Logic app creates flow containers in storage account

Question

Hi there,

I have a Standard LogicApp with a stateful workflow, that's triggered daily on a recurrence trigger. This generates these containers prefixed with flow and suffixed with content:

These container(s) contain various files for each run that occurred. I'm assuming this is a means of tracking state for a run, but I'm unsure why these files remain even after the run has completed. If I delete these containers, I am still able to view the run history for a run and the inputs/outputs for the actions that occurred, and not sure if they serve another purpose for which they need to remain.

In my workflow I make calls to some functionapps, and noticed that deleting these actions result in fewer files in these created containers - I've tried adding these functionapp actions back in and toggling settings for async etc on them, however they always seem to generate these files. There are other actions in my workflow like blob upload, and sending to a service bus topic that also result in files created within the container.

Could someone please explain what these are for, why they aren't cleaned up automatically, and what is the recommended configuration/actions to control this behaviour?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hello @Ricky Schuleman - Thanks for reaching out, and posting on the MS Q&A.

Regarding:

Could someone please explain what these are for, why they aren't cleaned up automatically, and what is the recommended configuration/actions to control this behaviour?

As you've already discovered, the storage tables are mainly for storing Run History data and are named with the following format: “flows__[LANamePrefix][WorkflowPrefix][yyyyMMdd]__t000000z” and ends with actions/variables. By default, the retention period is 90 days, I believe, and should be cleaned up automatically afterward. As for control & what's possible with the data, the following tool may be of help: https://github.com/Drac-Zhang/Logic-App-STD-Advanced-Tools

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Answer 2

I wonder if changing these settings would affect how long the run history is stored in the containers and tables?

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-integration-services-blog/retention-in-logic-apps-standard-including-the-retention-of/ba-p/3662627

Or what history is affected by changing those settings ?