# Delete unused Lightsail instance and disk snapshots
<a name="amazon-lightsail-deleting-automatic-snapshots"></a>

You can delete automatic snapshots of an instance or block storage disk in Amazon Lightsail at any time; whether the feature is enabled, or if it's disabled after it had been enabled. You will be billed the [snapshot storage fee](https://aws.amazon.com/lightsail/pricing/) for the automatic snapshots stored on your Lightsail account. Follow the steps in this guide to delete automatic snapshots if you no longer need them. For example, if you've [copied an automatic snapshot to a manual snapshot](amazon-lightsail-keeping-automatic-snapshots.md) and you no longer need the original, or if you've [disabled the automatic snapshots feature](amazon-lightsail-configuring-automatic-snapshots.md) for your resource and you don't need the existing automatic snapshots that were kept.

**Contents**
+ [Delete automatic snapshots restriction](#deleting-automatic-snapshots-restrictions)
+ [Delete automatic snapshots of an instance using the Lightsail console](#deleting-automatic-snapshots-using-console)
+ [Delete automatic snapshots of an instance or block storage disk using the AWS CLI](#deleting-automatic-snapshots-using-cli)

## Delete automatic snapshots restriction
<a name="deleting-automatic-snapshots-restrictions"></a>

Automatic snapshots of block storage disks cannot be deleted using the Lightsail console. To delete an automatic snapshot of a block storage disk, you must use the Lightsail API, AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), or SDKs. For more information, see [Delete automatic snapshots of an instance or block storage disk using the AWS CLI](#deleting-automatic-snapshots-using-cli).

## Delete automatic snapshots of an instance using the Lightsail console
<a name="deleting-automatic-snapshots-using-console"></a>

Complete the following steps to delete automatic snapshots of an instance using the Lightsail console.

1. Sign in to the [Lightsail console](https://lightsail.aws.amazon.com/).

1. In the left navigation pane, choose **Instances**.  
![The Lightsail home page.](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/images/amazon-lightsail-home-page-instances-storage.png)

1. Choose the name of the instance for which you want to delete automatic snapshots.

1. On the instance management page, choose the **Snapshots** tab.  
![The instance management page in the Lightsail console.](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/images/amazon-lightsail-instance-management-snapshots.png)

1. Under the **Automatic snapshots** section, choose the ellipsis icon next to the automatic snapshot that you want to delete, then choose **Delete snapshot**.

1. At the prompt, choose **Yes** to confirm that you want to delete the snapshot.

   The automatic snapshot is deleted after a few moments.

## Delete automatic snapshots of an instance or block storage disk using the AWS CLI
<a name="deleting-automatic-snapshots-using-cli"></a>

Complete the following steps to delete automatic snapshots of an instance or block storage disk using the AWS CLI.

1. Open a Terminal or Command Prompt window.

   If you haven't already, [install the AWS CLI and configure it to work with Lightsail](lightsail-how-to-set-up-and-configure-aws-cli.md).

1. Enter the following command to get the dates of the available automatic snapshots for a specific resource. You will need the date of the automatic snapshot to specify as the `date` parameter in the subsequent command.

   ```
   aws lightsail --region {{Region}} get-auto-snapshots --resource-name {{ResourceName}}
   ```

   In the command, replace:
   + {{Region}} with the AWS Region in which the resource is located.
   + {{ResourceName}} with the name of the resource.

   **Example:**

   ```
   aws lightsail --region {{us-west-2}} get-auto-snapshots --resource-name {{MyFirstWordPressWebsite01}}
   ```

   You should see a result similar to the following, which lists the available automatic snapshots:  
![Get auto snapshots operation results containing the available auto snapshots for an instance.](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/images/amazon-lightsail-available-auto-backups-operation.png)

1. Enter the following command to delete an automatic snapshot:

   ```
   aws lightsail --region {{Region}} delete-auto-snapshot --resource-name {{ResourceName}} --date {{YYYY-MM-DD}}
   ```

   In the command, replace:
   + {{Region}} with the AWS Region in which the resource is located.
   + {{ResourceName}} with the name of the resource.
   + {{YYYY-MM-DD}} with the date of the available auto snapshot that you obtained using the preceding command.

   **Example:**

   ```
   aws lightsail --region {{us-west-2}} delete-auto-snapshot --resource-name {{MyFirstWordPressWebsite01}} --date {{2019-09-16}}
   ```

   You should see a result similar to the following example:  
![Delete auto snapshot operation result.](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/images/amazon-lightsail-delete-auto-backup-operation.png)

   The automatic snapshot is deleted after a few moments.
**Note**  
For more information about the GetAutoSnapshots and DeleteAutoSnapshot API operations in these commands, see [GetAutoSnapshots](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/2016-11-28/api-reference/API_GetAutoSnapshots.html) and [DeleteAutoSnapshot](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/2016-11-28/api-reference/API_DeleteAutoSnapshot.html) in the Lightsail API documentation.