diff --git a/app/controllers/admin/application_settings_controller.rb b/app/controllers/admin/application_settings_controller.rb
index b0f5d4a9933aa33002d4cd656a46a01798d4d071..d807e6263ee1bcd77cf3fc306f8d31657a6bb63e 100644
--- a/app/controllers/admin/application_settings_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/admin/application_settings_controller.rb
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ class Admin::ApplicationSettingsController < Admin::ApplicationController
       :akismet_api_key,
       :akismet_enabled,
       :container_registry_token_expire_delay,
+      :default_artifacts_expire_in,
       :default_branch_protection,
       :default_group_visibility,
       :default_project_visibility,
diff --git a/app/models/application_setting.rb b/app/models/application_setting.rb
index 4212f1247ccbb7225102baed26c05b01eb812dee..dc36c7544388d9ccbbedd36abc8f744876902222 100644
--- a/app/models/application_setting.rb
+++ b/app/models/application_setting.rb
@@ -76,6 +76,12 @@ class ApplicationSetting < ActiveRecord::Base
             presence: true,
             numericality: { only_integer: true, greater_than: 0 }
 
+  validates :max_artifacts_size,
+            presence: true,
+            numericality: { only_integer: true, greater_than: 0 }
+
+  validates :default_artifacts_expire_in, presence: true, duration: true
+
   validates :container_registry_token_expire_delay,
             presence: true,
             numericality: { only_integer: true, greater_than: 0 }
@@ -168,6 +174,7 @@ class ApplicationSetting < ActiveRecord::Base
       after_sign_up_text: nil,
       akismet_enabled: false,
       container_registry_token_expire_delay: 5,
+      default_artifacts_expire_in: '30 days',
       default_branch_protection: Settings.gitlab['default_branch_protection'],
       default_project_visibility: Settings.gitlab.default_projects_features['visibility_level'],
       default_projects_limit: Settings.gitlab['default_projects_limit'],
@@ -201,9 +208,9 @@ class ApplicationSetting < ActiveRecord::Base
       sign_in_text: nil,
       signin_enabled: Settings.gitlab['signin_enabled'],
       signup_enabled: Settings.gitlab['signup_enabled'],
+      terminal_max_session_time: 0,
       two_factor_grace_period: 48,
-      user_default_external: false,
-      terminal_max_session_time: 0
+      user_default_external: false
     }
   end
 
@@ -215,6 +222,14 @@ class ApplicationSetting < ActiveRecord::Base
     create(defaults)
   end
 
+  def self.human_attribute_name(attr, _options = {})
+    if attr == :default_artifacts_expire_in
+      'Default artifacts expiration'
+    else
+      super
+    end
+  end
+
   def home_page_url_column_exist
     ActiveRecord::Base.connection.column_exists?(:application_settings, :home_page_url)
   end
diff --git a/app/models/ci/build.rb b/app/models/ci/build.rb
index 16d4f3b4f1b1da200ccf7151ed26b5ede73f51d7..77aba91f65cd12c96f30599ac38be8e05a9a29b9 100644
--- a/app/models/ci/build.rb
+++ b/app/models/ci/build.rb
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ module Ci
     def artifacts_expire_in=(value)
       self.artifacts_expire_at =
         if value
-          Time.now + ChronicDuration.parse(value)
+          ChronicDuration.parse(value)&.seconds&.from_now
         end
     end
 
diff --git a/app/validators/duration_validator.rb b/app/validators/duration_validator.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..10ff44031c6616101a1e0ae7ad85e368ef606360
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/validators/duration_validator.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+# DurationValidator
+#
+# Validate the format conforms with ChronicDuration
+#
+# Example:
+#
+#   class ApplicationSetting < ActiveRecord::Base
+#     validates :default_artifacts_expire_in, presence: true, duration: true
+#   end
+#
+class DurationValidator < ActiveModel::EachValidator
+  def validate_each(record, attribute, value)
+    ChronicDuration.parse(value)
+  rescue ChronicDuration::DurationParseError
+    record.errors.add(attribute, "is not a correct duration")
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/views/admin/application_settings/_form.html.haml b/app/views/admin/application_settings/_form.html.haml
index 749c74b811022abb714a9234120f5ec1acccbfc4..057b584e1bca457b199066b2a8d3baf197a67e83 100644
--- a/app/views/admin/application_settings/_form.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/admin/application_settings/_form.html.haml
@@ -212,8 +212,16 @@
       .col-sm-10
         = f.number_field :max_artifacts_size, class: 'form-control'
         .help-block
-          Set the maximum file size each jobs's artifacts can have
-          = link_to "(?)", help_page_path("user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration", anchor: "maximum-artifacts-size")
+          Set the maximum file size for each job's artifacts
+          = link_to icon('question-circle'), help_page_path('user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration', anchor: 'maximum-artifacts-size')
+    .form-group
+      = f.label :default_artifacts_expire_in, 'Default artifacts expiration', class: 'control-label col-sm-2'
+      .col-sm-10
+        = f.text_field :default_artifacts_expire_in, class: 'form-control'
+        .help-block
+          Set the default expiration time for each job's artifacts.
+          0 for unlimited.
+          = link_to icon('question-circle'), help_page_path('user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration', anchor: 'default-artifacts-expiration')
 
   - if Gitlab.config.registry.enabled
     %fieldset
diff --git a/changelogs/unreleased/27762-add-default-artifacts-expiration.yml b/changelogs/unreleased/27762-add-default-artifacts-expiration.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..27fa77ed04dd161b65927fe8ca8a48cd33acbe05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/unreleased/27762-add-default-artifacts-expiration.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+title: Add admin setting for default artifacts expiration
+merge_request: 9219
+author:
diff --git a/db/migrate/20170214084746_add_default_artifacts_expiration_to_application_settings.rb b/db/migrate/20170214084746_add_default_artifacts_expiration_to_application_settings.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..e0e3ff8957a05f8c4f1b3c6fdbc436294b0bd844
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migrate/20170214084746_add_default_artifacts_expiration_to_application_settings.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+class AddDefaultArtifactsExpirationToApplicationSettings < ActiveRecord::Migration
+  include Gitlab::Database::MigrationHelpers
+
+  DOWNTIME = false
+
+  def change
+    add_column :application_settings,
+      :default_artifacts_expire_in, :string,
+      null: false, default: '0'
+  end
+end
diff --git a/db/schema.rb b/db/schema.rb
index 532103b8216a425fce6b0e9cf80626c89ef30069..82bccda580a058ea164635e695312e8cdd25fa19 100644
--- a/db/schema.rb
+++ b/db/schema.rb
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@ ActiveRecord::Schema.define(version: 20170216141440) do
     t.boolean "plantuml_enabled"
     t.integer "max_pages_size", default: 100, null: false
     t.integer "terminal_max_session_time", default: 0, null: false
+    t.string "default_artifacts_expire_in", default: '0', null: false
   end
 
   create_table "audit_events", force: :cascade do |t|
diff --git a/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md
index b8d24cb2d3b6b916a592b82dfe018fdec1bdec71..64df7ee48bda342a8901e4c06278350b53b5994f 100644
--- a/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md
+++ b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md
@@ -3,18 +3,38 @@
 ## Maximum artifacts size
 
 The maximum size of the [job artifacts][art-yml] can be set in the Admin area
-of your GitLab instance. The value is in MB and the default is 100MB. Note that
-this setting is set for each job.
+of your GitLab instance. The value is in *MB* and the default is 100MB. Note
+that this setting is set for each job.
 
 1. Go to **Admin area > Settings** (`/admin/application_settings`).
 
     ![Admin area settings button](img/admin_area_settings_button.png)
 
-1. Change the value of the maximum artifacts size (in MB):
+1. Change the value of maximum artifacts size (in MB):
 
     ![Admin area maximum artifacts size](img/admin_area_maximum_artifacts_size.png)
 
 1. Hit **Save** for the changes to take effect.
 
+[art-yml]: ../../../administration/build_artifacts
 
-[art-yml]: ../../../administration/job_artifacts.md
+## Default artifacts expiration
+
+The default expiration time of the [job artifacts][art-yml] can be set in
+the Admin area of your GitLab instance. The syntax of duration is described
+in [artifacts:expire_in][duration-syntax]. The default is `30 days`. Note that
+this setting is set for each job. Set it to 0 if you don't want default
+expiration.
+
+1. Go to **Admin area > Settings** (`/admin/application_settings`).
+
+    ![Admin area settings button](img/admin_area_settings_button.png)
+
+1. Change the value of default expiration time ([syntax][duration-syntax]):
+
+    ![Admin area default artifacts expiration](img/admin_area_default_artifacts_expiration.png)
+
+1. Hit **Save** for the changes to take effect.
+
+[art-yml]: ../../../administration/job_artifacts
+[duration-syntax]: ../../../ci/yaml/README#artifactsexpire_in
diff --git a/doc/user/admin_area/settings/img/admin_area_default_artifacts_expiration.png b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/img/admin_area_default_artifacts_expiration.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..50a86ede56ba0a2ca1268bdd1e748c84f51e8c7a
Binary files /dev/null and b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/img/admin_area_default_artifacts_expiration.png differ
diff --git a/doc/user/admin_area/settings/img/admin_area_maximum_artifacts_size.png b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/img/admin_area_maximum_artifacts_size.png
index b7d6671902ad980d5eb7497626fffa08d3fe68e0..33fd29e2039a20adb0f2e49b3c7313fe4b957e87 100644
Binary files a/doc/user/admin_area/settings/img/admin_area_maximum_artifacts_size.png and b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/img/admin_area_maximum_artifacts_size.png differ
diff --git a/lib/api/entities.rb b/lib/api/entities.rb
index 85aa6932f81d7b6ce56452c23252dca25797ca46..0e37f40a887d79d9ef309c32af5cc3c7bac5247e 100644
--- a/lib/api/entities.rb
+++ b/lib/api/entities.rb
@@ -557,6 +557,7 @@ module API
       expose :default_project_visibility
       expose :default_snippet_visibility
       expose :default_group_visibility
+      expose :default_artifacts_expire_in
       expose :domain_whitelist
       expose :domain_blacklist_enabled
       expose :domain_blacklist
diff --git a/lib/api/settings.rb b/lib/api/settings.rb
index 747ceb4e3e02d86ce9b7ea434660b6488d8042ff..936c7e0930b62c07bfda1311e19ff9f7bcfa883d 100644
--- a/lib/api/settings.rb
+++ b/lib/api/settings.rb
@@ -56,7 +56,8 @@ module API
       given shared_runners_enabled: ->(val) { val } do
         requires :shared_runners_text, type: String, desc: 'Shared runners text '
       end
-      optional :max_artifacts_size, type: Integer, desc: "Set the maximum file size each build's artifacts can have"
+      optional :max_artifacts_size, type: Integer, desc: "Set the maximum file size for each job's artifacts"
+      optional :default_artifacts_expire_in, type: String, desc: "Set the default expiration time for each job's artifacts"
       optional :max_pages_size, type: Integer, desc: 'Maximum size of pages in MB'
       optional :container_registry_token_expire_delay, type: Integer, desc: 'Authorization token duration (minutes)'
       optional :metrics_enabled, type: Boolean, desc: 'Enable the InfluxDB metrics'
@@ -117,7 +118,9 @@ module API
                       :send_user_confirmation_email, :domain_whitelist, :domain_blacklist_enabled,
                       :after_sign_up_text, :signin_enabled, :require_two_factor_authentication,
                       :home_page_url, :after_sign_out_path, :sign_in_text, :help_page_text,
-                      :shared_runners_enabled, :max_artifacts_size, :max_pages_size, :container_registry_token_expire_delay,
+                      :shared_runners_enabled, :max_artifacts_size,
+                      :default_artifacts_expire_in, :max_pages_size,
+                      :container_registry_token_expire_delay,
                       :metrics_enabled, :sidekiq_throttling_enabled, :recaptcha_enabled,
                       :akismet_enabled, :admin_notification_email, :sentry_enabled,
                       :repository_storage, :repository_checks_enabled, :koding_enabled, :plantuml_enabled,
diff --git a/lib/ci/api/builds.rb b/lib/ci/api/builds.rb
index 8b939663ffd972360a4cdda9dceb273515120ea8..0e17ac24d5a957fb07fd9dc46c0129de3199400b 100644
--- a/lib/ci/api/builds.rb
+++ b/lib/ci/api/builds.rb
@@ -167,7 +167,10 @@ module Ci
 
           build.artifacts_file = artifacts
           build.artifacts_metadata = metadata
-          build.artifacts_expire_in = params['expire_in']
+          build.artifacts_expire_in =
+            params['expire_in'] ||
+            Gitlab::CurrentSettings.current_application_settings
+              .default_artifacts_expire_in
 
           if build.save
             present(build, with: Entities::BuildDetails)
diff --git a/spec/models/application_setting_spec.rb b/spec/models/application_setting_spec.rb
index 4086e00e363f6bbab344a056defc616f0600c1d8..01ca1584ed2eac1173df507c48752e6bf787d902 100644
--- a/spec/models/application_setting_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/application_setting_spec.rb
@@ -29,6 +29,40 @@ describe ApplicationSetting, models: true do
       it { is_expected.not_to allow_value(['test']).for(:disabled_oauth_sign_in_sources) }
     end
 
+    describe 'default_artifacts_expire_in' do
+      it 'sets an error if it cannot parse' do
+        setting.update(default_artifacts_expire_in: 'a')
+
+        expect_invalid
+      end
+
+      it 'sets an error if it is blank' do
+        setting.update(default_artifacts_expire_in: ' ')
+
+        expect_invalid
+      end
+
+      it 'sets the value if it is valid' do
+        setting.update(default_artifacts_expire_in: '30 days')
+
+        expect(setting).to be_valid
+        expect(setting.default_artifacts_expire_in).to eq('30 days')
+      end
+
+      it 'sets the value if it is 0' do
+        setting.update(default_artifacts_expire_in: '0')
+
+        expect(setting).to be_valid
+        expect(setting.default_artifacts_expire_in).to eq('0')
+      end
+
+      def expect_invalid
+        expect(setting).to be_invalid
+        expect(setting.errors.messages)
+          .to have_key(:default_artifacts_expire_in)
+      end
+    end
+
     it { is_expected.to validate_presence_of(:max_attachment_size) }
 
     it do
diff --git a/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb b/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb
index 63b6c3c65a6efb3cbffcc189812158cb2c048f86..4251cb06a2d41a6db3e485236253206de51fbb5e 100644
--- a/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/ci/build_spec.rb
@@ -162,11 +162,17 @@ describe Ci::Build, :models do
       is_expected.to be_nil
     end
 
-    it 'when resseting value' do
+    it 'when resetting value' do
       build.artifacts_expire_in = nil
 
       is_expected.to be_nil
     end
+
+    it 'when setting to 0' do
+      build.artifacts_expire_in = '0'
+
+      is_expected.to be_nil
+    end
   end
 
   describe '#commit' do
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/settings_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/settings_spec.rb
index 91e3c333a02e63fa8402e582cb7d2c7d68086910..411905edb49c4a9f4d98f5bc318052e6d74cfca3 100644
--- a/spec/requests/api/settings_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/api/settings_spec.rb
@@ -30,8 +30,14 @@ describe API::Settings, 'Settings', api: true  do
 
       it "updates application settings" do
         put api("/application/settings", admin),
-          default_projects_limit: 3, signin_enabled: false, repository_storage: 'custom', koding_enabled: true, koding_url: 'http://koding.example.com',
-          plantuml_enabled: true, plantuml_url: 'http://plantuml.example.com'
+          default_projects_limit: 3,
+          signin_enabled: false,
+          repository_storage: 'custom',
+          koding_enabled: true,
+          koding_url: 'http://koding.example.com',
+          plantuml_enabled: true,
+          plantuml_url: 'http://plantuml.example.com',
+          default_artifacts_expire_in: '2 days'
         expect(response).to have_http_status(200)
         expect(json_response['default_projects_limit']).to eq(3)
         expect(json_response['signin_enabled']).to be_falsey
@@ -41,6 +47,7 @@ describe API::Settings, 'Settings', api: true  do
         expect(json_response['koding_url']).to eq('http://koding.example.com')
         expect(json_response['plantuml_enabled']).to be_truthy
         expect(json_response['plantuml_url']).to eq('http://plantuml.example.com')
+        expect(json_response['default_artifacts_expire_in']).to eq('2 days')
       end
     end
 
diff --git a/spec/requests/ci/api/builds_spec.rb b/spec/requests/ci/api/builds_spec.rb
index 444258e312dac34c6928670e2ba09f6103e22186..9948d1a9ea021d43b932f5e7171f7655647da378 100644
--- a/spec/requests/ci/api/builds_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/ci/api/builds_spec.rb
@@ -630,6 +630,7 @@ describe Ci::API::Builds do
 
           context 'with an expire date' do
             let!(:artifacts) { file_upload }
+            let(:default_artifacts_expire_in) {}
 
             let(:post_data) do
               { 'file.path' => artifacts.path,
@@ -638,6 +639,9 @@ describe Ci::API::Builds do
             end
 
             before do
+              stub_application_setting(
+                default_artifacts_expire_in: default_artifacts_expire_in)
+
               post(post_url, post_data, headers_with_token)
             end
 
@@ -648,7 +652,8 @@ describe Ci::API::Builds do
                 build.reload
                 expect(response).to have_http_status(201)
                 expect(json_response['artifacts_expire_at']).not_to be_empty
-                expect(build.artifacts_expire_at).to be_within(5.minutes).of(Time.now + 7.days)
+                expect(build.artifacts_expire_at).
+                  to be_within(5.minutes).of(7.days.from_now)
               end
             end
 
@@ -661,6 +666,32 @@ describe Ci::API::Builds do
                 expect(json_response['artifacts_expire_at']).to be_nil
                 expect(build.artifacts_expire_at).to be_nil
               end
+
+              context 'with application default' do
+                context 'default to 5 days' do
+                  let(:default_artifacts_expire_in) { '5 days' }
+
+                  it 'sets to application default' do
+                    build.reload
+                    expect(response).to have_http_status(201)
+                    expect(json_response['artifacts_expire_at'])
+                      .not_to be_empty
+                    expect(build.artifacts_expire_at)
+                      .to be_within(5.minutes).of(5.days.from_now)
+                  end
+                end
+
+                context 'default to 0' do
+                  let(:default_artifacts_expire_in) { '0' }
+
+                  it 'does not set expire_in' do
+                    build.reload
+                    expect(response).to have_http_status(201)
+                    expect(json_response['artifacts_expire_at']).to be_nil
+                    expect(build.artifacts_expire_at).to be_nil
+                  end
+                end
+              end
             end
           end