refactor: Remove drop_created_before alter_job workaround

sebastian-ederer · sebastian-ederer · commit 97d3e782510d · 2026-05-04T21:24:45.000+02:00
TimescaleDB 2.26.3 (timescale/timescaledb#9577) fixed the policy_retention_check bug that caused alter_job to fail on drop_created_before retention policies. The workaround in RetentionPolicyOperationGenerator that short-circuited BuildAlterJobClauses for these policies is no longer needed.
diff --git a/docs/data-annotations/retention-policies.md b/docs/data-annotations/retention-policies.md
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public class ApiRequestLog
 }
 ```
 
-> :warning: **Note:** Due to a known bug in TimescaleDB ([#9446](https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/issues/9446)), `alter_job` fails when used with `DropCreatedBefore` policies. The library works around this by skipping the `alter_job` call for `DropCreatedBefore` policies. As a result, job scheduling parameters (`ScheduleInterval`, `MaxRuntime`, `MaxRetries`, `RetryPeriod`) are accepted by the API but have no effect at the database level when `DropCreatedBefore` is used.
+> :warning: **Note:** Customizing job scheduling parameters (`ScheduleInterval`, `MaxRuntime`, `MaxRetries`, `RetryPeriod`) on a `DropCreatedBefore` policy requires **TimescaleDB 2.26.3 or later**. Earlier versions contain a bug in `alter_job` that prevents these settings from being applied for `drop_created_before` policies. Policies using `DropAfter` are not affected and work on all supported TimescaleDB versions.
 
 ## Complete Example
 
diff --git a/docs/fluent-api/retention-policies.md b/docs/fluent-api/retention-policies.md
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public class ApiRequestLogConfiguration : IEntityTypeConfiguration<ApiRequestLog
 }
 ```
 
-> :warning: **Note:** Due to a known bug in TimescaleDB ([#9446](https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/issues/9446)), `alter_job` fails when used with `drop_created_before` policies. The library works around this by skipping the `alter_job` call for `drop_created_before` policies. As a result, job scheduling parameters (`scheduleInterval`, `maxRuntime`, `maxRetries`, `retryPeriod`) are accepted by the API but have no effect at the database level when `dropCreatedBefore` is used.
+> :warning: **Note:** Customizing job scheduling parameters (`scheduleInterval`, `maxRuntime`, `maxRetries`, `retryPeriod`) on a `dropCreatedBefore` policy requires **TimescaleDB 2.26.3 or later**. Earlier versions contain a bug in `alter_job` that prevents these settings from being applied for `drop_created_before` policies. Policies using `dropAfter` are not affected and work on all supported TimescaleDB versions.
 
 ## Complete Example
 
diff --git a/src/Eftdb/Generators/RetentionPolicyOperationGenerator.cs b/src/Eftdb/Generators/RetentionPolicyOperationGenerator.cs
@@ -96,16 +96,6 @@ private static List<string> BuildAlterJobClauses(AddRetentionPolicyOperation ope
         {
             List<string> clauses = [];
 
-            // alter_job fails for drop_created_before retention policies.
-            // TimescaleDB's policy_retention_check expects drop_after in the job config JSONB
-            // but finds drop_created_before instead. Workaround: avoid alter_job for
-            // drop_created_before policies, or recreate the policy entirely.
-            // TODO: Remove this when a fix has been applied to TimescaleDB.
-            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(operation.DropCreatedBefore))
-            {
-                return clauses;
-            }
-
             if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(operation.ScheduleInterval))
                 clauses.Add($"schedule_interval => INTERVAL '{operation.ScheduleInterval}'");
 
@@ -125,16 +115,6 @@ private static List<string> BuildAlterJobClauses(AlterRetentionPolicyOperation o
         {
             List<string> clauses = [];
 
-            // alter_job fails for drop_created_before retention policies.
-            // TimescaleDB's policy_retention_check expects drop_after in the job config JSONB
-            // but finds drop_created_before instead. Workaround: avoid alter_job for
-            // drop_created_before policies, or recreate the policy entirely.
-            // TODO: Remove this when a fix has been applied to TimescaleDB.
-            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(operation.DropCreatedBefore))
-            {
-                return clauses;
-            }
-
             if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(operation.ScheduleInterval) && operation.ScheduleInterval != operation.OldScheduleInterval)
                 clauses.Add($"schedule_interval => INTERVAL '{operation.ScheduleInterval}'");
 
diff --git a/tests/Eftdb.Tests/Generators/RetentionPolicyOperationGeneratorTests.cs b/tests/Eftdb.Tests/Generators/RetentionPolicyOperationGeneratorTests.cs
@@ -47,10 +47,10 @@ public void Generate_Add_DropAfter_with_minimal_config_creates_only_add_policy_s
 
         #endregion
 
-        #region Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_creates_add_policy_without_alter_job
+        #region Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_with_job_settings_creates_add_and_alter_job_sql
 
         [Fact]
-        public void Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_creates_add_policy_without_alter_job()
+        public void Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_with_job_settings_creates_add_and_alter_job_sql()
         {
             // Arrange
             AddRetentionPolicyOperation operation = new()
@@ -62,10 +62,11 @@ public void Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_creates_add_policy_without_alter_job(
                 MaxRetries = 5
             };
 
-            // DropCreatedBefore policies must not emit alter_job due to TimescaleDB bug #9446.
-            // Job settings are intentionally ignored.
             string expected = @".Sql(@""
                 SELECT add_retention_policy('public.""""TestTable""""', drop_created_before => INTERVAL '30 days');
+                SELECT alter_job(job_id, schedule_interval => INTERVAL '1 day', max_retries => 5)
+                FROM timescaledb_information.jobs
+                WHERE proc_name = 'policy_retention' AND hypertable_schema = 'public' AND hypertable_name = 'TestTable';
             "")";
 
             // Act
@@ -138,10 +139,10 @@ FROM timescaledb_information.jobs
 
         #endregion
 
-        #region Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_with_job_settings_still_omits_alter_job
+        #region Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_with_all_job_settings_creates_add_and_alter_job_sql
 
         [Fact]
-        public void Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_with_job_settings_still_omits_alter_job()
+        public void Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_with_all_job_settings_creates_add_and_alter_job_sql()
         {
             // Arrange
             AddRetentionPolicyOperation operation = new()
@@ -155,10 +156,11 @@ public void Generate_Add_DropCreatedBefore_with_job_settings_still_omits_alter_j
                 RetryPeriod = "10 minutes"
             };
 
-            // Even with all job settings specified, alter_job is omitted for DropCreatedBefore
-            // due to TimescaleDB bug #9446 workaround.
             string expected = @".Sql(@""
                 SELECT add_retention_policy('public.""""TestTable""""', drop_created_before => INTERVAL '30 days');
+                SELECT alter_job(job_id, schedule_interval => INTERVAL '2 days', max_runtime => INTERVAL '1 hour', max_retries => 5, retry_period => INTERVAL '10 minutes')
+                FROM timescaledb_information.jobs
+                WHERE proc_name = 'policy_retention' AND hypertable_schema = 'public' AND hypertable_name = 'TestTable';
             "")";
 
             // Act
@@ -240,10 +242,10 @@ FROM timescaledb_information.jobs
 
         #endregion
 
-        #region Generate_Alter_changed_to_DropCreatedBefore_creates_remove_and_add_without_alter_job
+        #region Generate_Alter_changed_to_DropCreatedBefore_creates_remove_add_and_alter_job_sql
 
         [Fact]
-        public void Generate_Alter_changed_to_DropCreatedBefore_creates_remove_and_add_without_alter_job()
+        public void Generate_Alter_changed_to_DropCreatedBefore_creates_remove_add_and_alter_job_sql()
         {
             // Arrange
             AlterRetentionPolicyOperation operation = new()
@@ -258,11 +260,13 @@ public void Generate_Alter_changed_to_DropCreatedBefore_creates_remove_and_add_w
                 OldScheduleInterval = "1 day"
             };
 
-            // During Alter recreation, alter_job is still emitted to reapply existing job settings.
-            // The DropCreatedBefore workaround only applies to the Add path.
+            // During recreation, alter_job is emitted to reapply the final-state job settings
             string expected = @".Sql(@""
                 SELECT remove_retention_policy('public.""""TestTable""""', if_exists => true);
                 SELECT add_retention_policy('public.""""TestTable""""', drop_created_before => INTERVAL '30 days');
+                SELECT alter_job(job_id, schedule_interval => INTERVAL '1 day')
+                FROM timescaledb_information.jobs
+                WHERE proc_name = 'policy_retention' AND hypertable_schema = 'public' AND hypertable_name = 'TestTable';
             "")";
 
             // Act
@@ -400,10 +404,10 @@ FROM timescaledb_information.jobs
 
         #endregion
 
-        #region Generate_Alter_DropCreatedBefore_job_settings_change_skips_alter_job
+        #region Generate_Alter_DropCreatedBefore_only_job_settings_change_emits_alter_job
 
         [Fact]
-        public void Generate_Alter_DropCreatedBefore_job_settings_change_skips_alter_job()
+        public void Generate_Alter_DropCreatedBefore_only_job_settings_change_emits_alter_job()
         {
             // Arrange
             AlterRetentionPolicyOperation operation = new()
@@ -420,12 +424,17 @@ public void Generate_Alter_DropCreatedBefore_job_settings_change_skips_alter_job
                 OldScheduleInterval = "1 day"
             };
 
-            // No recreation needed, but alter_job is skipped for DropCreatedBefore due to TimescaleDB bug #9446.
-            RetentionPolicyOperationGenerator generator = new(true);
-            List<string> result = generator.Generate(operation);
+            string expected = @".Sql(@""
+                SELECT alter_job(job_id, schedule_interval => INTERVAL '2 days')
+                FROM timescaledb_information.jobs
+                WHERE proc_name = 'policy_retention' AND hypertable_schema = 'public' AND hypertable_name = 'TestTable';
+            "")";
+
+            // Act
+            string result = GetGeneratedCode(operation);
 
             // Assert
-            Assert.Empty(result);
+            Assert.Equal(SqlHelper.NormalizeSql(expected), SqlHelper.NormalizeSql(result));
         }
 
         #endregion
diff --git a/tests/Eftdb.Tests/Integration/RetentionPolicyIntegrationTests.cs b/tests/Eftdb.Tests/Integration/RetentionPolicyIntegrationTests.cs
diff --git a/tests/Eftdb.Tests/Integration/RetentionPolicyScaffoldingExtractorTests.cs b/tests/Eftdb.Tests/Integration/RetentionPolicyScaffoldingExtractorTests.cs

Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
`@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ public class ApiRequestLog`
`54`	`54`	`}`
`55`	`55`	```
`56`	`56`
`57`		-> :warning: Note: Due to a known bug in TimescaleDB ([#9446](https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/issues/9446)), `alter_job` fails when used with `DropCreatedBefore` policies. The library works around this by skipping the `alter_job` call for `DropCreatedBefore` policies. As a result, job scheduling parameters (`ScheduleInterval`, `MaxRuntime`, `MaxRetries`, `RetryPeriod`) are accepted by the API but have no effect at the database level when `DropCreatedBefore` is used.
	`57`	+> :warning: Note: Customizing job scheduling parameters (`ScheduleInterval`, `MaxRuntime`, `MaxRetries`, `RetryPeriod`) on a `DropCreatedBefore` policy requires TimescaleDB 2.26.3 or later. Earlier versions contain a bug in `alter_job` that prevents these settings from being applied for `drop_created_before` policies. Policies using `DropAfter` are not affected and work on all supported TimescaleDB versions.
`58`	`58`
`59`	`59`	`## Complete Example`
`60`	`60`
Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
`@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public class ApiRequestLogConfiguration : IEntityTypeConfiguration<ApiRequestLog`
`59`	`59`	`}`
`60`	`60`	```
`61`	`61`
`62`		-> :warning: Note: Due to a known bug in TimescaleDB ([#9446](https://github.com/timescale/timescaledb/issues/9446)), `alter_job` fails when used with `drop_created_before` policies. The library works around this by skipping the `alter_job` call for `drop_created_before` policies. As a result, job scheduling parameters (`scheduleInterval`, `maxRuntime`, `maxRetries`, `retryPeriod`) are accepted by the API but have no effect at the database level when `dropCreatedBefore` is used.
	`62`	+> :warning: Note: Customizing job scheduling parameters (`scheduleInterval`, `maxRuntime`, `maxRetries`, `retryPeriod`) on a `dropCreatedBefore` policy requires TimescaleDB 2.26.3 or later. Earlier versions contain a bug in `alter_job` that prevents these settings from being applied for `drop_created_before` policies. Policies using `dropAfter` are not affected and work on all supported TimescaleDB versions.
`63`	`63`
`64`	`64`	`## Complete Example`
`65`	`65`