diff --git a/ambient-record.sh b/ambient-record.sh
index 7aed9d4..eb60f5f 100755
--- a/ambient-record.sh
+++ b/ambient-record.sh
@@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ fi
 
 CHUNK="${AMBIENT_CHUNK_SECS:-1800}"
 BITRATE="${AMBIENT_BITRATE:-96k}"
-RETAIN="${AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS:-30}"
-SAVE_DIR="${AMBIENT_DIR:-$BASE_DIR/ambient}"
+retain_var="AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS_${CAM}"
+RETAIN="${!retain_var:-${AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS:-30}}"
+SAVE_DIR="${AUDIO_DIR:-$BASE_DIR/audio}"
 
 echo "Ambient recorder started: cam=$CAM  chunk=${CHUNK}s  bitrate=$BITRATE  retain=${RETAIN}d"
 echo "Saving to: $SAVE_DIR/$CAM/"
diff --git a/daily_sunrise_video.sh b/daily_sunrise_video.sh
index 0bee487..9782bfc 100755
--- a/daily_sunrise_video.sh
+++ b/daily_sunrise_video.sh
@@ -242,7 +242,10 @@ if $TEST_MODE; then
         echo "Audio: CAM_RTSP_${CAM_NAME} not set — skipping"
     fi
 else
-    cam_audio="$image_dir/sunrise-audio.m4a"
+    # New path: AUDIO_DIR/sunrise/<cam>/<date>/sunrise-audio.m4a
+    # Fallback to old path (BASE_DIR/<cam>/<date>/sunrise-audio.m4a) for migration
+    cam_audio="${AUDIO_DIR:-$BASE_DIR/audio}/sunrise/$CAM_NAME/$current_date/sunrise-audio.m4a"
+    [ ! -f "$cam_audio" ] && cam_audio="$image_dir/sunrise-audio.m4a"
     if [ "${AUDIO_ENABLED:-false}" = "true" ]; then
         if [ -f "$cam_audio" ]; then
             audio_src="$cam_audio"
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index c5b08f3..a02dae2 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -37,10 +37,13 @@ echo "Creating data directories..."
 for cam in "${CAMERAS[@]}"; do
     mkdir -p "$BASE_DIR/$cam"
     mkdir -p "$MOVIES_DIR/$cam"
+    mkdir -p "$AUDIO_DIR/$cam"
     echo "  $BASE_DIR/$cam"
     echo "  $MOVIES_DIR/$cam"
+    echo "  $AUDIO_DIR/$cam"
 done
 mkdir -p "$BASE_DIR/$SUNRISE_CAM"
+mkdir -p "$AUDIO_DIR/sunrise/$SUNRISE_CAM"
 echo ""
 
 # ── Helper: write a oneshot service unit ─────────────────────────────────────
@@ -262,6 +265,7 @@ env_example="$HERE/.env.example"
     echo "# different drive.  Leave commented to use the defaults next to the scripts."
     echo "#BASE_DIR=/path/to/images          # default: ~/sky-cam/data"
     echo "#MOVIES_DIR=/path/to/videos        # default: \$BASE_DIR/movies"
+    echo "#AUDIO_DIR=/path/to/audio          # default: \$BASE_DIR/audio"
     echo "#MUSIC_DIR=/path/to/music/4Seasons # default: ~/sky-cam/music"
     echo ""
     echo "# ── RTSP stream URLs ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────"
diff --git a/sky-cam.conf b/sky-cam.conf
index 2039ef0..e617e29 100644
--- a/sky-cam.conf
+++ b/sky-cam.conf
@@ -150,6 +150,9 @@ SCRIPT_DIR="${SCRIPT_DIR:-$(dirname "$(realpath "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")")}"
 BASE_DIR="${BASE_DIR:-$SCRIPT_DIR/data}"
 MOVIES_DIR="${MOVIES_DIR:-$BASE_DIR/movies}"  # override if videos live on a different drive
 MUSIC_DIR="${MUSIC_DIR:-$SCRIPT_DIR/music}"
+AUDIO_DIR="${AUDIO_DIR:-$BASE_DIR/audio}"     # root for all audio recordings; override in .env
+#   Structure: AUDIO_DIR/<cam>/YYYY-MM-DD/HH-MM-SS.m4a         (ambient)
+#              AUDIO_DIR/sunrise/<cam>/YYYY-MM-DD/sunrise-audio.m4a  (sunrise clips)
 
 # ── Location & timezone ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Used by sunrise.py to calculate sunrise time each day.
@@ -321,6 +324,9 @@ AUDIO_ENABLED=false           # set true if your camera has a working mic
 CAPTURE_AUDIO_BITRATE=96k     # bitrate for the sunrise audio recording
 # Audio is recorded for exactly SUNRISE_TARGET_SECS, centred on actual sunrise:
 # floor(TARGET/2) seconds before, ceil(TARGET/2) after (odd second → post-sunrise).
+# Clips are saved to AUDIO_DIR/sunrise/<cam>/YYYY-MM-DD/sunrise-audio.m4a.
+# After mixing into the video the clip is kept for SUNRISE_AUDIO_RETENTION_DAYS, then deleted.
+SUNRISE_AUDIO_RETENTION_DAYS=7
 
 # ── Ambient audio library ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Continuously records natural sounds (birds, rain, wind) from AMBIENT_CAMS to
@@ -330,10 +336,14 @@ CAPTURE_AUDIO_BITRATE=96k     # bitrate for the sunrise audio recording
 #
 AMBIENT_ENABLED=false
 AMBIENT_CAMS=(south)                    # cameras to record from
-AMBIENT_DIR="${BASE_DIR}/ambient"       # root storage directory
 AMBIENT_CHUNK_SECS=1800                 # seconds per file (default 30 min)
 AMBIENT_BITRATE=96k                     # AAC bitrate; 64–96k is plenty at 8 kHz
-AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS=30              # delete files older than this; 0 = keep forever
+# Retention — global default, then optional per-camera overrides.
+# Uncomment and set per-cam lines to keep different cameras for different durations.
+AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS=30              # global default; 0 = keep forever
+#AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS_east=14
+#AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS_north=30
+#AMBIENT_RETENTION_DAYS_south=60       # keep south longer for nature sound library
 
 # ── Mattermost — daily sunrise upload ─────────────────────────────────────────
 # mattermost_url, access_token, channel_id go in .env (see bottom of this file).
diff --git a/sunrise-audio-capture.sh b/sunrise-audio-capture.sh
index 6dfff83..3fdc129 100755
--- a/sunrise-audio-capture.sh
+++ b/sunrise-audio-capture.sh
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ if [ "$wait_sec" -gt 0 ]; then
 fi
 
 today=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
-dir="$BASE_DIR/$CAM/$today"
+dir="${AUDIO_DIR:-$BASE_DIR/audio}/sunrise/$CAM/$today"
 mkdir -p "$dir"
 output="$dir/sunrise-audio.m4a"
 
@@ -84,3 +84,11 @@ fi
 
 size=$(du -h "$output" | cut -f1)
 echo "Audio capture complete: $output  (${record_dur_sec}s, $size)"
+
+# Rolling retention for sunrise audio clips
+retain="${SUNRISE_AUDIO_RETENTION_DAYS:-7}"
+if [ "$retain" -gt 0 ]; then
+    audio_root="${AUDIO_DIR:-$BASE_DIR/audio}/sunrise/$CAM"
+    deleted=$(find "$audio_root" -name "sunrise-audio.m4a" -mtime +"$retain" -print -delete 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
+    [ "$deleted" -gt 0 ] && echo "Retention: deleted $deleted sunrise audio clip(s) older than ${retain}d"
+fi