diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 15033b5..94c4415 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -45,3 +45,8 @@ YTDLP_POT_PROVIDER_URL=
 # ISP proxy product specifically (e.g. Oxylabs "ISP Proxies"), not a plain
 # datacenter proxy — the latter has the same problem as the server itself.
 PROXY_URL=
+
+# Processed raw recordings (raw_segments) older than this get auto-deleted
+# (DB row + file) — PRD's auto-purge lifecycle. Only segments already fully
+# analyzed (no candidate still waiting on STT) are eligible.
+RAW_SEGMENT_TTL_HOURS=24
diff --git a/apps/api-daemon/src/cleanup.ts b/apps/api-daemon/src/cleanup.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6976ab4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api-daemon/src/cleanup.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+import { unlink } from "node:fs/promises";
+import { prisma } from "@streamclipper/db";
+import { env } from "./env";
+
+const CHECK_INTERVAL_MS = 60 * 60 * 1000; // hourly
+
+/**
+ * PRD's auto-purge lifecycle: processed raw recordings get deleted 24h after
+ * capture. Only segments that are done being analyzed (PROCESSED/DISCARDED)
+ * and have no candidate still waiting on STT are eligible — deleting a raw
+ * file mid-analysis or mid-transcription would break the pipeline for it.
+ */
+async function cleanupOnce(): Promise<void> {
+  const cutoff = new Date(Date.now() - env.rawSegmentTtlHours * 60 * 60 * 1000);
+
+  const staleSegments = await prisma.rawSegment.findMany({
+    where: {
+      createdAt: { lt: cutoff },
+      status: { in: ["PROCESSED", "DISCARDED"] },
+      candidates: { none: { status: "PENDING_STT" } },
+    },
+  });
+
+  for (const segment of staleSegments) {
+    await prisma.candidateSegment.deleteMany({ where: { rawSegmentId: segment.id } });
+    await prisma.rawSegment.delete({ where: { id: segment.id } });
+    await unlink(segment.filePath).catch(() => {});
+  }
+
+  if (staleSegments.length > 0) {
+    console.log(`[cleanup] removed ${staleSegments.length} raw segment(s) older than ${env.rawSegmentTtlHours}h`);
+  }
+}
+
+export function startCleanupLoop(): NodeJS.Timeout {
+  console.log(`[cleanup] checking every ${CHECK_INTERVAL_MS}ms, TTL ${env.rawSegmentTtlHours}h`);
+  cleanupOnce().catch((err) => console.error("[cleanup] initial run failed:", err));
+  return setInterval(() => {
+    cleanupOnce().catch((err) => console.error("[cleanup] run failed:", err));
+  }, CHECK_INTERVAL_MS);
+}
diff --git a/apps/api-daemon/src/env.ts b/apps/api-daemon/src/env.ts
index 4c76b45..074a3d7 100644
--- a/apps/api-daemon/src/env.ts
+++ b/apps/api-daemon/src/env.ts
@@ -10,4 +10,5 @@ export const env = {
   ytdlpPotProviderUrl: process.env.YTDLP_POT_PROVIDER_URL ?? "",
   proxyUrl: process.env.PROXY_URL ?? "",
   maxConcurrentCaptures: Number(process.env.MAX_CONCURRENT_CAPTURES ?? 10),
+  rawSegmentTtlHours: Number(process.env.RAW_SEGMENT_TTL_HOURS ?? 24),
 };
diff --git a/apps/api-daemon/src/index.ts b/apps/api-daemon/src/index.ts
index 1570139..40479ea 100644
--- a/apps/api-daemon/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api-daemon/src/index.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { startPollingLoop } from "./youtubePolling";
 import { startStreamIngestWorker } from "./capture/streamIngest";
 import { streamIngestQueue } from "./queues";
 import { startServer } from "./server";
+import { startCleanupLoop } from "./cleanup";
 
 async function forceLiveBypass(youtubeUrl: string) {
   console.log(`[index] FORCE_LIVE_URL set — bypassing polling and capturing directly: ${youtubeUrl}`);
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ async function main() {
   await closeOrphanedSessions();
   startServer();
   startStreamIngestWorker();
+  startCleanupLoop();
 
   if (env.forceLiveUrl) {
     await forceLiveBypass(env.forceLiveUrl);
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 1841e1c..bbc01a4 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ services:
       YTDLP_POT_PROVIDER_URL: http://sc_pot_provider:4416
       MAX_CONCURRENT_CAPTURES: ${MAX_CONCURRENT_CAPTURES:-10}
       PROXY_URL: ${PROXY_URL:-}
+      RAW_SEGMENT_TTL_HOURS: ${RAW_SEGMENT_TTL_HOURS:-24}
     volumes:
       - shared-media:/shared-media
     ports: