> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://beads.gascity.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# bd gc

> Garbage collect: decay old issues, compact Dolt commits, run Dolt GC

Generated from `bd help --doc gc`.

Full lifecycle garbage collection for standalone Beads databases.

Runs three phases in sequence:

1. DECAY   — Delete closed issues older than N days (default 90)
2. COMPACT — Squash old Dolt commits into fewer commits (bd compact)
3. GC      — Run Dolt garbage collection to reclaim disk space

Each phase can be skipped individually. Use --dry-run to preview all phases
without making changes.

Examples:
bd gc                              # Full GC with defaults (90 day decay)
bd gc --dry-run                    # Preview what would happen
bd gc --older-than 30              # Decay issues closed 30+ days ago
bd gc --skip-decay                 # Skip issue deletion, just compact+GC
bd gc --skip-dolt                  # Skip Dolt GC, just decay+compact
bd gc --force                      # Skip confirmation prompt

```
bd gc [flags]
```

**Flags:**

```
      --dry-run          Preview without making changes
  -f, --force            Skip confirmation prompts
      --older-than int   Delete closed issues older than N days (default 90)
      --skip-decay       Skip issue deletion phase
      --skip-dolt        Skip Dolt garbage collection phase
```