diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index becafa4..cdbd3f7 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -4917,6 +4917,23 @@ dependencies = [
  "url",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "sqd-hotblocks-retain"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "anyhow",
+ "clap",
+ "reqwest",
+ "serde",
+ "serde_json",
+ "serde_yaml",
+ "sqd-primitives",
+ "tokio",
+ "tracing",
+ "tracing-subscriber",
+ "url",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "sqd-polars"
 version = "0.1.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 3dcb0cc..efa4e4a 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ members = [
     "crates/data-source",
     "crates/dataset",
     "crates/hotblocks",
+    "crates/hotblocks-retain",
     "crates/polars",
     "crates/primitives",
     "crates/query",
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 2252b1e..bcf8bc6 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -22,6 +22,16 @@ COPY --from=hotblocks-builder /app/target/release/sqd-hotblocks .
 ENTRYPOINT ["/app/sqd-hotblocks"]
 
 
+FROM builder AS hotblocks-retain-builder
+RUN cargo build -p sqd-hotblocks-retain --release
+
+
+FROM rust AS hotblocks-retain
+WORKDIR /app
+COPY --from=hotblocks-retain-builder /app/target/release/sqd-hotblocks-retain .
+ENTRYPOINT ["/app/sqd-hotblocks-retain"]
+
+
 FROM builder AS archive-builder
 RUN cargo build -p sqd-archive --release
 
diff --git a/crates/hotblocks-retain/Cargo.toml b/crates/hotblocks-retain/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4b49b47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/hotblocks-retain/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+[package]
+name = "sqd-hotblocks-retain"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2024"
+
+[dependencies]
+anyhow = { workspace = true }
+clap = { workspace = true, features = ["derive", "env"] }
+reqwest = { workspace = true, features = ["gzip", "json", "stream"] }
+serde = { workspace = true, features = ["derive"] }
+serde_json = { workspace = true }
+serde_yaml = { workspace = true }
+sqd-primitives = { path = "../primitives" }
+tokio = { workspace = true, features = ["full"] }
+tracing = { workspace = true }
+tracing-subscriber = { workspace = true, features = ["env-filter", "json"] }
+url = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/cli.rs b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/cli.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1da7eca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/cli.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+use std::path::PathBuf;
+
+use clap::Parser;
+use url::Url;
+
+#[derive(Parser, Debug)]
+#[command(version, about = "Hotblocks retain service", long_about = None)]
+pub struct Cli {
+    /// URL of the Hotblocks service to send dataset information to
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub hotblocks_url: Url,
+
+    /// URL of the status endpoint to poll for dataset updates
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub status_url: Url,
+
+    /// Path to the YAML config file listing datasets to track
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub datasets_config: PathBuf,
+
+    /// URL of the datasets YAML file listing available network datasets
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub datasets_url: Url,
+
+    /// Interval in seconds between refreshing the datasets list
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "3600", value_parser = clap::value_parser!(u64).range(1..))]
+    pub datasets_update_interval_secs: u64,
+
+    /// Additional delay in seconds after effective_from before applying retention
+    #[arg(long, default_value = "0")]
+    pub retain_delay_secs: u64,
+}
diff --git a/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/datasets.rs b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/datasets.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..df5109c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/datasets.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+use crate::types::DatasetId;
+use serde::Deserialize;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use url::Url;
+
+#[derive(Deserialize)]
+struct Dataset {
+    name: String,
+    id: DatasetId,
+}
+
+#[derive(Deserialize)]
+struct DatasetsFile {
+    #[serde(rename = "sqd-network-datasets")]
+    sqd_network_datasets: Vec<Dataset>,
+}
+
+/// Downloads the datasets manifest and returns a map from dataset name to dataset ID.
+pub async fn get_name_to_id(
+    client: &reqwest::Client,
+    url: &Url,
+) -> anyhow::Result<HashMap<DatasetId, String>> {
+    let bytes = client
+        .get(url.as_str())
+        .send()
+        .await?
+        .error_for_status()?
+        .bytes()
+        .await?;
+
+    let file: DatasetsFile = serde_yaml::from_slice(&bytes)?;
+
+    let map = file
+        .sqd_network_datasets
+        .into_iter()
+        .map(|d| (d.name, d.id))
+        .collect();
+
+    Ok(map)
+}
diff --git a/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/hotblocks.rs b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/hotblocks.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75acbef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/hotblocks.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+use reqwest::Client;
+use sqd_primitives::BlockNumber;
+use url::Url;
+
+pub async fn set_retention(
+    client: &Client,
+    base_url: &Url,
+    dataset: &str,
+    from_block: BlockNumber,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let retention_url = base_url.join(&format!("/datasets/{dataset}/retention"))?;
+
+    client
+        .post(retention_url)
+        .json(&serde_json::json!({"FromBlock": {"number": from_block}}))
+        .send()
+        .await?
+        .error_for_status()?;
+
+    Ok(())
+}
diff --git a/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/main.rs b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f18180
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,216 @@
+mod cli;
+mod datasets;
+mod hotblocks;
+mod status;
+mod types;
+
+use anyhow::Context;
+use clap::Parser;
+use cli::Cli;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::time::{Duration, SystemTime, UNIX_EPOCH};
+use tokio::time::Instant;
+use types::{DatasetId, DatasetsConfig};
+use url::Url;
+
+fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let args = Cli::parse();
+
+    let datasets: DatasetsConfig = {
+        let contents = std::fs::read_to_string(&args.datasets_config)
+            .with_context(|| format!("failed to read {}", args.datasets_config.display()))?;
+        serde_yaml::from_str(&contents)
+            .with_context(|| format!("failed to parse {}", args.datasets_config.display()))?
+    };
+
+    init_tracing();
+
+    tokio::runtime::Builder::new_multi_thread()
+        .enable_all()
+        .build()?
+        .block_on(
+            HotblocksRetain::new(
+                args.hotblocks_url,
+                args.status_url,
+                args.datasets_url,
+                datasets,
+                Duration::from_secs(args.datasets_update_interval_secs),
+                Duration::from_secs(args.retain_delay_secs),
+            )
+            .run(),
+        )?;
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+struct HotblocksRetain {
+    client: reqwest::Client,
+    hotblocks_url: Url,
+    status_url: Url,
+    datasets_url: Url,
+    datasets: DatasetsConfig,
+    datasets_update_interval: Duration,
+    retain_delay: Duration,
+    name_to_id: HashMap<String, DatasetId>,
+    last_datasets_refresh: Instant,
+    last_effective_from: Option<u64>,
+}
+
+impl HotblocksRetain {
+    fn new(
+        hotblocks_url: Url,
+        status_url: Url,
+        datasets_url: Url,
+        datasets: DatasetsConfig,
+        datasets_update_interval: Duration,
+        retain_delay: Duration,
+    ) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            client: reqwest::Client::new(),
+            hotblocks_url,
+            status_url,
+            datasets_url,
+            datasets,
+            datasets_update_interval,
+            retain_delay,
+            name_to_id: HashMap::new(),
+            last_datasets_refresh: Instant::now() - datasets_update_interval,
+            last_effective_from: None,
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn run(&mut self) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+        loop {
+            self.maybe_refresh_datasets().await;
+
+            let status = match status::get_status(&self.client, self.status_url.as_str()).await {
+                Ok(status) => status,
+                Err(err) => {
+                    tracing::warn!(error = ?err, "failed to fetch status");
+                    tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+                    continue;
+                }
+            };
+
+            if self.last_effective_from == Some(status.effective_from) {
+                tracing::info!("effective_from unchanged, re-checking in 5 minutes");
+                tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(300)).await;
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            let now = SystemTime::now()
+                .duration_since(UNIX_EPOCH)
+                .unwrap()
+                .as_secs();
+
+            let apply_at = status.effective_from + self.retain_delay.as_secs();
+            if now < apply_at {
+                let wait_secs = apply_at - now;
+                tracing::info!(
+                    wait_secs,
+                    effective_from = status.effective_from,
+                    retain_delay_secs = self.retain_delay.as_secs(),
+                    "waiting for effective time + retain delay"
+                );
+                tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(wait_secs)).await;
+            }
+
+            if self.apply_retention(&status).await {
+                self.last_effective_from = Some(status.effective_from);
+            } else {
+                tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(30)).await;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn maybe_refresh_datasets(&mut self) {
+        if self.last_datasets_refresh.elapsed() < self.datasets_update_interval {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        match datasets::get_name_to_id(&self.client, &self.datasets_url).await {
+            Ok(map) => {
+                tracing::info!("refreshed datasets manifest");
+                self.name_to_id = map;
+                self.last_datasets_refresh = Instant::now();
+            }
+            Err(err) => {
+                tracing::warn!(error = ?err, "failed to refresh datasets manifest");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    async fn apply_retention(&self, status: &status::SchedulingStatus) -> bool {
+        let statuses = status
+            .datasets
+            .iter()
+            .map(|dataset| (dataset.id.as_str(), dataset.height))
+            .collect::<HashMap<_, _>>();
+
+        let mut all_success = true;
+
+        for (dataset, props) in &self.datasets {
+            let dataset_id = if let Some(id) = props.as_ref().and_then(|p| p.id.as_deref()) {
+                id
+            } else {
+                match self.name_to_id.get(dataset) {
+                    Some(id) => id.as_str(),
+                    None => {
+                        tracing::warn!(dataset, "dataset not found in manifest, skipping");
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                }
+            };
+
+            match statuses.get(dataset_id) {
+                Some(Some(height)) => {
+                    match hotblocks::set_retention(
+                        &self.client,
+                        &self.hotblocks_url,
+                        dataset,
+                        *height,
+                    )
+                    .await
+                    {
+                        Ok(()) => {
+                            tracing::info!(dataset, height, "applied retention policy");
+                        }
+                        Err(err) => {
+                            all_success = false;
+                            tracing::warn!(dataset, height, error = ?err, "failed to apply retention");
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                Some(None) => {
+                    tracing::info!(dataset, "dataset has no reported height yet");
+                }
+                None => {
+                    tracing::warn!(dataset, "dataset not found in status");
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        all_success
+    }
+}
+
+fn init_tracing() {
+    use std::io::IsTerminal;
+
+    let env_filter = tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::builder().parse_lossy(
+        std::env::var(tracing_subscriber::EnvFilter::DEFAULT_ENV).unwrap_or("info".to_string()),
+    );
+
+    if std::io::stdout().is_terminal() {
+        tracing_subscriber::fmt()
+            .with_env_filter(env_filter)
+            .compact()
+            .init();
+    } else {
+        tracing_subscriber::fmt()
+            .with_env_filter(env_filter)
+            .json()
+            .with_current_span(false)
+            .init();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/status.rs b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/status.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ecab351
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/status.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+use crate::types::DatasetId;
+use serde::Deserialize;
+use sqd_primitives::BlockNumber;
+
+#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
+pub struct SchedulingStatus {
+    pub datasets: Vec<DatasetStatus>,
+    pub effective_from: u64,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Deserialize)]
+pub struct DatasetStatus {
+    pub id: DatasetId,
+    pub height: Option<BlockNumber>,
+}
+
+pub async fn get_status(client: &reqwest::Client, url: &str) -> anyhow::Result<SchedulingStatus> {
+    let status = client
+        .get(url)
+        .send()
+        .await?
+        .error_for_status()?
+        .json::<SchedulingStatus>()
+        .await?;
+    Ok(status)
+}
diff --git a/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/types.rs b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/types.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81ae409
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/hotblocks-retain/src/types.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+use serde::Deserialize;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+pub type DatasetId = String; // s3://<bucket-name>
+
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Deserialize)]
+pub struct DatasetProps {
+    pub id: Option<DatasetId>,
+}
+
+pub type DatasetsConfig = HashMap<String, Option<DatasetProps>>;