sp_mergemetadataretentioncleanup (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Performs a manual cleanup of metadata in the MSmerge_genhistory, MSmerge_contents, MSmerge_tombstone, MSmerge_past_partition_mappings, and MSmerge_current_partition_mappings system tables. This stored procedure is executed at each Publisher and Subscriber in the topology.
Transact-SQL syntax conventions
Syntax
sp_mergemetadataretentioncleanup
[ [ @num_genhistory_rows = ] num_genhistory_rows OUTPUT ]
[ , [ @num_contents_rows = ] num_contents_rows OUTPUT ]
[ , [ @num_tombstone_rows = ] num_tombstone_rows OUTPUT ]
[ , [ @aggressive_cleanup_only = ] aggressive_cleanup_only ]
[ ; ]
Arguments
[ @num_genhistory_rows = ] num_genhistory_rows OUTPUT
Returns the number of rows cleaned-up from the MSmerge_genhistory table. @num_genhistory_rows is an OUTPUT parameter of type int, with a default of 0.
[ @num_contents_rows = ] num_contents_rows OUTPUT
Returns the number of rows cleaned-up from the MSmerge_contents table. @num_contents_rows is an OUTPUT parameter of type int, with a default of 0
[ @num_tombstone_rows = ] num_tombstone_rows OUTPUT
Returns the number of rows cleaned-up from the MSmerge_tombstone table. @num_tombstone_rows is an OUTPUT parameter of type int, with a default of 0.
[ @aggressive_cleanup_only = ] aggressive_cleanup_only
Identified for informational purposes only. Not supported. Future compatibility is not guaranteed.
Return code values
0 (success) or 1 (failure).
Remarks
If there are multiple publications on a database, and any one of those publications uses an infinite publication retention period, running sp_mergemetadataretentioncleanup doesn't clean up the merge replication change tracking metadata for the database. For this reason, use infinite publication retention with caution. To determine if a publication has an infinite retention period, execute sp_helpmergepublication at the Publisher and note any publications in the result set with a value of 0 for retention.
Permissions
Only members of the db_owner fixed database role or users in the publication access list for a published database can execute sp_mergemetadataretentioncleanup.