Vector Storage Data Disappears from Azure OpenAI Assistant

Question

Vector Storage Data Disappears from Azure OpenAI Assistant

Idan Aharony 0

Description: We are experiencing an issue with the Azure OpenAI Assistant where the vector storage remains, but all files inside disappear after a few days.

Steps to Reproduce:

Create multiple Assistants via the Azure OpenAI Playground.
Retrieve the Assistant IDs and Vector Storage IDs from the Playground.
Upload a small .txt file to the vector storage for each Assistant.
Perform a daily health check by running all Assistants to keep the storage data active.
After a few days, check the vector storage and observe that all .txt files are missing, while the vector storage itself still exists.

Expected Behavior: The .txt files inside the vector storage should persist unless manually deleted, especially since we are actively running the Assistants daily to maintain activity.

Actual Behavior: Despite running daily health checks by executing all Assistants, the vector storage files still disappear after a few days, while the storage itself remains.

Environment Details:

Azure OpenAI Playground
Multiple Assistants
Assistant and Vector Storage IDs retrieved manually

Impact: This issue disrupts our workflow, requiring us to repeatedly re-upload files. The daily execution of all Assistants did not prevent the file loss.

Issue Title: Vector Storage Data Disappears from Azure OpenAI Assistant

Description:
We are experiencing an issue with the Azure OpenAI Assistant where the vector storage remains, but all files inside disappear after a few days.

Steps to Reproduce:

Create multiple Assistants via the Azure OpenAI Playground.
Retrieve the Assistant IDs and Vector Storage IDs from the Playground.
Upload a small .txt file to the vector storage for each Assistant.
Perform a daily health check by running all Assistants to keep the storage data active.
After a few days, check the vector storage and observe that all .txt files are missing, while the vector storage itself still exists.

Expected Behavior:
The .txt files inside the vector storage should persist unless manually deleted, especially since we are actively running the Assistants daily to maintain activity.

Actual Behavior:
Despite running daily health checks by executing all Assistants, the vector storage files still disappear after a few days, while the storage itself remains.

kothapally Snigdha 1,715 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-12T00:44:29.87+00:00

Hi Idan Aharony

It appears that the issue you are experiencing with the Azure OpenAI Assistant, where files in the vector storage disappear after a few days, may be related to the expiration policies associated with vector stores. Vector stores created using thread helpers have a default expiration policy of seven days after they were last active. If the vector store is not actively used within this timeframe, it may lead to the loss of files.

To mitigate this, ensure that the vector store remains active by performing actions that keep it engaged, or consider recreating the vector store with the same files before the expiration period. Additionally, you can set custom expiration policies when creating or updating the vector store to better manage its lifecycle. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/openai/how-to/file-search?tabs=python#vector-stores

I hope these helps you. Thank you!

Your answer

kothapally Snigdha 1,715 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-12T00:44:29.87+00:00

Hi Idan Aharony

It appears that the issue you are experiencing with the Azure OpenAI Assistant, where files in the vector storage disappear after a few days, may be related to the expiration policies associated with vector stores. Vector stores created using thread helpers have a default expiration policy of seven days after they were last active. If the vector store is not actively used within this timeframe, it may lead to the loss of files.

To mitigate this, ensure that the vector store remains active by performing actions that keep it engaged, or consider recreating the vector store with the same files before the expiration period. Additionally, you can set custom expiration policies when creating or updating the vector store to better manage its lifecycle. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/openai/how-to/file-search?tabs=python#vector-stores

I hope these helps you. Thank you!

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Vector Storage Data Disappears from Azure OpenAI Assistant

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