cannot be negative or contain whitespace.

Valid durations units include

• m: minute
• h: hour
• d: day
• w: week
• mo: month
• y: year

[!Warning]

Retention period constraints

• Minimum for data retention: The practical minimum retention period is 1 hour (1h).
• Zero-duration periods: Setting a retention period to 0<unit> (for example, 0d or 0h) is allowed but marks all data for immediate deletion at query time. This differs from InfluxDB 1.x and 2.x where 0d meant infinite retention.
• Infinite retention: Use none to set an infinite retention period.

For more information about retention periods, see Data retention.

{{% show-in "core" %}}

[!Important]

Retention periods are immutable in Core

In {{< product-name >}}, retention periods can only be set when creating a database and cannot be changed afterward. If you need to change a retention period, you must create a new database with the desired retention period and migrate your data.

For mutable retention periods and table-level retention, consider upgrading to InfluxDB 3 Enterprise. {{% /show-in %}}

{{% show-in "enterprise" %}}

[!Note]

Database retention serves as default for tables

The database retention period serves as the default retention period for all tables in the database, unless a table has its own retention period defined. Table-level retention periods override database retention periods.

For more information, see Retention period precedence. {{% /show-in %}}

Database naming restrictions

Database names must adhere to the following naming restrictions:

• Length: Maximum 64 characters
• Allowed characters: Alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9), underscore (_), dash (-), and forward-slash (/)
• Prohibited characters: Cannot contain whitespace, punctuation, or other special characters
• Starting character: Should start with a letter or number and should not start with underscore (_)
• Case sensitivity: Database names are case-sensitive

[!Caution]

Underscore prefix reserved for system use

Names starting with an underscore (_) may be reserved for InfluxDB system use. While {{% product-name %}} might not explicitly reject these names, using them risks conflicts with current or future system features and may result in unexpected behavior or data loss.

Valid database name examples

mydb
sensor_data
prod-metrics
logs/application
webserver123

Invalid database name examples

my database        # Contains whitespace
sensor.data        # Contains period
app@server         # Contains special character
_internal          # Starts with underscore (reserved)
very_long_database_name_that_exceeds_sixty_four_character_limit  # Too long

For comprehensive information about naming restrictions for all InfluxDB identifiers, see Naming restrictions and conventions.

InfluxQL DBRP naming convention

In InfluxDB 1.x, data is stored in databases and retention policies. In {{% product-name %}}, databases and retention policies have been merged into databases, where databases have a retention period, but retention policies are no longer part of the data model. Because InfluxQL uses the 1.x data model, a database must be mapped to a v1 database and retention policy (DBRP) to be queryable with InfluxQL.

When naming a database that you want to query with InfluxQL, use the following naming convention to automatically map v1 DBRP combinations to an {{% product-name %}} database:

database_name/retention_policy_name

Database naming examples

Database limit

{{% show-in "enterprise" %}} Default maximum number of databases: {{% influxdb3/limit "database" %}} {{% /show-in %}} {{% show-in "core" %}} Maximum number of databases: {{% influxdb3/limit "database" %}} {{% /show-in %}}

For more information about {{< product-name >}} database, table, and column limits, see Database, table, and column limits.