Clean up objects, versions and incomplete uploads

Deletion commands with options traverse the selected bucket or folder and its subfolders. They select data by age, history or multipart upload state. They use neither browser display filters nor Modify child objects… filters.

Scope, permissions and consequences#

In the S3 pane, select one bucket, current logical folder or virtual folder. Historical folder versions and delete markers cannot be recursive targets.

Without Show versions, use Delete with Options…. With Show versions, use Delete Objects and Versions with Options…. Version mode requires Object versions. When the bucket supports reading its versioning state with Read bucket versioning, that state must be confirmed enabled or suspended. Without that read, an unknown local state does not prevent history cleanup. A bucket known never to have had versioning enabled remains excluded.

On Amazon S3, listing requires s3:ListBucket or s3:ListBucketVersions. Deletion requires s3:DeleteObject or s3:DeleteObjectVersion. Incomplete uploads require s3:ListBucketMultipartUploads and s3:AbortMultipartUpload. Open File > Accounts…, select the account, click Edit…, then open Capabilities. Configure versioning and Object Lock under Data protection, and incomplete upload listing under Transfers > List incomplete multipart uploads, only when supported by the service.

Checking an unknown versioning state requires s3:GetBucketVersioning. To enable Governance bypass, reading an unknown Object Lock configuration requires s3:GetBucketObjectLockConfiguration; if that read fails, deletion without bypass remains available.

Version deletion is permanent. Canceled uploads cannot resume. Removing folder markers may make empty folders disappear. Successful actions are not rolled back if the operation stops.

Do not modify target objects or uploads during the operation. Within the same account, S3Client prevents another cleanup from starting on an overlapping scope until the operation and its view refresh have finished.

Delete current objects#

In Delete Objects with Options, no action is selected initially.

1. Select Delete current objects to delete objects.
2. Keep Last modified more than and enter the number of days ago, or select All current objects.
3. If needed, select Cancel incomplete multipart uploads started more than and enter their age.
4. Click Continue, check the summary, then confirm with Delete, or Cancel uploads when only cancellation is requested.

Ages range from 1 to 99,999 days; initial values are 30 days for objects and 7 for uploads. “More than N days” excludes the cutoff timestamp itself.

Deletion targets a current key, rather than its entire history:

Multipart cancellation is offered only when its listing capability is enabled. It does not delete an object whose upload has already completed.

Selectively delete versions#

Selective deletion is initially selected in Delete Objects and Versions with Options. Enable only the actions you need.

Current tab#

Delete current versions targets current versions Older than the chosen number of days, initially 30.

• Current version only deletes the selected current version ID. A previous version or delete marker may become current.
• Entire history of each matching object deletes every version and marker for a key whose current version meets the age criterion. Previous-version retention choices do not preserve this history.

A key whose current entry is a delete marker has no current object version matching this criterion.

Previous tab#

Select Delete previous versions. Without retention options, every noncurrent object version is selected.

Keep the … newest versions per object retains the N newest noncurrent object versions, initially 1. Delete markers do not count toward N.

Keep versions for at least … days after becoming noncurrent retains versions that have been noncurrent for no more than the chosen interval, initially 30 days. That interval starts when the immediately newer entry was created, rather than when the older version was written.

When both retention options are selected, a version is deleted only if neither count nor age protects it. Counts and day values range from 1 to 99,999. This previous-version option does not remove delete markers.

Other deletion options tab#

Delete expired delete markers removes markers when they are the only remaining entry for their key, including after successful deletion of selected versions. A marker needed to hide versions that were not deleted is retained.

Cancel incomplete uploads older than cancels multipart uploads older than the chosen interval, initially 7 days, when upload listing is supported.

Protection tab#

The Protection tab and Bypass Governance-mode retention checkbox are offered when Bypass Governance retention is enabled under File > Accounts… > Edit… > Capabilities > Data protection. To use bypass when deleting versions, also enable Read bucket Object Lock in these settings and confirm that Object Lock is enabled on the bucket. These local capabilities do not replace service permissions: bypass requires s3:BypassGovernanceRetention. It does not remove legal holds or bypass Compliance retention.

Deletion may be refused if you lack permission to bypass Governance retention, or if a legal hold or Compliance retention still protects the version. See Object Lock to check the protection involved.

Purge the entire target#

Permanently delete all versions and delete markers ignores selective criteria and selects all versions and markers under the target. The bucket itself remains.

Also cancel every incomplete multipart upload is selected by default when multipart listing is available; clear it to retain uploads in progress. Bypass Governance-mode retention remains subject to the conditions above.

Before confirming, check the exact bucket or Folder and subfolders scope: deleted versions cannot be recovered.

Confirm and check results#

1. After choosing actions, click Continue.
2. Read the confirmation summary and scope.
3. Click Delete permanently for versions, Delete for current keys or Cancel uploads for cancellation alone.
4. Monitor the operation and errors. When it finishes, check the refreshed list; enable Show versions to inspect remaining history.

Deletion incomplete or Deletion canceled means cleanup did not process the entire target. Successful deletions remain in effect. Refresh the list and check the errors before retrying: insufficient permissions, retention or a listing failure may leave objects or uploads in place.

Deletion completed with warnings means processing finished but some selected objects or versions were not deleted. For multipart cancellation alone, the messages are Multipart upload cancellation incomplete or Multipart upload cancellation stopped. If Deletion refresh canceled appears, the view may be stale: use Refresh before relying on it.

To remove the empty bucket afterward, use Delete bucket.

Inconsistent version history#

For deletion based on object versions, S3Client reads and validates each key’s complete history before scheduling its deletions. Inconsistent IsLatest values, including conflicts across several pages, cause InconsistentVersionListing. When a rule depends on chronological order, timestamps are also checked before selecting versions. Received values are never corrected automatically.

No deletion is scheduled from the rejected history. Deletions for other keys whose histories have already been validated, or multipart upload cancellations already completed, may remain effective. There is no operation-wide rollback. Check the error and refresh the view before trying again.

Large histories use an automatically removed local temporary file to keep memory usage bounded. S3Client reports VersionHistoryBufferError if that file cannot be created, written or read; check access to the temporary directory and available disk space.