**This page is only for existing customers of the Amazon Glacier service using Vaults and the original REST API from 2012.**

If you're looking for archival storage solutions, we recommend using the Amazon Glacier storage classes in Amazon S3, S3 Glacier Instant Retrieval, S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval, and S3 Glacier Deep Archive. To learn more about these storage options, see [Amazon Glacier storage classes](https://www.amazonaws.cn/s3/storage-classes/glacier/).

Amazon Glacier (original standalone vault-based service) is no longer accepting new customers. Amazon Glacier is a standalone service with its own APIs that stores data in vaults and is distinct from Amazon S3 and the Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes. Your existing data will remain secure and accessible in Amazon Glacier indefinitely. No migration is required. For low-cost, long-term archival storage, Amazon recommends the [Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes](https://www.amazonaws.cn/s3/storage-classes/glacier/), which deliver a superior customer experience with S3 bucket-based APIs, full Amazon Web Services Region availability, lower costs, and Amazon service integration. If you want enhanced capabilities, consider migrating to Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes by using our [Amazon Solutions Guidance for transferring data from Amazon Glacier vaults to Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes](https://www.amazonaws.cn/solutions/guidance/data-transfer-from-amazon-s3-glacier-vaults-to-amazon-s3/).

# Deleting an Archive in Amazon Glacier Using the Amazon Command Line Interface
<a name="deleting-an-archive-using-cli"></a>

You can delete archives in Amazon Glacier (Amazon Glacier) using the Amazon Command Line Interface (Amazon CLI).

**Topics**
+ [(Prerequisite) Setting Up the Amazon CLI](#Creating-Vaults-CLI-Setup)
+ [Example: Deleting an Archive Using the Amazon CLI](#Deleting-Archives-CLI-Implementation)

## (Prerequisite) Setting Up the Amazon CLI
<a name="Creating-Vaults-CLI-Setup"></a>

1. Download and configure the Amazon CLI. For instructions, see the following topics in the *Amazon Command Line Interface User Guide*: 

    [Installing the Amazon Command Line Interface](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/userguide/installing.html) 

   [Configuring the Amazon Command Line Interface](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/userguide/cli-chap-getting-started.html)

1. Verify your Amazon CLI setup by entering the following commands at the command prompt. These commands don't provide credentials explicitly, so the credentials of the default profile are used.
   + Try using the help command.

     ```
     aws help
     ```
   + To get a list of Amazon Glacier vaults on the configured account, use the `list-vaults` command. Replace {{123456789012}} with your Amazon Web Services account ID.

     ```
     aws glacier list-vaults --account-id {{123456789012}}
     ```
   + To see the current configuration data for the Amazon CLI, use the `aws configure list` command.

     ```
     aws configure list
     ```

## Example: Deleting an Archive Using the Amazon CLI
<a name="Deleting-Archives-CLI-Implementation"></a>

1. Use the [http://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/glacier/initiate-job.html](http://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/glacier/initiate-job.html) command to start an inventory retrieval job.

   ```
   aws glacier initiate-job --vault-name {{awsexamplevault}} --account-id {{111122223333}} --job-parameters="{\"Type\":\"inventory-retrieval\"}"
   ```

    Expected output:

   ```
   {
       "location": "/{{111122223333}}/vaults/{{awsexamplevault}}/jobs/{{*** jobid ***}}", 
       "jobId": "{{*** jobid ***}}"
   }
   ```

1. Use the [http://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/glacier/describe-job.html](http://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/glacier/describe-job.html) command to check status of the previous retrieval job.

   ```
   aws glacier describe-job --vault-name {{awsexamplevault}} --account-id {{111122223333}} --job-id {{*** jobid ***}}
   ```

    Expected output:

   ```
   {
       "InventoryRetrievalParameters": {
           "Format": "JSON"
       }, 
       "VaultARN": "{{*** vault arn ***}}", 
       "Completed": false, 
       "JobId": "{{*** jobid ***}}", 
       "Action": "InventoryRetrieval", 
       "CreationDate": "{{*** job creation date ***}}", 
       "StatusCode": "InProgress"
   }
   ```

1. Wait for the job to complete.

   You must wait until the job output is ready for you to download. If you set a notification configuration on the vault or specified an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic when you initiated the job, Amazon Glacier sends a message to the topic after it completes the job. 

   You can set notification configuration for specific events on the vault. For more information, see [Configuring Vault Notifications in Amazon Glacier](configuring-notifications.md). Amazon Glacier sends a message to the specified SNS topic anytime the specific event occurs.

1. When it's complete, use the [http://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/glacier/get-job-output.html](http://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/glacier/get-job-output.html) command to download the retrieval job to the file `output.json`.

   ```
   aws glacier get-job-output --vault-name {{awsexamplevault}} --account-id {{111122223333}} --job-id {{*** jobid ***}} output.json
   ```

   This command produces a file with the following fields.

   ```
   {
   "VaultARN":"arn:aws:glacier:{{region}}:{{111122223333}}:vaults/{{awsexamplevault}}",
   "InventoryDate":"{{*** job completion date ***}}",
   "ArchiveList":[
   {"ArchiveId":"{{*** archiveid ***}}",
   "ArchiveDescription":*** archive description (if set) ***,
   "CreationDate":"{{*** archive creation date ***}}",
   "Size":"{{*** archive size (in bytes) ***}}",
   "SHA256TreeHash":"{{*** archive hash ***}}"
   }
   {"ArchiveId":
   ...
   ]}
   ```

1. Use the `delete-archive` command to delete each archive from a vault until none remain.

   ```
   aws glacier delete-archive --vault-name {{awsexamplevault}} --account-id {{111122223333}} --archive-id {{*** archiveid ***}}
   ```