diff --git a/whm/gniza-whm/remotes.cgi b/whm/gniza-whm/remotes.cgi
index c839430..a48a52e 100644
--- a/whm/gniza-whm/remotes.cgi
+++ b/whm/gniza-whm/remotes.cgi
@@ -148,7 +148,8 @@ sub handle_list {
             my $conf = GnizaWHM::Config::parse(GnizaWHM::UI::remote_conf_path($name), 'remote');
             my $esc_name  = GnizaWHM::UI::esc($name);
             my $type      = $conf->{REMOTE_TYPE} // 'ssh';
-            my $retention = GnizaWHM::UI::esc($conf->{RETENTION_COUNT} // '30');
+            my $retention_raw = $conf->{RETENTION_COUNT} // '';
+            my $retention = GnizaWHM::UI::esc($retention_raw ne '' ? $retention_raw : '30');
 
             my ($type_label, $dest);
             if ($type eq 's3') {