---
title: "Delete a snapshot"
description: "Remove a snapshot you no longer need from a node's Snapshots tab, unlocking it first if it is locked."
content_type: "how-to"
product: "node"
platform: "MyAccount"
url: "/myaccount/node/how-to/delete-a-snapshot/"
topic: ["images-and-snapshots"]
relationships: {"requires":["/myaccount/node/how-to/create-a-snapshot/"]}
---

# Delete a snapshot

Delete a snapshot from a node's **Snapshots** tab once you no longer need the point it captured.
Deleting it removes only the snapshot; the node and any image you created from it stay as they are.

## Delete the snapshot

Open the node's **Snapshots** tab, find the snapshot, and delete it. It comes off the list right
away. To delete a locked snapshot, take its lock off first.

## Locking a snapshot

Lock a snapshot to stop it from being deleted, either by you or by a lifecycle rule, which
clears out old backups or snapshots automatically after a set time. Do this, for
example, while you still mean to build an image from it. Take the lock back off once you are
ready to delete it.

You pay for each snapshot until you delete it. To have old ones removed for you, set a snapshot
lifecycle from the link on the **Snapshots** tab.