---
title: Enable Archival Storage
url: https://docs.vultr.com/products/storage/object-storage/archival-storage/enable
description: Enable archival storage on Vultr Object Storage with lifecycle policies and cost-efficient data tiering.

publish_date: 2026-04-01T13:28:24.809139Z
last_updated: 2026-05-26T19:42:10.857535Z
---

# How to Enable Archival Storage on a Standard Object Storage Subscription

Standard Object Storage subscriptions support an optional Archive add-on that moves objects from selected buckets into the `VULTR_ARCHIVE` storage class via a lifecycle policy. Unlike the dedicated Archive subscription, this option allows choosing which buckets participate in archival and customizing the lifecycle policy to control which objects transition. Archived data is billed at $0.006 per GB-month on top of the Standard subscription cost.

Follow this guide to enable Archival Storage on a Standard Object Storage bucket using the Vultr Console or the Vultr API.

> [!NOTE]
> The target bucket name must be between 3 and 53 characters long. Archival Storage cannot be enabled on a bucket that has versioning enabled, or that previously had versioning enabled.

=== "Vultr Console"

    1. Navigate to **Products** and click **Cloud Storage**.
    1. Select **Object Storage** and click the target Standard subscription.
    1. Click **Buckets**.
    1. Click the wrench icon next to the target bucket.
    1. Under **Options**, toggle **Archival Storage** to enabled.

        The **Archival Storage Policy** editor appears with a default lifecycle policy pre-filled. To customize the policy, see [How to Manage Lifecycle Policies for Archival Storage](https://docs.vultr.com/products/cloud-storage/object-storage/archival-storage/lifecycle-policies).

    1. Click **Save Changes**.

=== "Vultr API"

    1. Send a `GET` request to the [**List Object Storages** endpoint](https://www.vultr.com/api/#tag/s3/operation/list-object-storages) to retrieve your Standard subscription ID.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/object-storage" \
            -X GET \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}"
        ```

        Note the `id` of your Standard subscription (`tier_id: 2`). Use this value as `{object-storage-id}` in the next step.

    1. Enable Archival Storage on the target bucket. Replace `{object-storage-id}` with your subscription ID and `{bucket-name}` with the name of the bucket.

        ```console
        $ curl "https://api.vultr.com/v2/object-storage/{object-storage-id}/bucket/{bucket-name}/archival" \
            -X POST \
            -H "Authorization: Bearer ${VULTR_API_KEY}" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            -d '{"archival": true}'
        ```

        The default lifecycle policy is applied to the bucket. To customize it, see [How to Manage Lifecycle Policies for Archival Storage](https://docs.vultr.com/products/cloud-storage/object-storage/archival-storage/lifecycle-policies).