Garbage collection rule for column families within a table.
Cells in the column family (within a table) fitting the rule will be
deleted during garbage collection.
A stringgc_expressioncan also be used with API requests, but
that value would be superceded by agc_rule. As a result, we
don't support that feature and instead support via native classes.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Module column_family (2.32.0)\n\nVersion latestkeyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.32.0 (latest)](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/latest/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.31.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.31.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.30.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.30.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.29.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.29.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.28.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.28.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.26.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.26.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.25.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.25.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.24.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.24.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.23.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.23.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.22.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.22.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.21.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.21.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.20.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.20.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.19.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.19.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.18.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.18.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.17.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.17.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.16.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.16.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.15.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.15.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.14.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.14.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.13.2](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.13.2/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.12.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.12.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.11.3](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.11.3/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.10.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.10.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.9.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.9.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.8.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.8.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.7.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.7.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.6.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.6.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.5.2](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.5.2/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.4.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.4.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.3.3](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.3.3/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.2.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.2.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.1.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.1.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [2.0.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/2.0.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.7.3](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.7.3/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.6.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.6.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.5.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.5.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.4.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.4.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.3.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.3.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.2.1](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.2.1/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.1.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.1.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [1.0.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/1.0.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family)\n- [0.34.0](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/0.34.0/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family) \nUser friendly container for Google Cloud Bigtable Column Family.\n\nClasses\n-------\n\n### [ColumnFamily](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/latest/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family.ColumnFamily)\n\n ColumnFamily(column_family_id, table, gc_rule=None)\n\nRepresentation of a Google Cloud Bigtable Column Family.\n\nWe can use a `ColumnFamily` to:\n\n- `create` itself\n- `update` itself\n- `delete` itself\n\n### [GCRuleIntersection](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/latest/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family.GCRuleIntersection)\n\n GCRuleIntersection(rules)\n\nIntersection of garbage collection rules.\n\nFor example:\n\n.. literalinclude:: snippets_table.py\n:start-after: \\[START bigtable_api_create_family_gc_intersection\\]\n:end-before: \\[END bigtable_api_create_family_gc_intersection\\]\n:dedent: 4\n\n### [GCRuleUnion](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/latest/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family.GCRuleUnion)\n\n GCRuleUnion(rules)\n\nUnion of garbage collection rules.\n\nFor example:\n\n.. literalinclude:: snippets_table.py\n:start-after: \\[START bigtable_api_create_family_gc_union\\]\n:end-before: \\[END bigtable_api_create_family_gc_union\\]\n:dedent: 4\n\n### [GarbageCollectionRule](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/latest/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family.GarbageCollectionRule)\n\n GarbageCollectionRule()\n\nGarbage collection rule for column families within a table.\n\nCells in the column family (within a table) fitting the rule will be\ndeleted during garbage collection.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n| **Note:** This class is a do-nothing base class for all GC rules.\nA string `gc_expression` can also be used with API requests, but that value would be superceded by a `gc_rule`. As a result, we don't support that feature and instead support via native classes.\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\n### [MaxAgeGCRule](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/latest/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family.MaxAgeGCRule)\n\n MaxAgeGCRule(max_age)\n\nGarbage collection limiting the age of a cell.\n\nFor example:\n\n.. literalinclude:: snippets_table.py\n:start-after: \\[START bigtable_api_create_family_gc_max_age\\]\n:end-before: \\[END bigtable_api_create_family_gc_max_age\\]\n:dedent: 4\n\n### [MaxVersionsGCRule](/python/docs/reference/bigtable/latest/google.cloud.bigtable.column_family.MaxVersionsGCRule)\n\n MaxVersionsGCRule(max_num_versions)\n\nGarbage collection limiting the number of versions of a cell.\n\nFor example:\n\n.. literalinclude:: snippets_table.py\n:start-after: \\[START bigtable_api_create_family_gc_max_versions\\]\n:end-before: \\[END bigtable_api_create_family_gc_max_versions\\]\n:dedent: 4"]]
