# Deleting Amazon S3 objects You can delete one or more objects directly from Amazon S3 using the Amazon S3 console, AWS SDKs, AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), or REST API. For example, if you're collecting log files, it's a good idea to delete them when they're no longer needed. You can [set up an S3 Lifecycle rule](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/how-to-set-lifecycle-configuration-intro.html) to automatically delete objects such as log files. To delete an object, you can use one of the following API operations: + **Delete a single object** – Amazon S3 provides the `DELETE` (`DeleteObject`) API operation that you can use to delete one object in a single HTTP request. + **Delete multiple objects** – Amazon S3 provides the Multi-Object Delete (`DeleteObjects`) API operation that you can use to delete up to 1,000 objects in a single HTTP request. When deleting objects from a bucket that is not versioning-enabled, you provide only the object key name. However, when deleting objects from a versioning-enabled bucket, you can provide the version ID of the object to delete a specific version of the object. ## Best practices to consider before deleting an object Before you delete an object, consider the following best practices: + Enable [bucket versioning](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/manage-versioning-examples.html). [S3 Versioning](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/Versioning.html) adds protection against simple `DeleteObject` requests to prevent accidental deletions. For versioned buckets, if you delete the current version of an object or when a delete request doesn’t specify a specific version Id, Amazon S3 doesn’t permanently delete the object. Instead, S3 adds a delete marker, issuing a soft delete of the object. The delete marker then becomes the current (or newest) version of the object with a new version ID. For more information, see [Deleting object versions from a versioning-enabled bucket](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/DeletingObjectVersions.html). + If you want to delete a large number of objects, or for programmatically deleting objects based on object creation date, [set a S3 Lifecycle configuration on your bucket](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/how-to-set-lifecycle-configuration-intro.html). To monitor these deletions, we recommend that you [use an S3 Lifecycle event notification](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/lifecycle-configure-notification.html). When you configure S3 Lifecycle notifications, the `s3:LifecycleExpiration:Delete` event type notifies you when an object in a bucket is deleted. It also notifies you when an object version is permanently deleted by an S3 Lifecycle configuration. The `s3:LifecycleExpiration:DeleteMarkerCreated` event type notifies you when S3 Lifecycle creates a delete marker. A delete marker is created when a current version of an object in a versioned bucket is deleted. + Before making any updates to your S3 Lifecycle configuration, confirm that Lifecycle has completed the actions on all intended objects. For more information, see the **Updating, disabling, or deleting Lifecycle rules** section in [Setting an S3 Lifecycle configuration on a bucket](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/how-to-set-lifecycle-configuration-intro.html). **Note** The S3 Lifecycle rules must apply to the right subset of objects to prevent unintended deletions. You can filter objects by prefixes, object tags, or object sizes when creating the Lifecycle rules. + Consider restricting users from removing or deleting objects from your bucket. To restrict users, you’ll need to explicitly deny users the permissions for the following actions in your [Amazon S3 bucket policies](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/bucket-policies.html): + `s3:DeleteObject`, `s3:DeleteObjectVersion` (to control who can delete objects using API requests) + `s3:PutLifecycleConfiguration` (to control who can add S3 Lifecycle expiration rules) + Consider using [S3 Replication](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/replication.html) to create multiple copies of your data and to replicate them to multiple locations at once. You can choose as many destination buckets as needed. Additionally, if an object is unintentionally deleted, you'll still have a copy of the data. + Avoid sending object version IDs to unversioned buckets. Also, make sure to properly set both the `s3:DeleteObject` and `s3:DeleteObjectVersion` permissions on all buckets (including unversioned buckets). ## Deleting objects from a versioning-enabled bucket If your bucket is versioning-enabled, multiple versions of the same object can exist in the bucket. When working with versioning-enabled buckets, the `Delete` API operations enable the following options: + **Specify a non-versioned delete request** – Specify only the object's key, and not the version ID. In this case, Amazon S3 creates a delete marker over the current version of the object and returns its version ID in the response. This makes your object disappear from the bucket. For information about object versioning and the delete marker concept, see [Retaining multiple versions of objects with S3 Versioning](Versioning.md). + **Specify a versioned delete request** – Specify both the key and version ID. In this case, the following outcomes are possible: + If the version ID maps to a specific object version, Amazon S3 deletes the specific version of the object. + If the version ID maps to the delete marker of an object, Amazon S3 deletes the delete marker. When the delete marker gets deleted, the object then reappears in your bucket. ## Deleting objects from a versioning-suspended bucket If your bucket is versioning-suspended, the `Delete` API operations behave the same way for versioning enabled buckets (except for when the current version has a null version ID). For more information, see [Deleting objects from versioning-suspended buckets](DeletingObjectsfromVersioningSuspendedBuckets.md). ## Deleting objects from an unversioned bucket If your bucket is unversioned, you can specify the object's key in the `Delete` API operations and Amazon S3 will permanently delete the object. To prevent permanent deletion of an object, [enable bucket versioning](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/manage-versioning-examples.html). For unversioned buckets, if the `s3:DeleteObject` or `s3:DeleteObjectVersion` permissions are explicitly denied in your bucket policy, then any `DeleteObject`, `DeleteObjects`, or `DeleteObjectVersion` requests result in a `403 Access Denied` error. ## Deleting objects from an MFA-enabled bucket When deleting objects from a multi-factor authentication (MFA)-enabled bucket, note the following: + If you provide an MFA token that isn't valid, the request always fails. + If you have an MFA-enabled bucket and you make a versioned delete request (you provide an object key and version ID), the request fails if you don't provide a valid MFA token. In addition, when using the multi-object `Delete` API operation on an MFA-enabled bucket, if any of the deletes are a versioned delete request (that is, you specify an object key and version ID), the entire request fails if you don't provide an MFA token. However, in the following cases, the request succeeds: + If you have an MFA-enabled bucket and you make a non-versioned delete request (you are not deleting a versioned object), and you don't provide an MFA token, the delete succeeds. + If you have a Multi-Object Delete request that specifies only non-versioned objects to delete from an MFA-enabled bucket and you don't provide an MFA token, the deletions succeed. For information about MFA delete, see [Configuring MFA delete](MultiFactorAuthenticationDelete.md). **Topics** + [Best practices to consider before deleting an object](#DeletingObjects-best-practices) + [Deleting objects from a versioning-enabled bucket](#DeletingObjectsfromaVersion-EnabledBucket) + [Deleting objects from a versioning-suspended bucket](#Deleting-objects-versioning-suspended-bucket) + [Deleting objects from an unversioned bucket](#Deleting-objects-unversioned-bucket) + [Deleting objects from an MFA-enabled bucket](#DeletingObjectsfromanMFA-EnabledBucket) + [Deleting a single object](delete-objects.md) + [Deleting multiple objects](delete-multiple-objects.md) # Deleting a single object You can use the Amazon S3 console or the DELETE API to delete a single existing object from an S3 bucket. For more information about deleting objects in Amazon S3, see [Deleting Amazon S3 objects](DeletingObjects.md). Because all objects in your S3 bucket incur storage costs, you should delete objects that you no longer need. For example, if you are collecting log files, it's a good idea to delete them when they're no longer needed. You can set up a lifecycle rule to automatically delete objects such as log files. For more information, see [Setting an S3 Lifecycle configuration on a bucket](how-to-set-lifecycle-configuration-intro.md). For information about Amazon S3 features and pricing, see [Amazon S3 pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing). ## Using the S3 console Follow these steps to use the Amazon S3 console to delete a single object from a bucket. **Warning** When you permanently delete an object or specified object version in the Amazon S3 console, the deletion can't be undone. **To delete an object that has versioning enabled or suspended** **Note** If the version ID for an object in a versioning-suspended bucket is marked as `NULL`, S3 permanently deletes the object since no previous versions exist. However, if a valid version ID is listed for the object in a versioning-suspended bucket, then S3 creates a delete marker for the deleted object, while retaining the previous versions of the object. 1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon S3 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **General purpose buckets** or **Directory buckets**. 1. In the bucket list, choose the name of the bucket that you want to delete an object from. 1. Select the object and then choose **Delete**. 1. To confirm deletion of the objects list under **Specified objects** in the **Delete objects?** text box, enter **delete**. **To permanently delete a specific object version in a versioning-enabled bucket** **Warning** When you permanently delete a specific object version in Amazon S3, the deletion can't be undone. 1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon S3 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/). 1. In the **Bucket name** list, choose the name of the bucket that you want to delete an object from. 1. Select the object that you want to delete. 1. Choose the **Show versions** toggle. 1. Select the object version and then choose **Delete**. 1. To confirm permanent deletion of the specific object versions listed under **Specified objects**, in the **Delete objects?** text box, enter **Permanently delete**. Amazon S3 permanently deletes the specific object version. **To permanently delete an object in an Amazon S3 bucket that *doesn't* have versioning enabled** **Warning** When you permanently delete an object in Amazon S3, the deletion can't be undone. Also, for any buckets without versioning enabled, deletions are permanent. 1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon S3 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **General purpose buckets**. 1. In the bucket list, choose the name of the bucket that you want to delete an object from. 1. Select the object and then choose **Delete**. 1. To confirm permanent deletion of the object listed under **Specified objects**, in the **Delete objects?** text box, enter **permanently delete**. **Note** If you're experiencing any issues with deleting your object, see [I want to permanently delete versioned objects](troubleshooting-versioning.md#delete-objects-permanent). ## Using the AWS CLI To delete one object per request, use the `DELETE` API. For more information, see [DELETE Object](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/RESTObjectDELETE.html). For more information about using the CLI to delete an object, see [delete-object](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/2.0.34/reference/s3api/delete-object.html). # Using the REST API You can use the AWS SDKs to delete an object. However, if your application requires it, you can send REST requests directly. For more information, see [DELETE Object](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/RESTObjectDELETE.html) in the *Amazon Simple Storage Service API Reference*. ## Using the AWS SDKs The following examples show how you can use the AWS SDKs to delete an object from a bucket. For more information, see [DELETE Object](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/RESTObjectDELETE.html) in the *Amazon Simple Storage Service API Reference* If you have S3 Versioning enabled on the bucket, you have the following options: + Delete a specific object version by specifying a version ID. + Delete an object without specifying a version ID, in which case Amazon S3 adds a delete marker to the object. For more information about S3 Versioning, see [Retaining multiple versions of objects with S3 Versioning](Versioning.md). For more examples, and examples in other languages, see [Use `DeleteObject` with an AWS SDK or CLI ](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/s3_example_s3_DeleteObject_section.html) in the *Amazon S3 API reference*. ------ #### [ Java ] To delete objects using the AWS SDK for Java, you can delete objects from both versioned and non-versioned buckets: + *Non-versioned bucket:* In the delete request, you specify only the object key and not a version ID. + *Versioned bucket:* You can delete a specific object version by specifying both the object key name and version ID. If there are no other versions of that object, Amazon S3 deletes the object entirely. Otherwise, Amazon S3 only deletes the specified version. **Note** You can get the version IDs of an object by sending a `ListVersions` request. For examples of how to delete a single object with the AWS SDK for Java, see [Delete an object](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/s3_example_s3_DeleteObject_section.html) in the *Amazon S3 API Reference*. ------ #### [ .NET ] The following examples show how to delete an object from both versioned and non-versioned buckets. For more information about S3 Versioning, see [Retaining multiple versions of objects with S3 Versioning](Versioning.md). **Example Deleting an object from a non-versioned bucket** The following C\$1 example deletes an object from a non-versioned bucket. The example assumes that the objects don't have version IDs, so you don't specify version IDs. You specify only the object key. For information about setting up and running the code examples, see [Getting Started with the AWS SDK for .NET](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-net/latest/developer-guide/net-dg-setup.html) in the *AWS SDK for .NET Developer Guide*. ``` using Amazon; using Amazon.S3; using Amazon.S3.Model; using System; using System.Threading.Tasks; namespace Amazon.DocSamples.S3 { class DeleteObjectNonVersionedBucketTest { private const string bucketName = "*** bucket name ***"; private const string keyName = "*** object key ***"; // Specify your bucket region (an example region is shown). private static readonly RegionEndpoint bucketRegion = RegionEndpoint.USWest2; private static IAmazonS3 client; public static void Main() { client = new AmazonS3Client(bucketRegion); DeleteObjectNonVersionedBucketAsync().Wait(); } private static async Task DeleteObjectNonVersionedBucketAsync() { try { var deleteObjectRequest = new DeleteObjectRequest { BucketName = bucketName, Key = keyName }; Console.WriteLine("Deleting an object"); await client.DeleteObjectAsync(deleteObjectRequest); } catch (AmazonS3Exception e) { Console.WriteLine("Error encountered on server. Message:'{0}' when deleting an object", e.Message); } catch (Exception e) { Console.WriteLine("Unknown encountered on server. Message:'{0}' when deleting an object", e.Message); } } } } ``` **Example Deleting an object from a versioned bucket** The following C\$1 example deletes an object from a versioned bucket. It deletes a specific version of the object by specifying the object key name and version ID. The code performs the following tasks: 1. Enables S3 Versioning on a bucket that you specify (if S3 Versioning is already enabled, this has no effect). 1. Adds a sample object to the bucket. In response, Amazon S3 returns the version ID of the newly added object. The example uses this version ID in the delete request. 1. Deletes the sample object by specifying both the object key name and a version ID. **Note** You can also get the version ID of an object by sending a `ListVersions` request. ``` var listResponse = client.ListVersions(new ListVersionsRequest { BucketName = bucketName, Prefix = keyName }); ``` For information about setting up and running the code examples, see [Getting Started with the AWS SDK for .NET](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-net/latest/developer-guide/net-dg-setup.html) in the *AWS SDK for .NET Developer Guide*. ``` using Amazon; using Amazon.S3; using Amazon.S3.Model; using System; using System.Threading.Tasks; namespace Amazon.DocSamples.S3 { class DeleteObjectVersion { private const string bucketName = "*** versioning-enabled bucket name ***"; private const string keyName = "*** Object Key Name ***"; // Specify your bucket region (an example region is shown). private static readonly RegionEndpoint bucketRegion = RegionEndpoint.USWest2; private static IAmazonS3 client; public static void Main() { client = new AmazonS3Client(bucketRegion); CreateAndDeleteObjectVersionAsync().Wait(); } private static async Task CreateAndDeleteObjectVersionAsync() { try { // Add a sample object. string versionID = await PutAnObject(keyName); // Delete the object by specifying an object key and a version ID. DeleteObjectRequest request = new DeleteObjectRequest { BucketName = bucketName, Key = keyName, VersionId = versionID }; Console.WriteLine("Deleting an object"); await client.DeleteObjectAsync(request); } catch (AmazonS3Exception e) { Console.WriteLine("Error encountered on server. Message:'{0}' when deleting an object", e.Message); } catch (Exception e) { Console.WriteLine("Unknown encountered on server. Message:'{0}' when deleting an object", e.Message); } } static async Task PutAnObject(string objectKey) { PutObjectRequest request = new PutObjectRequest { BucketName = bucketName, Key = objectKey, ContentBody = "This is the content body!" }; PutObjectResponse response = await client.PutObjectAsync(request); return response.VersionId; } } } ``` ------ #### [ PHP ] This example shows how to use classes from version 3 of the AWS SDK for PHP to delete an object from a non-versioned bucket. For information about deleting an object from a versioned bucket, see [Using the REST API](DeletingAnObjectsUsingREST.md). For more information about the AWS SDK for Ruby API, go to [AWS SDK for Ruby - Version 2](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdkforruby/api/index.html). The following PHP example deletes an object from a bucket. Because this example shows how to delete objects from non-versioned buckets, it provides only the bucket name and object key (not a version ID) in the delete request. ``` 'latest', 'region' => 'us-east-1' ]); // 1. Delete the object from the bucket. try { echo 'Attempting to delete ' . $keyname . '...' . PHP_EOL; $result = $s3->deleteObject([ 'Bucket' => $bucket, 'Key' => $keyname ]); if ($result['DeleteMarker']) { echo $keyname . ' was deleted or does not exist.' . PHP_EOL; } else { exit('Error: ' . $keyname . ' was not deleted.' . PHP_EOL); } } catch (S3Exception $e) { exit('Error: ' . $e->getAwsErrorMessage() . PHP_EOL); } // 2. Check to see if the object was deleted. try { echo 'Checking to see if ' . $keyname . ' still exists...' . PHP_EOL; $result = $s3->getObject([ 'Bucket' => $bucket, 'Key' => $keyname ]); echo 'Error: ' . $keyname . ' still exists.'; } catch (S3Exception $e) { exit($e->getAwsErrorMessage()); } ``` ------ #### [ Javascript ] ``` import { DeleteObjectCommand } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3"; import { s3Client } from "./libs/s3Client.js" // Helper function that creates Amazon S3 service client module. export const bucketParams = { Bucket: "BUCKET_NAME", Key: "KEY" }; export const run = async () => { try { const data = await s3Client.send(new DeleteObjectCommand(bucketParams)); console.log("Success. Object deleted.", data); return data; // For unit tests. } catch (err) { console.log("Error", err); } }; run(); ``` ------ # Deleting multiple objects Because all objects in your S3 bucket incur storage costs, you should delete objects that you no longer need. For example, if you are collecting log files, it's a good idea to delete them when they're no longer needed. You can set up a lifecycle rule to automatically delete objects such as log files. For more information, see [Setting an S3 Lifecycle configuration on a bucket](how-to-set-lifecycle-configuration-intro.md). For information about Amazon S3 features and pricing, see [Amazon S3 pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/s3/pricing). You can use the Amazon S3 console, AWS SDKs, or the REST API to delete multiple objects simultaneously from an S3 bucket. ## Using the S3 console Follow these steps to use the Amazon S3 console to delete multiple objects from a bucket. **Warning** Deleting a specified object cannot be undone. This action deletes all specified objects. When deleting folders, wait for the delete action to finish before adding new objects to the folder. Otherwise, new objects might be deleted as well. When deleting objects in a bucket without versioning enabled, including directory buckets, Amazon S3 will permanently delete the objects. When deleting objects in a bucket with bucket versioning **enabled** or **suspended**, Amazon S3 creates delete markers. For more information, see [Working with delete markers](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/DeleteMarker.html). **To delete objects that have versioning enabled or suspended** **Note** If the version IDs for the object in a versioning-suspended bucket are marked as `NULL`, S3 permanently deletes the objects since no previous versions exist. However, if a valid version ID is listed for the objects in a versioning-suspended bucket, then S3 creates delete markers for the deleted objects, while retaining the previous versions of the objects. 1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon S3 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **General purpose buckets**. 1. In the bucket list, choose the name of the bucket that you want to delete the objects from. 1. Select the objects and then choose **Delete**. 1. To confirm deletion of the objects list under **Specified objects** in the **Delete objects?** text box, enter **delete**. **To permanently delete specific object versions in a versioning-enabled bucket** **Warning** When you permanently delete specific object versions in Amazon S3, the deletion can't be undone. 1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon S3 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **General purpose buckets**. 1. In the bucket list, choose the name of the bucket that you want to delete the objects from. 1. Select the objects that you want to delete. 1. Choose the **Show versions** toggle. 1. Select the object versions and then choose **Delete**. 1. To confirm permanent deletion of the specific object versions listed under **Specified objects**, in the **Delete objects?** text box, enter **Permanently delete**. Amazon S3 permanently deletes the specific object versions. **To permanently delete the objects in an Amazon S3 bucket that *don't* have versioning enabled** **Warning** When you permanently delete an object in Amazon S3, the deletion can't be undone. Also, for any buckets without versioning enabled, including directory buckets, deletions are permanent. 1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon S3 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/s3/). 1. In the left navigation pane, choose **General purpose buckets** or **Directory buckets**. 1. In the bucket list, choose the name of the bucket that you want to delete the objects from. 1. Select the objects and then choose **Delete**. 1. To confirm permanent deletion of the objects listed under **Specified objects**, in the **Delete objects?** text box, enter **permanently delete**. **Note** If you're experiencing any issues with deleting your objects, see [I want to permanently delete versioned objects](troubleshooting-versioning.md#delete-objects-permanent). ## Using the AWS SDKs For examples of how to delete multiple objects with the AWS SDKs, see [Delete multiple objects](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/s3_example_s3_DeleteObjects_section.html) in the *Amazon S3 API Reference*. For general information about using different AWS SDKs, see [Developing with Amazon S3 using the AWS SDKs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/sdk-general-information-section.html) in the *Amazon S3 API Reference*. # Using the REST API You can use the AWS SDKs to delete multiple objects using the Multi-Object Delete API. However, if your application requires it, you can send REST requests directly. For more information, see [Delete Multiple Objects](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/multiobjectdeleteapi.html) in the *Amazon Simple Storage Service API Reference*.