How to Take, Revert to, or Delete a Snapshot

Machines are Linux and Windows virtual machines with persistent storage, GPU options, and free unlimited bandwidth. They’re designed for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.

Snapshots are disk images of a machine from a specific point in time. A snapshot serves as a backup for your machine, allowing you to revert to a previous version of your machine if unintended issues occur, like data corruption, system failures, or accidental disconnections from Paperspace. It allows you to restore your machine with minimal downtime.

There are two types of snapshots: auto-snapshots and manual snapshots.

• Auto-snapshots: Scheduled snapshots that are automatically captured.
• Manual snapshots: User-initiated snapshots.

Unlike templates, snapshots are created without needing to turn off your machine. However, snapshots are deleted when the corresponding machine is deactivated.

Take Auto-Snapshots in the Paperspace Console

You cannot use the Paperspace API or CLI to set up auto-snapshots. You can only configure auto-snapshots when you first create your machine. If you want to set up auto-snapshots for existing machines, you need to set it up via the Paperspace console.

To take auto-snapshots of your machine, go to the Paperspace console, in the top-left corner, click the drop-down menu, select CORE, click the Machines tab, then find and select the machine you want to configure auto-snapshots for.

In the machine’s overview page, in the top-right corner, click the Snapshots tab. In the Snapshots page, under the Configure Auto-Snapshot section, click the toggle to enable auto-snapshots.

If you want to change the frequency and amount of snapshots taken, in the Configure Auto-Snapshot section, under the Take a snapshot every sub-section, click the drop-down menu, specify the frequency of your snapshots, which ranges from an “hour”, a “day”, a “week”, or a “month”. By default, the snapshot frequency is set to “day”.

Under the Save the last sub-section, click the drop-down menu, specify the maximum number of snapshots to store, which ranges from 0 to 10 snapshots. By default, the number of snapshots stored is set to 1.

Under the Save the last sub-section, click the drop-down menu, specify the maximum number of snapshots to store, which ranges from 0 to 10 snapshots. By default, the number of snapshots stored is set to 1.

The old auto-snapshots are replaced by the new ones once the maximum number of snapshots to store is reached.

You can find your auto-snapshots listed in the Snapshots page, under the Snapshots section, which displays the snapshot name, snapshot ID, and the time your snapshot was created.

Take a Manual Snapshot

Using the Paperspace Console

To take a manual snapshot of your machine, go to the Paperspace console, in the top-left corner, click the drop-down menu, select CORE, click the Machines tab, then find and select the machine you want to take a snapshot of.

In the machine’s overview page, in the top-right corner, click the Snapshots tab. In the Snapshots page, under the Create a Snapshot section, under the Snapshot Name sub-section, specify the name of your snapshot. Then, click CREATE SNAPSHOT.

You can find your new snapshot list in the Snapshots page, under the Snapshots section, which displays the snapshot name, snapshot ID, and the time your snapshot was created.

Using the Paperspace API

When taking a snapshot using the Paperspace API, you need to provide the following values:

• name (string): The name of the snapshot.
• machineId (string): The ID of the machine you want to create a snapshot for.

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERSPACE_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
        "name": "your-snapshot-name",
        "machineId": "psm9u09bwu5i"
      }' \
  "https://api.paperspace.com/v1/snapshots"

Using the Paperspace CLI

When taking a snapshot using the Paperspace CLI, you need to provide the following values:

• name (string): The name of the snapshot.
• machine-id (string): The ID of the machine you want to create a snapshot for.

pspace login --api-key your-api-key

pspace snapshot create -F --name your-snapshot-name --machine-id psm9u09bwu5i

Revert to a Snapshot

Using the Paperspace Console

To revert to a snapshot of your machine, go to the Paperspace console, in the top-left corner, click the drop-down menu, select CORE, click the Machines tab, click the machine you want to revert to a snapshot for.

In the machine’s overview page, in the top-right corner, click the Snapshots tab. In the Snapshots page, under the Snapshots section, find the snapshot you want to revert to. In the top-right corner of that snapshot, click …, then click Restore to revert your machine to that snapshot.

Using the Paperspace API

When reverting to a snapshot using the Paperspace API, you need to provide the ID of the snapshot to revert to.

curl -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERSPACE_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
        "id": "slqafgu4n6gxge"
      }' \
  "https://api.paperspace.com/v1/snapshots/slqafgu4n6gxge/restore"

Using the Paperspace CLI

When reverting to a snapshot using the Paperspace CLI, you need to provide the ID of the snapshot to revert to.

pspace login --api-key your-api-key

pspace snapshot restore slqafgu4n6gxge

Delete to a Snapshot

Using the Paperspace Console

To delete a snapshot of your machine, go to the Paperspace console, in the top-left corner, click the drop-down menu, select CORE, click the Machines tab, click the machine you want to delete a snapshot of.

In the machine’s overview page, in the top-right corner, click the Snapshots tab. In the Snapshots page, under the Snapshots section, find the snapshot you want to delete. In the top-right corner of that snapshot, click …, then click Delete.

Using the Paperspace API

When deleting a snapshot using the Paperspace API, you need to provide the ID of the snapshot to delete.

curl -X DELETE \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PAPERSPACE_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
        "id": "slqafgu4n6gxge"
      }' \
  "https://api.paperspace.com/v1/snapshots/slqafgu4n6gxge"

Using the Paperspace CLI

When deleting a snapshot using the Paperspace API, you need to provide the ID of the snapshot to delete.

pspace login --api-key your-api-key

pspace snapshot delete slqafgu4n6gxge