Services or capabilities described in Amazon Web Services documentation might vary by Region. To see the differences applicable to the China Regions, see Getting Started with Amazon Web Services in China (PDF).

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.

Amazon Glacier (original standalone vault-based service) will no longer accept new customers starting December 15, 2025, with no impact to existing 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, 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.

Step 1: Before You Begin with Amazon Glacier

Before you can start with this exercise, you must sign up for an Amazon Web Services account (if you don't already have one), and then download one of the Amazon SDKs. See the following sections for instructions.

Set Up an Amazon Web Services account and an Administrator User

If you have not already done so, you must sign up for an Amazon Web Services account and create an administrator user in the account.

To complete the setup, follow the instructions in the following topics.

Set Up an Amazon Web Services account and Create an Administrator User

Sign up for Amazon

When you sign up for Amazon Web Services (Amazon), your Amazon Web Services account is automatically signed up for all services in Amazon, including Amazon Glacier. You are charged only for the services that you use. For more information about Amazon Glacier usage rates, see the Amazon Glacier pricing page.

If you already have an Amazon Web Services account, skip to Download the Appropriate Amazon SDK. If you don't have an Amazon Web Services account, use the following procedure to create one.

If you do not have an Amazon Web Services account, use the following procedure to create one.

Secure IAM users

After you sign up for an Amazon Web Services account, safeguard your administrative user by turning on multi-factor authentication (MFA). For instructions, see Enable a virtual MFA device for an IAM user (console) in the IAM User Guide.

To give other users access to your Amazon Web Services account resources, create IAM users. To secure your IAM users, turn on MFA and only give the IAM users the permissions needed to perform their tasks.

For more information about creating and securing IAM users, see the following topics in the IAM User Guide:

Download the Appropriate Amazon SDK

To try the getting started exercise, you must decide which programming language you want to use, and then download the appropriate Amazon SDK for your development platform.

The getting started exercise provides examples in Java and C#.

Downloading the Amazon SDK for Java

To test the Java examples in this developer guide, you need the Amazon SDK for Java. You have the following download options:

Downloading the Amazon SDK for .NET

To test the C# examples in this developer guide, you need the Amazon SDK for .NET. You have the following download options: