Create volume snapshots
Take point-in-time snapshots of a volume while it stays online, snapshot several volumes at once, and view and delete volume snapshots.
A volume snapshot is a point-in-time copy of one volume. The volume stays online and writable while the snapshot is taken, so you can snapshot a volume that's attached to a running instance.
Before you begin
- You need the Owner or Contributor role, or a custom role with Manage access to Block & Object Storage, on the subscription or on the project.
- The volume's status must be Available or In use.
- Plan for consistency. A snapshot of an attached volume holds what was on the disk at that moment, as after a sudden power loss. For a consistent copy of an application such as a database, stop the application or flush its data to disk first.
Create a volume snapshot
In the console, go to StorageVolume snapshots, and select Create snapshot.
In Source volume, select the volume.
In Snapshot name, enter a name, and optionally a Description.
Keep Link to previous snapshot turned on to link the snapshot to the volume's most recent snapshot, or turn it off to start a new chain. See Snapshot chains and lineage.
Select Create snapshot.
You can also start from the volume: select Create snapshot in the actions menu (⋯) at the end of the volume's row, or Snapshot on the volume's page. The form then opens with the volume selected.
| Field | Rules |
|---|---|
| Source volume | A volume of the project that's Available or In use. |
| Snapshot name | Required. 1–255 characters. It can't start or end with a space, and it can't contain control characters or characters outside the Unicode Basic Multilingual Plane, such as most emoji. Unique among the volume snapshots of the project. |
| Description | Optional. |
The snapshot is the full size of its source volume, also when it's linked to a previous snapshot. The form shows the estimated monthly cost.
To create a volume snapshot with the API, use POST/scopes/{scopeId}/storage/snapshots.
Snapshot several volumes at once
In the console, go to StorageVolumes, and select the check boxes of the volumes.
Select Create snapshot, and confirm.
Each volume gets its own snapshot, named after the volume with -snap- and the current date in UTC, for example pgdata-02-snap-2026-10-08. These snapshots are linked to each volume's most recent snapshot. If some of them can't be created, the console reports how many failed. To snapshot a volume a second time on the same day, use the form for one volume, and give the snapshot another name.
Follow and view a snapshot
In StorageVolume snapshots, a new snapshot is Creating at first, shown under the In progress filter, and then Available. If it fails, its status is Error, and the list and its page show the reason.
The snapshot's page shows its size and its source volume's size, whether it's Linked or Full, its place in the chain, and the Derived volumes, the volumes created from it.
Delete a volume snapshot
In the console, go to StorageVolume snapshots, and select the snapshot.
Select Delete, and select Delete again to confirm.
To delete several snapshots, select their check boxes in the list, and select Delete. Deleting a snapshot can't be undone. A snapshot that's still Creating can't be deleted. Deleting a snapshot doesn't affect the other snapshots of its chain. See Snapshot chains and lineage.
Snapshots also affect when you can delete their volume. See What blocks a deletion.
Billing
For how volume snapshots are billed, see Billing.
Troubleshooting
| Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "source volume is not in a snapshottable state" | The volume is still being created or is in error. | Wait until the volume is Available or In use. |
| "a snapshot with this name already exists" | Another snapshot in the project has this name. | Enter another name. |
| "snapshot is still being captured and cannot be deleted yet" | The snapshot is still being created. | Wait until it's available or has failed. |
| "This subscription is paused; no new resources can be provisioned until it is resumed." | The subscription is paused, and a paused subscription refuses new volume snapshots. | Resume the subscription. See Pause and resume a subscription. |