aid: amazon-data-lifecycle-manager
name: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager
description: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager provides an automated way to manage the lifecycle of your AWS resources. Using
  lifecycle policies, you can automate the creation, retention, and deletion of Amazon EBS snapshots and EBS-backed AMIs,
  reducing storage costs and simplifying backup management. Policies target EBS volumes and EC2 instances using tags, execute
  on configurable schedules, and apply flexible retention rules based on count or age.
type: Index
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- AWS
- Backup
- EBS Snapshots
- Lifecycle Management
- Storage
- Automation
- Compliance
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/amazon-data-lifecycle-manager/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-03-16'
modified: '2026-05-19'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: amazon-data-lifecycle-manager:amazon-dlm-api
  name: Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager API
  description: The Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager API enables programmatic management of lifecycle policies for automating
    the creation, retention, and deletion of EBS snapshots and AMIs to meet backup and compliance requirements. Supports EBS
    snapshot management, AMI lifecycle management, and event-based snapshot policies.
  humanURL: https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/data-lifecycle-manager/
  baseURL: https://dlm.amazonaws.com
  tags:
  - Automation
  - EBS Snapshots
  - Lifecycle Management
  - Backup
  - AMI Management
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dlm/latest/APIReference/Welcome.html
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/amazon-data-lifecycle-manager-openapi.yml
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: https://api.apis.guru/v2/specs/amazonaws.com/dlm/2018-01-12/openapi.yaml
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/snapshot-lifecycle.html
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dlm/latest/APIReference/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/lifecycle-policy-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/policy-details-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/schedule-schema.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/amazon-data-lifecycle-manager-context.jsonld
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/amazon-data-lifecycle-manager-lifecycle-policies.yaml
  - type: NaftikoCapability
    url: capabilities/amazon-data-lifecycle-manager-tags.yaml
common:
- type: Portal
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/data-lifecycle-manager/
- type: DeveloperPortal
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/ebs/data-lifecycle-manager/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/dlm/
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/
- type: Support
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/aws
- type: Console
  url: https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/v2/home#Lifecycle
- type: SignUp
  url: https://portal.aws.amazon.com/billing/signup
- type: Login
  url: https://signin.aws.amazon.com/
- type: StatusPage
  url: https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status
- type: Contact
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/contact-us/
- type: SpectralRules
  url: rules/amazon-data-lifecycle-manager-spectral-rules.yml
- type: Vocabulary
  url: vocabulary/amazon-data-lifecycle-manager-vocabulary.yaml
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: EBS Snapshot Automation
    description: Automatically create, copy, and delete EBS snapshots on configurable schedules using tag-based targeting
      of volumes across AWS accounts.
  - name: AMI Lifecycle Management
    description: Automate the creation and deregistration of Amazon Machine Images from EC2 instances on schedules to maintain
      a library of AMIs.
  - name: Flexible Retention Rules
    description: Retain snapshots by count (keep the last N) or by age (keep for N days/weeks/months/years), automatically
      deleting older snapshots.
  - name: Tag-Based Targeting
    description: Target EBS volumes or EC2 instances using resource tags for policy scope, enabling granular backup control
      without managing resource lists.
  - name: Cross-Region Copy
    description: Configure schedules to copy snapshots to other AWS regions for disaster recovery and geographic redundancy
      automatically.
  - name: Fast Snapshot Restore
    description: Enable fast snapshot restore on snapshots created by DLM policies to dramatically reduce EBS volume initialization
      time.
  - name: Event-Based Policies
    description: Trigger snapshot sharing and copying workflows in response to CloudWatch Events for cross-account snapshot
      automation.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Automated Daily Backups
    description: Schedule daily EBS volume snapshots with automated retention of the last 7 or 30 days of backups without
      manual intervention.
  - name: Compliance and Audit Retention
    description: Meet regulatory backup retention requirements by defining long-term retention policies (monthly/yearly) for
      compliance snapshots.
  - name: Disaster Recovery
    description: Automatically copy EBS snapshots to secondary AWS regions to enable cross-region disaster recovery with minimal
      RTO and RPO.
  - name: Golden AMI Pipeline
    description: Automate the creation of hardened EC2 AMI images from approved instances and manage their lifecycle for deployment
      fleets.
  - name: Storage Cost Optimization
    description: Reduce EBS snapshot storage costs by automatically deleting outdated snapshots based on configurable age
      or count retention rules.
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: Amazon EBS
    description: Native integration with Amazon EBS for snapshot creation, retention, and deletion of volumes across the AWS
      account.
  - name: Amazon EC2
    description: Target EC2 instances with IMAGE_MANAGEMENT policies to automate AMI creation from running or stopped instances.
  - name: Amazon CloudWatch
    description: Event-based DLM policies are triggered by Amazon CloudWatch Events for cross-account snapshot sharing scenarios.
  - name: AWS Backup
    description: Complementary to DLM, AWS Backup provides centralized backup management across multiple AWS services including
      EBS, RDS, and DynamoDB.
  - name: AWS IAM
    description: DLM uses IAM execution roles to assume permissions for creating and deleting snapshots on behalf of the lifecycle
      policy.
  - name: AWS Organizations
    description: Cross-account snapshot sharing policies use AWS Organizations to share EBS snapshots with member accounts
      automatically.
- type: Integrations
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace
integrations:
- name: Sign in
- name: Agent Mode
- name: Why AWS Marketplace?
- name: Get started in AWS Marketplace
- name: Industry
- name: Resources
- name: Become a Channel Partner
- name: Sell in AWS Marketplace
- name: Manage Your Account
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com