Best way to cleanup inactive Catalog items and its associated records.

[Rajini2]

We need to remove catalog items that have been inactive for more than 6 months. This cleanup will include deleting associated variables, client scripts, UI policies, and UI policy actions.

Is there an out-of-the-box (OOB) solution to handle this cleanup, or should we implement it using a scheduled job?

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@Rajini2 

this needs to be handled manually and carefully as you need to ensure all components related to those catalog items are either deleted or deactivated

I will recommend not deleting but just deactivate those

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[Deepak Shaerma]

Hi @Rajini2 

There is no specific out-of-the-box (OOB) feature that automatically deletes inactive Catalog Items and their associated components (variables, scripts, policies) after a 6-month threshold.

You should define "inactivity" carefully. Relying only on the active=false flag isn't enough; you likely want to check the last time it was ordered.

• Query: Look for items where active = false AND sys_updated_on < [6 months ago].

From background script you can try this:

var monthsThreshold = 6;
var cutoffDate = new GlideDateTime();
cutoffDate.addMonthsLocalTime(-monthsThreshold);

var catItem = new GlideRecord('sc_cat_item');
catItem.addQuery('active', false);
catItem.addQuery('sys_updated_on', '<', cutoffDate);
catItem.query();

while (catItem.next()) {
    gs.info('Cleaning up inactive Catalog Item: ' + catItem.name);
    
    // Deleting the item usually triggers cascade deletes for:
    // - Variables (item_option_new)
    // - Variable Sets (links)
    // - Catalog UI Policies
    // - Catalog Client Scripts
    
    catItem.deleteRecord(); 
}

Happy to help! ‌‌
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Warm Regards,
Deepak Sharma
Community Rising Star 2025

[Dr Atul G- LNG]

Hi @Rajini2 

We did this exercise a few months back, and here is the approach we used:

• Create a report to identify items for which no requests have been raised in the last six months.

• Identify the flows configured for those items and determine whether they are part of a single flow or separate flows.

• Check the attached variables and variable sets associated with those items.

• Also there are SLA and report attached you need to remove that as well.

[Rajini2]

Will lean towards scheduled job. Thanks everyone!