Pipedrive rotting deals: what resets the clock and how to clean up stale deals

Rotting in Pipedrive counts the days since a deal was last updated, and you set the number of days per stage. When the time is up, the deal's tile turns red in the pipeline view. Editing any deal detail, adding a note, marking an activity done, scheduling an activity or moving the deal to another stage restarts the clock. The due date of a future activity doesn't hold it, and in our test editing the linked person or an open activity's subject didn't restart it either. To list rotten deals, filter the deals list on "Update time is exactly or earlier than Rotten time".

Tested in a Pipedrive sandbox on November 3, 2026, through the API, on a test pipeline we created and deleted. Steps and limits from Pipedrive's help center. Last checked: November 3, 2026. No deal actually went rotten during the test, since that takes at least a day. What we couldn't verify.

How to turn on rotting for a stage

Rotting is set stage by stage, and you can turn it on for as many stages as you want (rotting feature article, updated September 3, 2026).

1. Open the pipeline view.
2. Click the pencil icon to edit the pipeline.
3. On the stage you want, turn on the Rotting in (days) toggle.
4. Enter the number of days.
5. Click Save changes.

Pipedrive's stage editing article (updated September 3, 2026) says only users with deal admin permissions can set up and edit a pipeline, which is where this setting lives. The rotting article itself doesn't name a permission.

When a deal's time runs out, the rotting article says its tile turns red in the pipeline view. The pipeline view article (same date) describes the same highlight: deals that haven't been updated recently.

What restarts the rotting clock, and what doesn't

The rotting article says the period is based on the deal's last updated time. Our sandbox matched it to the second: a deal's rotten time was its update time plus the stage's days. With 1 day of rotting, a deal updated on November 3, 2026 at 14:12:56 had a rotten time of November 4 at 14:12:56. A deal is rotten once that moment has passed.

What we measured on November 3, 2026, compared with what Pipedrive's help says:

The rotting article also says updates that don't show in the changelog restart it, so a deal can look untouched in its history and still not rot.

Two details worth knowing:

• A future activity doesn't keep a deal fresh. Scheduling it restarts the clock once, on the day you schedule it. Pipedrive's help says the next activity date is ignored, so a deal with a call planned three months out can rot long before that call.
• Marking an activity done sets the deal's last activity date to the activity's due date, not to today. In our test, an activity due in 30 days and marked done left a last activity date 30 days in the future.

Changing the days doesn't give deals a fresh start

If you change a stage from 1 day to 3, Pipedrive recalculates each deal's rotten time from its old update time. In our test the rotten time moved forward exactly 2 days, and the update time didn't change. Turning rotting off cleared the rotten time on the deal; turning it back on recalculated it from the same old update time.

So a new setting changes the threshold, not the deals: the count still runs from each deal's last update. A deal with no update for 10 days is still 10 days without an update, whatever the setting.

How to find rotten deals

Pipedrive's common filters article (updated September 3, 2026) shows the condition only as a screenshot from 2022:

1. Open the deals list view.
2. Open the filter menu and create a new filter.
3. Add the condition Deal > Update time > is exactly or earlier than > Rotten time. "Rotten time" is a value you pick, not a date you type.
4. Add Status is open, so only open deals show. Pipedrive's screenshot has only the first condition; we added this one in our test.
5. Save the filter, so you can open it every week.

We created this same filter through the API on November 3, 2026 (update time earlier than or equal to rotten time, status open), and Pipedrive accepted it. It returned 0 deals, which was right, because none of ours had rotted yet. We haven't seen it return a rotten deal.

Rotting only works on stages where it's turned on. For other stages, the field it's based on is Update time, and a filter on Update time earlier than a date you choose lists deals with no update since then. We didn't test that filter. Be careful with Last activity date for this: as above, marking a future activity done can put that date in the future.

What to do with rotten deals

Mark them lost, with a reason

Pipedrive's bulk edit article (updated September 3, 2026) lets you set status, lost time and lost reason on many deals at once:

1. Open your rotten deals filter in the list view and check the count.
2. Select the deals.
3. In the bulk edit panel, set Status to lost and pick a lost reason.
4. Look at Run automations before you confirm. It's selected by default, so automations that react to deal updates can fire for every deal.
5. Confirm.

The article doesn't state a maximum number of deals per bulk edit. In our test a lost deal had no rotten time, and a filter with Status is open won't show it anyway. If you mark the wrong deals lost, Restore data can revert a bulk edit for 30 days: see can you undo a bulk edit in Pipedrive.

Archive them

Pipedrive's archive article (updated September 3, 2026) gives two bulk routes: select deals in the list view and click Archive, or set Archive status in bulk edit. An automation can also archive items after a period without updates, such as won or lost deals with no updates in 90 days.

Before you archive, know what an archived deal can't do (archive article and its FAQ, same date): you can't change its title, value, stage, owner or custom fields, and you can't add new activities. Notes and emails are still allowed. The API's standard deal lists don't return archived deals. Archiving doesn't stop the count: in our test, archiving restarted the deal's clock, and the archived deal still had a rotten time.

Give them to someone who will work them

Bulk edit can also change the owner, and pipeline and stage. Editing a deal restarts the clock, so a deal you hand over looks fresh in the pipeline before the new owner has done anything with it. A stage move restarted it in our test; we didn't test an owner change.

Delete them

If the deals are junk (tests, duplicates), delete them from the list view. They come back for 30 days from Restore data. Steps and what goes with them: how to bulk delete in Pipedrive.

Can an automation do it when a deal rots?

Not as far as Pipedrive documents. Its workflow automation article (updated September 3, 2026) lists event triggers (added, updated, deleted) and date triggers, on Growth and higher plans. There's no rotting trigger.

Doing it with the API or an AI

This part matters if you ask Claude, ChatGPT or a script to find stale deals for you.

• API v2 deals have no rotten time. It isn't in the v2 create, get or list responses, and it isn't an include_fields option (v2 OpenAPI spec, read November 3, 2026). Pipedrive points everyone to v2, so an AI working through v2 can't simply ask for "rotten deals".
• v1 deal endpoints return rotten_time. We read it from GET /v1/deals/{id} and GET /v1/deals. The v1 spec describes it as the date and time the deal's status changes to rotten. Those two endpoints have been out of support since August 1, 2026 and are gone from the v1 spec, though they still answered in our test. The v1 spec still lists rotten_time in the deals timeline response (GET /v1/deals/timeline), which isn't marked deprecated; we didn't call it. Out of support means they can change or stop without notice (what's out of support).
• The stage settings are in both versions: v1 stages have rotten_flag and rotten_days; v2 stages have is_deal_rot_enabled and days_to_rotten. They're the same setting: a stage we created in v2 with 1 day read in v1 as rotten_flag: true, rotten_days: 1.
• The route that doesn't depend on v1 deals: save the rotten deals filter (in the app, or with POST /v1/filters; filters aren't deprecated), then list deals with GET /api/v2/deals?filter_id=. The filter_id overrides the other list filters. The other option is to read each stage's days_to_rotten and compare it with each deal's update time; v2 lists take updated_until for that.

We don't know yet which tools Pipedrive's official MCP or Nova use for this, or whether they can list rotten deals.

What it costs in API tokens

Costs we measured on November 3, 2026:

A worked example for 5,000 open deals:

• Finding the rotten ones: reading all 5,000 is 1 stage list (5) plus 10 pages of 500 v2 deals (100), about 105 tokens. With the saved rotten filter you only page through the deals it returns, so it costs less.
• Marking 200 of them lost with a reason: 200 × 5 = 1,000 tokens.
• Archiving the same 200: 200 × 7 = 1,400 tokens.

The search is cheap; the writes are where the budget goes, one deal per call. Work out your own numbers with the Pipedrive API token calculator, and see how the daily budget works in why Claude used up your Pipedrive API tokens.

A safe routine for an AI: have it list the deals from your saved filter, show you the count and a sample, then change them in batches of 50 to 100 and check the result in Pipedrive. The full routine is in how to bulk edit with AI safely.

Where Pipedrive's help contradicts itself

• Time in stage or time since the last update? The stage editing article says rotting highlights deals that "stay in a stage for too long" and that you'll be notified when deals stay in the same stage past that time. The rotting article and the pipeline view article say it's the time since the last update. Our test agrees with them: changing a deal's value restarted the clock without any stage change.
• "You'll be notified." We found no notification for rotting described anywhere else in the help.
• Which plans have automations. The workflow automation article says Growth and higher. The archive article says Advanced and higher, which is an old plan name. Go by the workflow automation article.

Common mistakes

• Expecting a new rotting setting to reset deals. Changing the days recalculates from each deal's last update; nobody gets a fresh start.
• Counting on a future activity to keep a deal from rotting. Pipedrive ignores the due date. Scheduling restarts the clock once, and the deal can rot long before the activity is due.
• Reading "Last activity date" as "last time someone worked this deal". Marking an activity done sets it to the activity's due date, which can be in the future.
• Archiving to make rotting go away. Archiving restarted the clock in our test and the archived deal still had a rotten time. You also can't edit its stage, value or owner while it's archived.
• Bulk marking deals lost with "Run automations" on without checking which automations react to deal updates.
• Letting an AI look for rotten time on API v2. It isn't there. Give it your saved filter instead.

What we couldn't verify

• A deal actually turning rotten after N days, the red tile, and the filter (in the app or through filter_id) returning it. That needs a deal left alone for at least 24 hours.
• Emails and files restarting the clock, which the help says they do, and whether changes made in the app behave like our API changes.
• Which plans include rotting (the rotting article gives no plan note) and whether regular users can turn it on.
• What the "notified" in the stage editing article refers to, and where that notification would appear.
• Whether workflow automations have any rotting condition. Search snippets of 2022 community threads say rotting isn't an automation trigger because it isn't a user action, and suggest workarounds with Zapier or update time conditions. Those threads now redirect, so we couldn't read them. A third-party page described a "Deal is rotting" automation condition; that page now returns 404 and the help doesn't mention it.
• A "Days Rotting" filter in Insights deal reports, mentioned in a January 2024 community post we can no longer open.
• How rotting shows in the mobile app.
• Whether Pipedrive's official MCP or Nova can list rotten deals.
• How long a newly scheduled activity takes to show on the deal. In one of our two runs, the deal didn't show the new activity when we read it about 4 seconds after the call.
• Whether won deals have a rotten time. We tested lost and archived deals only.

Where Pipehand fits

Pipehand is in development as a replacement for Pipedrive's MCP, with early access for founding members from January 2027. It's designed to let your AI find stale deals from your saved filter and update them in bulk. Before anything is written, Pipehand will show you a preview of the change, and you'll be able to undo it afterwards.

If you want your AI to clean up rotten deals with a preview and an undo, join the waitlist on pipehand.com.

FAQ

What does rotting mean in Pipedrive?

A deal is rotting when it hasn't been updated for the number of days set on its stage. Its tile turns red in the pipeline view. Rotting is set per stage, in the pipeline editor, with the "Rotting in (days)" toggle.

What resets the rotting timer in Pipedrive? Does scheduling an activity count?

Any update to the deal: editing a detail, adding a note, marking an activity done, and in our test moving it to another stage. Scheduling a new activity counts too. The help also lists email actions and files. Editing the linked person or an open activity's subject didn't reset it in our test.

Why is my deal rotting if it has a future activity?

Because rotting ignores the due date of the next activity. Scheduling the activity reset the clock once, on the day you scheduled it. If nothing else updates the deal, it rots again after the stage's days, even if the activity is weeks away.

Does moving a deal to another stage reset rotting?

Yes. In our November 2026 test, moving a deal to another stage updated it and the count started over. In a stage without rotting, the deal has no rotten time at all.

How do I filter for rotten deals in Pipedrive?

In the deals list view, create a filter with Deal > Update time > is exactly or earlier than > Rotten time, add Status is Open and save it. Rotten time is a value you choose from the list, not a date.

Can a Pipedrive automation trigger when a deal goes rotten?

Not that Pipedrive documents. Workflow automations (Growth and higher) have added, updated, deleted and date triggers, and no rotting trigger. What you can do is save a rotten deals filter and check it on a schedule.

How do I turn off rotting in Pipedrive?

Edit the pipeline, turn off the Rotting in (days) toggle on the stage and save. In our test the deals in that stage lost their rotten time. If you turn it back on, Pipedrive counts from each deal's last update, not from that day.

Do lost or archived deals rot?

In our test a lost deal had no rotten time, and reopening it started a new count. An archived deal still had a rotten time: archiving restarted its clock but didn't stop it. We didn't test won deals.

Can I get rotten deals through the Pipedrive API?

Not directly in API v2: v2 deals have no rotten time field. The v1 deal endpoints return rotten_time, but they've been out of support since August 1, 2026. Use a saved rotten deals filter with GET /api/v2/deals?filter_id=, or compare each deal's update time with its stage's days_to_rotten.