How to back up Amazon Lightsail instances with snapshots

Manual vs automatic snapshots

An instance snapshot copies the system disk and every block storage disk attached to the instance. An instance created from it gets those disks back.

Take a manual snapshot

1. In the Lightsail console, choose your instance.
2. Open the Snapshots tab.
3. Under Manual snapshots, choose Create snapshot and enter a name: 2 to 255 characters, unique in the Region, using letters, numbers, periods, dashes and underscores.
4. Choose Create. The status reads Snapshotting... until it finishes.

With the AWS CLI, --instance-name is the instance to copy and --instance-snapshot-name names the snapshot. Add --region if the instance isn't in your default Region.

aws lightsail create-instance-snapshot \
    --instance-name web-1 \
    --instance-snapshot-name web-1-2026-10-03

aws lightsail get-instance-snapshots

Turn on automatic snapshots

1. Open the instance and choose the Snapshots tab.
2. Under Automatic snapshots, switch the toggle on and confirm with Yes, enable.
3. Choose Change snapshot time, pick an hour in UTC, and choose Change.

From the CLI, enable-add-on turns the feature on and sets the time in one call. addOnType=AutoSnapshot selects the feature, and snapshotTimeOfDay takes a whole hour in HH:00 format, in UTC. Run the same command again to change the time.

aws lightsail enable-add-on \
    --region us-east-1 \
    --resource-name web-1 \
    --add-on-request addOnType=AutoSnapshot,autoSnapshotAddOnRequest={snapshotTimeOfDay=04:00}

• The snapshot starts between the time you set and 45 minutes after it.
• A new time must be more than 30 minutes from now, or it takes effect the next day.
• Without a time, Lightsail uses a Region default, such as 06:00 UTC in US East (N. Virginia) or 22:00 UTC in Europe (Ireland).
• You can't create a manual snapshot while an automatic one is being created.
• Block storage disks get automatic snapshots only through the CLI or API; the console handles instances.

To turn the feature off, use disable-add-on. Existing automatic snapshots stay until you delete them or the instance.

aws lightsail disable-add-on --region us-east-1 --resource-name web-1 --add-on-type AutoSnapshot

Keep an automatic snapshot

Automatic snapshots rotate out after seven days and vanish with the instance. To keep one, copy it as a manual snapshot. In the console: the Snapshots tab, the menu next to the automatic snapshot, Keep snapshot. From the CLI, list the dates, then copy one. --restore-date (YYYY-MM-DD) picks the automatic snapshot, and --region is where the copy goes.

aws lightsail get-auto-snapshots --region us-east-1 --resource-name web-1

aws lightsail copy-snapshot \
    --region us-east-1 \
    --source-region us-east-1 \
    --source-resource-name web-1 \
    --restore-date 2026-10-02 \
    --target-snapshot-name web-1-keep-2026-10-02

Restore: create a new instance from a snapshot

Lightsail doesn't roll an instance back in place. You create a new instance from the snapshot, check it, move traffic to it, then delete the old one. This is also how you move to a bigger plan.

1. Open the source instance, choose Snapshots, and in the snapshot's menu choose Create new instance.
2. Optionally change the Availability Zone, add a launch script or change the SSH key setting.
3. Choose a plan: the same size or larger, never smaller.
4. Name the instance and choose Create instance.
5. Recreate custom firewall rules; only the default rules carry over.
6. If the old instance had a static IP, reassign it to the new instance so DNS keeps working.

The CLI version needs --availability-zone and --bundle-id (the plan, equal to or larger than the original).

aws lightsail create-instances-from-snapshot \
    --instance-snapshot-name web-1-2026-10-03 \
    --instance-names web-1-restored \
    --availability-zone us-east-1a \
    --bundle-id small_3_0

To restore from an automatic snapshot, replace --instance-snapshot-name with --source-instance-name web-1 plus either --restore-date or --use-latest-restorable-auto-snapshot. The new instance's software is only as current as the snapshot, so apply updates before putting it in service.

Copy a snapshot to another Region

Instance and disk snapshots can be copied to another Region in the same account. In the console: Snapshots in the left menu, the snapshot's menu, Copy to another Region. From the CLI, --region is the destination.

aws lightsail copy-snapshot \
    --source-snapshot-name web-1-2026-10-03 \
    --target-snapshot-name web-1-2026-10-03-dr \
    --source-region us-east-1 \
    --region us-west-2

Export a snapshot to Amazon EC2

Exporting turns an instance snapshot into an AMI plus EBS snapshots in EC2, with one extra EBS snapshot per attached disk. Use it to reach instance types or services Lightsail doesn't offer. Console: Snapshots, the snapshot's Action menu, Export to Amazon EC2.

aws lightsail export-snapshot --source-snapshot-name web-1-2026-10-03

• The export lands in the same Region; copy the snapshot first to export elsewhere.
• Automatic snapshots can't be exported directly; keep one as a manual snapshot first.
• Snapshots of cPanel & WHM (CentOS 7) instances can't be exported.
• Track progress under Exports in the Lightsail console.
• An EC2 instance built from the export may carry leftover Lightsail SSH keys; AWS recommends removing them.

Getting a consistent snapshot

Lightsail doesn't ask you to stop the instance first. A snapshot of a running instance holds what was on disk at that moment, so writes still in memory are missing, as after a power cut. For a database, schedule a dump to disk with cron an hour before the automatic snapshot time. The snapshot then always carries a consistent copy. See MySQL and PostgreSQL.

What Lightsail snapshots cost

As of October 2026, Lightsail charges $0.05 per GB-month for instance and disk snapshots, manual and automatic alike. AWS says each new snapshot is charged only for the part of the instance that changed. Watch for duplicates: keeping an automatic snapshot creates a manual copy billed on its own, and an exported snapshot keeps billing in Lightsail until you delete it, on top of the AMI and EBS snapshots in EC2.

Limits worth knowing

• 7 automatic snapshots per instance or disk, one a day.
• No automatic snapshots for Windows instances or managed databases; databases have their own point-in-time backups.
• New instances from a snapshot: same plan or larger.
• Automatic snapshot times are whole hours in UTC.
• Block storage disks: automatic snapshot settings through the CLI or API only.

What Lightsail snapshots don't protect against

Every Lightsail snapshot, including copies in other Regions, belongs to the same AWS account as the instance.

• Deleting the instance. Its automatic snapshots go with it, so a mistaken cleanup or someone with your credentials removes the server and seven days of history in one action.
• Account access. Leaked keys, a suspended account or a lost root login puts every snapshot out of reach.
• Bad data. A snapshot of a corrupted disk restores the corruption. A restore test catches it.

Frequently asked questions

How many automatic snapshots does Lightsail keep?

Seven, one per day. When a new one is created, the oldest is replaced. Copy any you want to keep as manual snapshots.

Can I restore a Lightsail snapshot to a smaller plan?

No. The new instance must use the same plan or a larger one.

Does a Lightsail snapshot include block storage disks?

Yes. An instance snapshot copies the system disk and the block storage disks attached to the instance, and an instance created from it includes them.

Are automatic snapshots deleted with the instance?

Yes. Manual snapshots survive the instance; automatic ones don't.