# MessagesUntil

Set this parameter to retrieve messages that were last modified before the specified date. This parameter applies to channel messages, channel message replies, and user chat messages.

Specify the date in UTC time using one of the following formats:

- A date in the format `YYYY/MM/DD HH:NN:SS`, for example `2021/06/29 00:00:00`.

- A relative date, starting with the character ‘`-`’ followed by a time duration. The time duration is relative to the time when the task begins, which results in a rolling limit. Relative dates support the units year(s), month(s), week(s), day(s), hour(s), minute(s), and second(s). You can shorten the value by abbreviating the units to their first letter (months abbreviates to m, minutes to n). For example:

         -3months 1week
         -3m 1w

  A single value without a unit is read in seconds, so the following are equivalent:

         -1day
         -86400s
         -86400

  Positive values are accepted if they begin with the character '`+`', but be aware that positive values represent times in the future.

With relative dates, items that were previously ingested but no longer meet the limit are removed from the IDOL index.

Type: | Date or relative date
Default: |
Required: | No
Configuration Section: | TaskName or FetchTasks
Example: | To retrieve messages that were last modified before 01 June 2021: `MessagesUntil=2021/06/01 00:00:00` To retrieve messages that are at least 12 hours old: `MessagesUntil=-12h`
See Also: | MessagesSince

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