Delete millions of objects and terabytes of data from an AWS S3 bucket

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To delete millions of objects and terabytes of data from an AWS S3 bucket, the most efficient and recommended method is to use S3 Lifecycle configuration rules. Here's a detailed explanation of how to do this:

1. Use S3 Lifecycle Configuration:

   Setting up a lifecycle policy is the most effective way to delete large amounts of data from an S3 bucket. This method is asynchronous and can handle millions of objects and terabytes of data[1][6][7].

2. Steps to set up a Lifecycle Configuration:
   1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon S3 console.
   2. Select the bucket you want to empty.
   3. Go to the "Management" tab.
   4. Choose "Create lifecycle rule"[3][6].
3. Configure the Lifecycle Rule:
   1. Give the rule a name.
   2. Choose "This rule applies to all objects in the bucket" for the rule scope.
   3. Select the following actions[3][6]:
      • Expire current versions of objects
      • Permanently delete previous versions of objects
      • Delete expired delete markers or incomplete multipart uploads
   4. Set the expiration period to 1 day for all options[3][7].
4. Create Additional Rule:

   Create a second lifecycle rule to delete expired object delete markers[3].

5. Wait for the Process to Complete:

   The lifecycle rules will run once every day. After the first run, objects eligible for expiration will be marked for deletion. However, it may take a few days for the bucket to be completely emptied due to the asynchronous nature of the process[3][6][7].

Important Notes:

• This method is recommended by AWS for deleting large numbers of objects (millions+) and large amounts of data (terabytes+)[5][6].
• You won't be charged for objects marked for deletion, even if they haven't been physically removed yet[3][6].
• The process can take several days to complete, depending on the number of objects and the amount of data[7].
• This method works for buckets with versioning enabled or suspended[6].

Alternative Methods (less efficient for very large buckets):

• AWS CLI: Use the command `aws s3 rm s3://mybucket --recursive` for smaller buckets[5].
• AWS SDK: Use bulk deletion of up to 1000 objects per request for programmatic deletion[4].
• S3 Batch Operations: For more targeted deletions based on specific criteria[5].

Remember, once you start this process, it cannot be undone. Ensure you really want to delete all the objects in the bucket before proceeding[6].

By using the S3 Lifecycle configuration method, you can efficiently delete millions of objects and terabytes of data from your S3 bucket without running into timeout issues or incurring excessive API charges.

Citations:

1. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/63923487/delete-aws-s3-bucket-with-millions-of-objects
2. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/delete-multiple-objects.html
3. https://www.devonblog.com/devops/easily-delete-millions-of-files-in-your-s3-bucket-heres-how/
4. https://serverfault.com/questions/679989/most-efficient-way-to-batch-delete-s3-files
5. https://www.reddit.com/r/aws/comments/xf9nju/is_there_really_no_fast_way_to_delete_an_s3/
6. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/empty-bucket.html
7. https://plainenglish.io/blog/how-to-easily-delete-an-s3-bucket-with-millions-of-files-in-it-ad5cec3529b9
8. https://repost.aws/questions/QU5FKQm2XFSaCfNyYKHfzbRw/deleting-a-s3-bucket-of-size-500-tb

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