# Creating and deleting layers in Lambda
<a name="creating-deleting-layers"></a>

A Lambda layer is a .zip file archive that contains supplementary code or data. Layers usually contain library dependencies, a [custom runtime](runtimes-custom.md), or configuration files. 

This section explains how to create and delete layers in Lambda. For more conceptual information about layers and why you might consider using them, see [Managing Lambda dependencies with layers](chapter-layers.md).

After you’ve [packaged your layer content](packaging-layers.md), the next step is to create the layer in Lambda. This section demonstrates how to create and delete layers using the Lambda console or the Lambda API only. To create a layer using AWS CloudFormation, see [Using AWS CloudFormation with layers](layers-cfn.md). To create a layer using the AWS Serverless Application Model (AWS SAM), see [Using AWS SAM with layers](layers-sam.md).

**Topics**
+ [

## Creating a layer
](#layers-create)
+ [

## Deleting a layer version
](#layers-delete)

## Creating a layer
<a name="layers-create"></a>

To create a layer, you can either upload the .zip file archive from your local machine or from Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). Lambda extracts the layer contents into the `/opt` directory when setting up the execution environment for the function.

Layers can have one or more [layer versions](chapter-layers.md#lambda-layer-versions). When you create a layer, Lambda sets the layer version to version 1. You can change the permissions on an existing layer version at any time. However, to update the code or make other configuration changes, you must create a new version of the layer.

**To create a layer (console)**

1. Open the [Layers page](https://console.aws.amazon.com/lambda/home#/layers) of the Lambda console.

1. Choose **Create layer**.

1. Under **Layer configuration**, for **Name**, enter a name for your layer.

1. (Optional) For **Description**, enter a description for your layer.

1. To upload your layer code, do one of the following:
   + To upload a .zip file from your computer, choose **Upload a .zip file**. Then, choose **Upload** to select your local .zip file.
   + To upload a file from Amazon S3, choose **Upload a file from Amazon S3**. Then, for **Amazon S3 link URL**, enter a link to the file.

1. (Optional) For **Compatible architectures**, choose one value or both values. For more information, see [Selecting and configuring an instruction set architecture for your Lambda function](foundation-arch.md).

1. (Optional) For **Compatible runtimes**, choose the runtimes that your layer is compatible with.

1. (Optional) For **License**, enter any necessary license information.

1. Choose **Create**.

Alternatively, you can run the [publish-layer-version](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/lambda/publish-layer-version.html) AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) command. Example:

```
aws lambda publish-layer-version --layer-name my-layer --zip-file fileb://layer.zip --compatible-runtimes python3.14
```

Each time that you run `publish-layer-version`, Lambda creates a new [version of the layer](chapter-layers.md#lambda-layer-versions).

## Deleting a layer version
<a name="layers-delete"></a>

To delete a layer version, use the [DeleteLayerVersion](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/api/API_DeleteLayerVersion.html) API operation. For example, run the [delete-layer-version](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/lambda/delete-layer-version.html) AWS CLI command with the layer name and layer version specified.

```
aws lambda delete-layer-version --layer-name my-layer --version-number 1
```

When you delete a layer version, you can no longer configure a Lambda function to use it. However, any function that already uses the version continues to have access to it. Also, Lambda never reuses version numbers for a layer name.

When calculating [quotas](gettingstarted-limits.md), deleting a layer version means it's no longer counted as part of the default 75 GB quota for storage of functions and layers. However, for functions that consume a deleted layer version, the layer content still counts towards the function's deployment package size quota (i.e. 250MB for .zip file archives).