diff --git a/cmd/cc-backend/main.go b/cmd/cc-backend/main.go
index 0fe309e..c606ad0 100644
--- a/cmd/cc-backend/main.go
+++ b/cmd/cc-backend/main.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ package main
 import (
 	"context"
 	"crypto/tls"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
@@ -36,7 +37,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-backend/internal/runtimeEnv"
 	"github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-backend/pkg/archive"
 	"github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-backend/pkg/log"
+	"github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-backend/pkg/schema"
 	"github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-backend/web"
+	"github.com/go-co-op/gocron"
 	"github.com/google/gops/agent"
 	"github.com/gorilla/handlers"
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
@@ -416,18 +419,52 @@ func main() {
 		api.JobRepository.WaitForArchiving()
 	}()
 
+	s := gocron.NewScheduler(time.Local)
+
 	if config.Keys.StopJobsExceedingWalltime > 0 {
-		go func() {
-			for range time.Tick(30 * time.Minute) {
-				err := jobRepo.StopJobsExceedingWalltimeBy(config.Keys.StopJobsExceedingWalltime)
-				if err != nil {
-					log.Warnf("Error while looking for jobs exceeding their walltime: %s", err.Error())
-				}
-				runtime.GC()
+		s.Every(1).Day().At("3:00").Do(func() {
+			err := jobRepo.StopJobsExceedingWalltimeBy(config.Keys.StopJobsExceedingWalltime)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Warnf("Error while looking for jobs exceeding their walltime: %s", err.Error())
 			}
-		}()
+			runtime.GC()
+		})
 	}
 
+	var cfg struct {
+		Compression int              `json:"compression"`
+		Retention   schema.Retention `json:"retention"`
+	}
+
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(config.Keys.Archive, &cfg); err != nil {
+		log.Warn("Error while unmarshaling raw config json")
+	}
+
+	switch cfg.Retention.Policy {
+	case "delete":
+		s.Every(1).Day().At("4:00").Do(func() {
+			jobs, err := jobRepo.FindJobsOlderThan(cfg.Retention.Age)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Warnf("Error while looking for retention jobs: %s", err.Error())
+			}
+			archive.GetHandle().CleanUp(jobs)
+		})
+	case "move":
+		log.Warn("Retention policy move not implemented")
+	}
+
+	if cfg.Compression > 0 {
+		s.Every(1).Day().At("5:00").Do(func() {
+			jobs, err := jobRepo.FindJobsOlderThan(cfg.Compression)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Warnf("Error while looking for retention jobs: %s", err.Error())
+			}
+			archive.GetHandle().Compress(jobs)
+		})
+	}
+
+	s.StartAsync()
+
 	if os.Getenv("GOGC") == "" {
 		debug.SetGCPercent(25)
 	}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 9bc8377..9841de9 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/felixge/httpsnoop v1.0.3 // indirect
 	github.com/ghodss/yaml v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/go-asn1-ber/asn1-ber v1.5.4 // indirect
+	github.com/go-co-op/gocron v1.25.0 // indirect
 	github.com/go-openapi/jsonpointer v0.19.6 // indirect
 	github.com/go-openapi/jsonreference v0.20.2 // indirect
 	github.com/go-openapi/spec v0.20.8 // indirect
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/jpillora/backoff v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 // indirect
+	github.com/kr/pretty v0.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/lann/builder v0.0.0-20180802200727-47ae307949d0 // indirect
 	github.com/lann/ps v0.0.0-20150810152359-62de8c46ede0 // indirect
 	github.com/mailru/easyjson v0.7.7 // indirect
@@ -67,7 +69,10 @@ require (
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.9.1 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/client_model v0.3.0 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.9.0 // indirect
+	github.com/robfig/cron/v3 v3.0.1 // indirect
+	github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.8.1 // indirect
 	github.com/russross/blackfriday/v2 v2.1.0 // indirect
+	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.2 // indirect
 	github.com/swaggo/files v1.0.0 // indirect
 	github.com/urfave/cli/v2 v2.24.4 // indirect
 	github.com/xrash/smetrics v0.0.0-20201216005158-039620a65673 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index e2a6276..3b1671c 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -81,8 +81,6 @@ github.com/BurntSushi/toml v0.3.1/go.mod h1:xHWCNGjB5oqiDr8zfno3MHue2Ht5sIBksp03
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.1.0/go.mod h1:CxXYINrC8qIiEnFrOxCa7Jy5BFHlXnUU2pbicEuybxQ=
 github.com/BurntSushi/xgb v0.0.0-20160522181843-27f122750802/go.mod h1:IVnqGOEym/WlBOVXweHU+Q+/VP0lqqI8lqeDx9IjBqo=
 github.com/ClickHouse/clickhouse-go v1.4.3/go.mod h1:EaI/sW7Azgz9UATzd5ZdZHRUhHgv5+JMS9NSr2smCJI=
-github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-units v0.3.0 h1:JEKgEyvN4GABheKIReW2siDXgpYf2zf4STXV2ip418Y=
-github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-units v0.3.0/go.mod h1:3S3PAhAayS3pbgcT4q9Vn9VJw22Op51X0YimtG77zBw=
 github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-units v0.4.0 h1:zP5DOu99GmErW0tCDf0gcLrlWt42RQ9dpoONEOh4cI0=
 github.com/ClusterCockpit/cc-units v0.4.0/go.mod h1:3S3PAhAayS3pbgcT4q9Vn9VJw22Op51X0YimtG77zBw=
 github.com/KyleBanks/depth v1.2.1 h1:5h8fQADFrWtarTdtDudMmGsC7GPbOAu6RVB3ffsVFHc=
@@ -448,6 +446,8 @@ github.com/ghodss/yaml v1.0.0 h1:wQHKEahhL6wmXdzwWG11gIVCkOv05bNOh+Rxn0yngAk=
 github.com/ghodss/yaml v1.0.0/go.mod h1:4dBDuWmgqj2HViK6kFavaiC9ZROes6MMH2rRYeMEF04=
 github.com/go-asn1-ber/asn1-ber v1.5.4 h1:vXT6d/FNDiELJnLb6hGNa309LMsrCoYFvpwHDF0+Y1A=
 github.com/go-asn1-ber/asn1-ber v1.5.4/go.mod h1:hEBeB/ic+5LoWskz+yKT7vGhhPYkProFKoKdwZRWMe0=
+github.com/go-co-op/gocron v1.25.0 h1:pzAdtily1JVIf6lGby6K0JKzhishgLOllQgNxoYbR+8=
+github.com/go-co-op/gocron v1.25.0/go.mod h1:JHrQDY4iE1HZPkgTyoccY4xtDgLbrUwL+xODIbEQdnc=
 github.com/go-fonts/dejavu v0.1.0/go.mod h1:4Wt4I4OU2Nq9asgDCteaAaWZOV24E+0/Pwo0gppep4g=
 github.com/go-fonts/latin-modern v0.2.0/go.mod h1:rQVLdDMK+mK1xscDwsqM5J8U2jrRa3T0ecnM9pNujks=
 github.com/go-fonts/liberation v0.1.1/go.mod h1:K6qoJYypsmfVjWg8KOVDQhLc8UDgIK2HYqyqAO9z7GY=
@@ -826,8 +826,9 @@ github.com/kr/fs v0.1.0/go.mod h1:FFnZGqtBN9Gxj7eW1uZ42v5BccTP0vu6NEaFoC2HwRg=
 github.com/kr/logfmt v0.0.0-20140226030751-b84e30acd515/go.mod h1:+0opPa2QZZtGFBFZlji/RkVcI2GknAs/DXo4wKdlNEc=
 github.com/kr/pretty v0.1.0/go.mod h1:dAy3ld7l9f0ibDNOQOHHMYYIIbhfbHSm3C4ZsoJORNo=
 github.com/kr/pretty v0.2.0/go.mod h1:ipq/a2n7PKx3OHsz4KJII5eveXtPO4qwEXGdVfWzfnI=
-github.com/kr/pretty v0.2.1 h1:Fmg33tUaq4/8ym9TJN1x7sLJnHVwhP33CNkpYV/7rwI=
 github.com/kr/pretty v0.2.1/go.mod h1:ipq/a2n7PKx3OHsz4KJII5eveXtPO4qwEXGdVfWzfnI=
+github.com/kr/pretty v0.3.0 h1:WgNl7dwNpEZ6jJ9k1snq4pZsg7DOEN8hP9Xw0Tsjwk0=
+github.com/kr/pretty v0.3.0/go.mod h1:640gp4NfQd8pI5XOwp5fnNeVWj67G7CFk/SaSQn7NBk=
 github.com/kr/pty v1.1.1/go.mod h1:pFQYn66WHrOpPYNljwOMqo10TkYh1fy3cYio2l3bCsQ=
 github.com/kr/pty v1.1.5/go.mod h1:9r2w37qlBe7rQ6e1fg1S/9xpWHSnaqNdHD3WcMdbPDA=
 github.com/kr/pty v1.1.8/go.mod h1:O1sed60cT9XZ5uDucP5qwvh+TE3NnUj51EiZO/lmSfw=
@@ -1009,6 +1010,7 @@ github.com/pierrec/lz4 v2.0.5+incompatible/go.mod h1:pdkljMzZIN41W+lC3N2tnIh5sFi
 github.com/pierrec/lz4/v4 v4.1.8/go.mod h1:gZWDp/Ze/IJXGXf23ltt2EXimqmTUXEy0GFuRQyBid4=
 github.com/pkg/browser v0.0.0-20210706143420-7d21f8c997e2/go.mod h1:HKlIX3XHQyzLZPlr7++PzdhaXEj94dEiJgZDTsxEqUI=
 github.com/pkg/browser v0.0.0-20210911075715-681adbf594b8/go.mod h1:HKlIX3XHQyzLZPlr7++PzdhaXEj94dEiJgZDTsxEqUI=
+github.com/pkg/diff v0.0.0-20210226163009-20ebb0f2a09e/go.mod h1:pJLUxLENpZxwdsKMEsNbx1VGcRFpLqf3715MtcvvzbA=
 github.com/pkg/errors v0.8.0/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
 github.com/pkg/errors v0.8.1-0.20171018195549-f15c970de5b7/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
 github.com/pkg/errors v0.8.1/go.mod h1:bwawxfHBFNV+L2hUp1rHADufV3IMtnDRdf1r5NINEl0=
@@ -1064,11 +1066,16 @@ github.com/qustavo/sqlhooks/v2 v2.1.0 h1:54yBemHnGHp/7xgT+pxwmIlMSDNYKx5JW5dfRAi
 github.com/qustavo/sqlhooks/v2 v2.1.0/go.mod h1:aMREyKo7fOKTwiLuWPsaHRXEmtqG4yREztO0idF83AU=
 github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20190728182440-6a916e37a237/go.mod h1:qqbHyh8v60DhA7CoWK5oRCqLrMHRGoxYCSS9EjAz6Eo=
 github.com/remyoudompheng/bigfft v0.0.0-20200410134404-eec4a21b6bb0/go.mod h1:qqbHyh8v60DhA7CoWK5oRCqLrMHRGoxYCSS9EjAz6Eo=
+github.com/robfig/cron/v3 v3.0.1 h1:WdRxkvbJztn8LMz/QEvLN5sBU+xKpSqwwUO1Pjr4qDs=
+github.com/robfig/cron/v3 v3.0.1/go.mod h1:eQICP3HwyT7UooqI/z+Ov+PtYAWygg1TEWWzGIFLtro=
 github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid v0.0.0-20150106093220-6724a57986af/go.mod h1:XWv6SoW27p1b0cqNHllgS5HIMJraePCO15w5zCzIWYg=
 github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid v1.2.0/go.mod h1:jVj6XXZzXRy/MSR5jhDC/2q6DgLz+nrA6LYCDYWNEvQ=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.1.0/go.mod h1:M8bDsm7K2OlrFYOpmOWEs/qY81heoFRclV5y23lUDJ4=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.2.2/go.mod h1:M8bDsm7K2OlrFYOpmOWEs/qY81heoFRclV5y23lUDJ4=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.3.0/go.mod h1:M8bDsm7K2OlrFYOpmOWEs/qY81heoFRclV5y23lUDJ4=
+github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.6.1/go.mod h1:xXDCJY+GAPziupqXw64V24skbSoqbTEfhy4qGm1nDQc=
+github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.8.1 h1:geMPLpDpQOgVyCg5z5GoRwLHepNdb71NXb67XFkP+Eg=
+github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.8.1/go.mod h1:JeRgkft04UBgHMgCIwADu4Pn6Mtm5d4nPKWu0nJ5d+o=
 github.com/rs/xid v1.2.1/go.mod h1:+uKXf+4Djp6Md1KODXJxgGQPKngRmWyn10oCKFzNHOQ=
 github.com/rs/zerolog v1.13.0/go.mod h1:YbFCdg8HfsridGWAh22vktObvhZbQsZXe4/zB0OKkWU=
 github.com/rs/zerolog v1.15.0/go.mod h1:xYTKnLHcpfU2225ny5qZjxnj9NvkumZYjJHlAThCjNc=
@@ -1146,8 +1153,9 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.1/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.2/go.mod h1:R6va5+xMeoiuVRoj+gSkQ7d3FALtqAAGI1FQKckRals=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.0/go.mod h1:yNjHg4UonilssWZ8iaSj1OCr/vHnekPRkoO+kdMU+MU=
-github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.1 h1:w7B6lhMri9wdJUVmEZPGGhZzrYTPvgJArz7wNPgYKsk=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.1/go.mod h1:w2LPCIKwWwSfY2zedu0+kehJoqGctiVI29o6fzry7u4=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.2 h1:+h33VjcLVPDHtOdpUCuF+7gSuG3yGIftsP1YvFihtJ8=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.8.2/go.mod h1:w2LPCIKwWwSfY2zedu0+kehJoqGctiVI29o6fzry7u4=
 github.com/subosito/gotenv v1.2.0/go.mod h1:N0PQaV/YGNqwC0u51sEeR/aUtSLEXKX9iv69rRypqCw=
 github.com/swaggo/files v1.0.0 h1:1gGXVIeUFCS/dta17rnP0iOpr6CXFwKD7EO5ID233e4=
 github.com/swaggo/files v1.0.0/go.mod h1:N59U6URJLyU1PQgFqPM7wXLMhJx7QAolnvfQkqO13kc=
diff --git a/internal/repository/job.go b/internal/repository/job.go
index 86eecfb..b6b181e 100644
--- a/internal/repository/job.go
+++ b/internal/repository/job.go
@@ -707,6 +707,38 @@ func (r *JobRepository) StopJobsExceedingWalltimeBy(seconds int) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (r *JobRepository) FindJobsOlderThan(days int) ([]*schema.Job, error) {
+
+	query := sq.Select(jobColumns...).From("job").Where(fmt.Sprintf("job.start_time < %d",
+		time.Now().Unix()-int64(days*24*3600)))
+
+	sql, args, err := query.ToSql()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Warn("Error while converting query to sql")
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	log.Debugf("SQL query: `%s`, args: %#v", sql, args)
+	rows, err := query.RunWith(r.stmtCache).Query()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Error("Error while running query")
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	jobs := make([]*schema.Job, 0, 50)
+	for rows.Next() {
+		job, err := scanJob(rows)
+		if err != nil {
+			rows.Close()
+			log.Warn("Error while scanning rows")
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		jobs = append(jobs, job)
+	}
+
+	return jobs, nil
+}
+
 // GraphQL validation should make sure that no unkown values can be specified.
 var groupBy2column = map[model.Aggregate]string{
 	model.AggregateUser:    "job.user",
diff --git a/pkg/archive/archive.go b/pkg/archive/archive.go
index 765c9db..c347551 100644
--- a/pkg/archive/archive.go
+++ b/pkg/archive/archive.go
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@ type ArchiveBackend interface {
 
 	GetClusters() []string
 
-	CleanUp() error
+	CleanUp(jobs []*schema.Job)
 
-	// Compress() error
+	Compress(jobs []*schema.Job)
 
 	Iter(loadMetricData bool) <-chan JobContainer
 }
@@ -49,16 +49,8 @@ var useArchive bool
 func Init(rawConfig json.RawMessage, disableArchive bool) error {
 	useArchive = !disableArchive
 
-    type retention struct {
-        Age int `json:"age"`
-        Policy string `json:"policy"`
-        Location string `json:"location"`
-    }
-
 	var cfg struct {
 		Kind string `json:"kind"`
-		Compression int `json:"compression"`
-		Retention retention  `json:"retention"`
 	}
 
 	if err := json.Unmarshal(rawConfig, &cfg); err != nil {
@@ -82,10 +74,6 @@ func Init(rawConfig json.RawMessage, disableArchive bool) error {
 	}
 	log.Infof("Load archive version %d", version)
 
-    switch cfg. {
-    case condition:
-        
-    }
 	return initClusterConfig()
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/archive/fsBackend.go b/pkg/archive/fsBackend.go
index a238473..1c52672 100644
--- a/pkg/archive/fsBackend.go
+++ b/pkg/archive/fsBackend.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -38,17 +39,26 @@ func checkFileExists(filePath string) bool {
 	return !errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist)
 }
 
+func getDirectory(
+	job *schema.Job,
+	rootPath string,
+) string {
+	lvl1, lvl2 := fmt.Sprintf("%d", job.JobID/1000), fmt.Sprintf("%03d", job.JobID%1000)
+
+	return filepath.Join(
+		rootPath,
+		job.Cluster,
+		lvl1, lvl2,
+		strconv.FormatInt(job.StartTime.Unix(), 10))
+}
+
 func getPath(
 	job *schema.Job,
 	rootPath string,
 	file string) string {
 
-	lvl1, lvl2 := fmt.Sprintf("%d", job.JobID/1000), fmt.Sprintf("%03d", job.JobID%1000)
 	return filepath.Join(
-		rootPath,
-		job.Cluster,
-		lvl1, lvl2,
-		strconv.FormatInt(job.StartTime.Unix(), 10), file)
+		getDirectory(job, rootPath), file)
 }
 
 func loadJobMeta(filename string) (*schema.JobMeta, error) {
@@ -147,12 +157,51 @@ func (fsa *FsArchive) Init(rawConfig json.RawMessage) (uint64, error) {
 	return version, nil
 }
 
-func (fsa *FsArchive) CleanUp() error {
+func (fsa *FsArchive) CleanUp(jobs []*schema.Job) {
+	for _, job := range jobs {
+		dir := getDirectory(job, fsa.path)
+		if err := os.RemoveAll(dir); err != nil {
+			log.Errorf("JobArchive Cleanup() error: %v", err)
+		}
+	}
+}
 
+func (fsa *FsArchive) Compress(jobs []*schema.Job) {
+	for _, job := range jobs {
+		fileIn := getPath(job, fsa.path, "data.json")
+		if !checkFileExists(fileIn) {
+
+			originalFile, err := os.Open(fileIn)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Errorf("JobArchive Compress() error: %v", err)
+			}
+			defer originalFile.Close()
+
+			fileOut := getPath(job, fsa.path, "data.json.gz")
+			gzippedFile, err := os.Create(fileOut)
+
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Errorf("JobArchive Compress() error: %v", err)
+			}
+			defer gzippedFile.Close()
+
+			gzipWriter := gzip.NewWriter(gzippedFile)
+			defer gzipWriter.Close()
+
+			_, err = io.Copy(gzipWriter, originalFile)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Errorf("JobArchive Compress() error: %v", err)
+			}
+			gzipWriter.Flush()
+			if err := os.Remove(fileIn); err != nil {
+				log.Errorf("JobArchive Compress() error: %v", err)
+			}
+		}
+	}
 }
 
 func (fsa *FsArchive) LoadJobData(job *schema.Job) (schema.JobData, error) {
-	var isCompressed bool = true
+	var isCompressed bool
 	filename := getPath(job, fsa.path, "data.json.gz")
 	if !checkFileExists(filename) {
 		filename = getPath(job, fsa.path, "data.json")
@@ -227,7 +276,7 @@ func (fsa *FsArchive) Iter(loadMetricData bool) <-chan JobContainer {
 							}
 
 							if loadMetricData {
-								var isCompressed bool = true
+								var isCompressed bool
 								filename := filepath.Join(dirpath, startTimeDir.Name(), "data.json.gz")
 
 								if !checkFileExists(filename) {
diff --git a/pkg/schema/config.go b/pkg/schema/config.go
index fa7ba9f..1f4eb85 100644
--- a/pkg/schema/config.go
+++ b/pkg/schema/config.go
@@ -57,6 +57,12 @@ type ClusterConfig struct {
 	MetricDataRepository json.RawMessage `json:"metricDataRepository"`
 }
 
+type Retention struct {
+	Age      int    `json:"age"`
+	Policy   string `json:"policy"`
+	Location string `json:"location"`
+}
+
 // Format of the configuration (file). See below for the defaults.
 type ProgramConfig struct {
 	// Address where the http (or https) server will listen on (for example: 'localhost:80').