Add documentation on using multiple configs for complex retention schemes

README.md

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ It handles __recurring or one-off backups of Docker volumes__ to a __local direc
   - [Replace deprecated `BACKUP_FROM_SNAPSHOT` usage](#replace-deprecated-backup_from_snapshot-usage)
   - [Using a custom Docker host](#using-a-custom-docker-host)
   - [Run multiple backup schedules in the same container](#run-multiple-backup-schedules-in-the-same-container)
+  - [Define different retention schedules](#define-different-retention-schedules)
 - [Recipes](#recipes)
   - [Backing up to AWS S3](#backing-up-to-aws-s3)
   - [Backing up to Filebase](#backing-up-to-filebase)
@@ -739,6 +740,39 @@ The exact order of schedules that use the same cron expression is not specified.
 In case you need your schedules to overlap, you need to create a dedicated container for each schedule instead.
 When changing the configuration, you currently need to manually restart the container for the changes to take effect.
 
+### Define different retention schedules
+
+If you want to manage backup retention on different schedules, the most straight forward approach is to define a dedicated configuration for retention rule using a different prefix in the `BACKUP_FILENAME` parameter and then run them on different cron schedules.
+
+For example, if you wanted to keep daily backups for 7 days, weekly backups for a month, and retain monthly backups forever, you could create three configuration files and mount them into `/etc/dockervolumebackup.d`:
+
+```ini
+# 01daily.conf
+BACKUP_FILENAME="daily-backup-%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S.tar.gz"
+# run every day at 2am
+BACKUP_CRON_EXPRESSION="0 2 * * *"
+BACKUP_PRUNING_PREFIX="daily-backup-"
+BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS="7"
+```
+
+```ini
+# 02weekly.conf
+BACKUP_FILENAME="weekly-backup-%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S.tar.gz"
+# run every monday at 3am
+BACKUP_CRON_EXPRESSION="0 3 * * 1"
+BACKUP_PRUNING_PREFIX="weekly-backup-"
+BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS="31"
+```
+
+```ini
+# 03monthly.conf
+BACKUP_FILENAME="monthly-backup-%Y-%m-%dT%H-%M-%S.tar.gz"
+# run every 1st of a month at 4am
+BACKUP_CRON_EXPRESSION="0 4 1 * *"
+```
+
+Note that while it's possible to define colliding cron schedules for each of these configurations, you might need to adjust the value for `LOCK_TIMEOUT` in case your backups are large and might take longer than an hour.
+
 ## Recipes
 
 This section lists configuration for some real-world use cases that you can mix and match according to your needs.