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
Working with Archives in Amazon Glacier
An archive is any object, such as a photo, video, or document, that you store in a vault. It is a base unit of storage in Amazon Glacier (Amazon Glacier). Each archive has a unique ID and an optional description. When you upload an archive, Amazon Glacier returns a response that includes an archive ID. This archive ID is unique in the Amazon Region in which the archive is stored. The following is an example archive ID.
TJgHcrOSfAkV6hdPqOATYfp_0ZaxL1pIBOc02iZ0gDPMr2ig-nhwd_PafstsdIf6HSrjHnP-3p6LCJClYytFT_CBhT9CwNxbRaM5MetS3I-GqwxI3Y8QtgbJbhEQPs0mJ3KExample
Archive IDs are 138 bytes long. When you upload an archive, you can provide an optional description. You can retrieve an archive using its ID but not its description.
Important
Amazon Glacier provides a management console. You can use the console to create and delete
vaults. However, all other interactions with Amazon Glacier require that you use the Amazon Command Line Interface
(CLI) or write code. For example, to upload data, such as photos, videos, and other
documents, you must either use the Amazon CLI or write code to make requests, using either
the REST API directly or by using the Amazon SDKs. For more information about using Amazon Glacier
with the Amazon CLI, go to Amazon CLI Reference
for Amazon Glacier. To install the Amazon CLI, go to Amazon Command Line Interface
Topics
Archive Operations in Amazon Glacier
Amazon Glacier supports the following basic archive operations: upload, download, and delete. Downloading an archive is an asynchronous operation.
Uploading an Archive in Amazon Glacier
You can upload an archive in a single operation or upload it in parts. The API call you use to upload an archive in parts is referred as Multipart Upload. For more information, see Uploading an Archive in Amazon Glacier.
Important
Amazon Glacier provides a management console. You can use the console to create and
delete vaults. However, all other interactions with Amazon Glacier require that you use
the Amazon Command Line Interface (CLI) or write code. For example, to upload data, such as photos,
videos, and other documents, you must either use the Amazon CLI or write code to make
requests, using either the REST API directly or by using the Amazon SDKs. For more
information about using Amazon Glacier with the Amazon CLI, go to Amazon CLI
Reference for Amazon Glacier. To install the Amazon CLI, go to Amazon Command Line Interface
Finding an Archive ID in Amazon Glacier
You can get the archive ID by downloading the vault inventory for the vault that contains the archive. For more information about downloading the vault inventory, see Downloading a Vault Inventory in Amazon Glacier.
Downloading an Archive in Amazon Glacier
Downloading an archive is an asynchronous operation. You must first initiate a job to download a specific archive. After receiving the job request, Amazon Glacier prepares your archive for download. After the job completes, you can download your archive data. Because of the asynchronous nature of the job, you can request Amazon Glacier to send a notification to an Amazon Simple Notification Service (Amazon SNS) topic when the job completes. You can specify an SNS topic for each individual job request or configure your vault to send a notification when specific events occur. For more information about downloading an archive, see Downloading an Archive in Amazon Glacier.
Deleting an Archive in Amazon Glacier
Amazon Glacier provides an API call that you can use to delete one archive at a time. For more information, see Deleting an Archive in Amazon Glacier.
Updating an Archive in Amazon Glacier
After you upload an archive, you cannot update its content or its description. The only way you can update the archive content or its description is by deleting the archive and uploading another archive. Note that each time you upload an archive, Amazon Glacier returns to you a unique archive ID.
Maintaining Client-Side Archive Metadata
Except for the optional archive description, Amazon Glacier does not support any additional metadata for the archives. When you upload an archive Amazon Glacier assigns an ID, an opaque sequence of characters, from which you cannot infer any meaning about the archive. You might maintain metadata about the archives on the client-side. The metadata can include archive name and some other meaningful information about the archive.
Note
If you are an Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) customer, you know that
when you upload an object to a bucket, you can assign the object an object key such
as MyDocument.txt or SomePhoto.jpg. In Amazon Glacier, you cannot
assign a object key to the archives you upload.
If you maintain client-side archive metadata, note that Amazon Glacier maintains a vault inventory that includes archive IDs and any descriptions you provided during the archive upload. You might occasionally download the vault inventory to reconcile any issues in your client-side database you maintain for the archive metadata. However, Amazon Glacier takes vault inventory approximately daily. When you request a vault inventory, Amazon Glacier returns the last inventory it prepared, a point in time snapshot.