The AWS SDK for Java 1.x reached end-of-support on December 31, 2025. We recommend that you migrate to the [AWS SDK for Java 2.x](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/latest/developer-guide/home.html) to continue receiving new features, availability improvements, and security updates.
# Creating, Listing, and Deleting Amazon S3 Buckets
Every object (file) in Amazon S3 must reside within a *bucket*, which represents a collection (container) of objects. Each bucket is known by a *key* (name), which must be unique. For detailed information about buckets and their configuration, see [Working with Amazon S3 Buckets](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/UsingBucket.html) in the Amazon Simple Storage Service User Guide.
**Note**
Best Practice
We recommend that you enable the [AbortIncompleteMultipartUpload](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/RESTBucketPUTlifecycle.html) lifecycle rule on your Amazon S3 buckets.
This rule directs Amazon S3 to abort multipart uploads that don’t complete within a specified number of days after being initiated. When the set time limit is exceeded, Amazon S3 aborts the upload and then deletes the incomplete upload data.
For more information, see [Lifecycle Configuration for a Bucket with Versioning](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/lifecycle-configuration-bucket-with-versioning.html) in the Amazon S3 User Guide.
**Note**
These code examples assume that you understand the material in [Using the AWS SDK for Java](basics.md) and have configured default AWS credentials using the information in [Set up AWS Credentials and Region for Development](setup-credentials.md).
## Create a Bucket
Use the AmazonS3 client’s `createBucket` method. The new [Bucket](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/v1/reference/com/amazonaws/services/s3/model/Bucket.html) is returned. The `createBucket` method will raise an exception if the bucket already exists.
**Note**
To check whether a bucket already exists before attempting to create one with the same name, call the `doesBucketExist` method. It will return `true` if the bucket exists, and `false` otherwise.
**Imports**
```
import com.amazonaws.regions.Regions;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3ClientBuilder;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.model.AmazonS3Exception;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.model.Bucket;
import java.util.List;
```
**Code**
```
if (s3.doesBucketExistV2(bucket_name)) {
System.out.format("Bucket %s already exists.\n", bucket_name);
b = getBucket(bucket_name);
} else {
try {
b = s3.createBucket(bucket_name);
} catch (AmazonS3Exception e) {
System.err.println(e.getErrorMessage());
}
}
return b;
```
See the [complete example](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-doc-sdk-examples/blob/master/java/example_code/s3/src/main/java/aws/example/s3/CreateBucket.java) on GitHub.
## List Buckets
Use the AmazonS3 client’s `listBucket` method. If successful, a list of [Bucket](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-java/v1/reference/com/amazonaws/services/s3/model/Bucket.html) is returned.
**Imports**
```
import com.amazonaws.regions.Regions;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3ClientBuilder;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.model.Bucket;
import java.util.List;
```
**Code**
```
List buckets = s3.listBuckets();
System.out.println("Your {S3} buckets are:");
for (Bucket b : buckets) {
System.out.println("* " + b.getName());
}
```
See the [complete example](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-doc-sdk-examples/blob/master/java/example_code/s3/src/main/java/aws/example/s3/ListBuckets.java) on GitHub.
## Delete a Bucket
Before you can delete an Amazon S3 bucket, you must ensure that the bucket is empty or an error will result. If you have a [versioned bucket](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/Versioning.html), you must also delete any versioned objects associated with the bucket.
**Note**
The [complete example](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-doc-sdk-examples/blob/master/java/example_code/s3/src/main/java/aws/example/s3/DeleteBucket.java) includes each of these steps in order, providing a complete solution for deleting an Amazon S3 bucket and its contents.
**Topics**
+ [Remove Objects from an Unversioned Bucket Before Deleting It](#remove-objects-from-an-unversioned-bucket-before-deleting-it)
+ [Remove Objects from a Versioned Bucket Before Deleting It](#remove-objects-from-a-versioned-bucket-before-deleting-it)
+ [Delete an Empty Bucket](#delete-an-empty-bucket)
### Remove Objects from an Unversioned Bucket Before Deleting It
Use the AmazonS3 client’s `listObjects` method to retrieve the list of objects and `deleteObject` to delete each one.
**Imports**
```
import com.amazonaws.AmazonServiceException;
import com.amazonaws.regions.Regions;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3ClientBuilder;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.model.*;
import java.util.Iterator;
```
**Code**
```
System.out.println(" - removing objects from bucket");
ObjectListing object_listing = s3.listObjects(bucket_name);
while (true) {
for (Iterator iterator =
object_listing.getObjectSummaries().iterator();
iterator.hasNext(); ) {
S3ObjectSummary summary = (S3ObjectSummary) iterator.next();
s3.deleteObject(bucket_name, summary.getKey());
}
// more object_listing to retrieve?
if (object_listing.isTruncated()) {
object_listing = s3.listNextBatchOfObjects(object_listing);
} else {
break;
}
}
```
See the [complete example](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-doc-sdk-examples/blob/master/java/example_code/s3/src/main/java/aws/example/s3/DeleteBucket.java) on GitHub.
### Remove Objects from a Versioned Bucket Before Deleting It
If you’re using a [versioned bucket](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/Versioning.html), you also need to remove any stored versions of the objects in the bucket before the bucket can be deleted.
Using a pattern similar to the one used when removing objects within a bucket, remove versioned objects by using the AmazonS3 client’s `listVersions` method to list any versioned objects, and then `deleteVersion` to delete each one.
**Imports**
```
import com.amazonaws.AmazonServiceException;
import com.amazonaws.regions.Regions;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3ClientBuilder;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.model.*;
import java.util.Iterator;
```
**Code**
```
System.out.println(" - removing versions from bucket");
VersionListing version_listing = s3.listVersions(
new ListVersionsRequest().withBucketName(bucket_name));
while (true) {
for (Iterator iterator =
version_listing.getVersionSummaries().iterator();
iterator.hasNext(); ) {
S3VersionSummary vs = (S3VersionSummary) iterator.next();
s3.deleteVersion(
bucket_name, vs.getKey(), vs.getVersionId());
}
if (version_listing.isTruncated()) {
version_listing = s3.listNextBatchOfVersions(
version_listing);
} else {
break;
}
}
```
See the [complete example](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-doc-sdk-examples/blob/master/java/example_code/s3/src/main/java/aws/example/s3/DeleteBucket.java) on GitHub.
### Delete an Empty Bucket
Once you remove the objects from a bucket (including any versioned objects), you can delete the bucket itself by using the AmazonS3 client’s `deleteBucket` method.
**Imports**
```
import com.amazonaws.AmazonServiceException;
import com.amazonaws.regions.Regions;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3ClientBuilder;
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.model.*;
import java.util.Iterator;
```
**Code**
```
System.out.println(" OK, bucket ready to delete!");
s3.deleteBucket(bucket_name);
```
See the [complete example](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-doc-sdk-examples/blob/master/java/example_code/s3/src/main/java/aws/example/s3/DeleteBucket.java) on GitHub.