> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.basaltic.sh/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create snapshot

> Take a point-in-time snapshot of a volume. The row is
persisted in status `creating` and the snapshot is
provisioned asynchronously; poll GET until status
changes to `available` (success) or `error`. Allowed against
volumes in `available` or `in_use` (in-use volumes can be
snapshotted).




## OpenAPI

````yaml /api-reference/specs/storage.yaml post /v1/snapshots
openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: Basaltic Storage API
  version: 1.0.0
  description: |
    Block volumes with their snapshots and snapshot policies, plus bucket
    management for object storage. The S3 wire protocol itself is served
    separately at `objects.{region}.basaltic.cloud`.
  contact:
    name: Basaltic Support
    email: ping@basaltic.sh
  license:
    name: Proprietary
    url: https://basaltic.sh/terms
servers:
  - url: https://storage.{region}.basaltic.sh
    description: Regional API endpoint
    variables:
      region:
        default: sa-saopaulo-1
        description: Region code
security:
  - SignatureAuth: []
paths:
  /v1/snapshots:
    post:
      tags:
        - Storage
      summary: Create snapshot
      description: |
        Take a point-in-time snapshot of a volume. The row is
        persisted in status `creating` and the snapshot is
        provisioned asynchronously; poll GET until status
        changes to `available` (success) or `error`. Allowed against
        volumes in `available` or `in_use` (in-use volumes can be
        snapshotted).
      operationId: createSnapshot
      parameters:
        - $ref: '#/components/parameters/IdempotencyKey'
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/SnapshotCreateRequest'
      responses:
        '202':
          description: Snapshot create accepted (status=creating)
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SnapshotResponse'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '403':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Forbidden'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
        '409':
          description: |
            Source volume is not in a snapshot-allowed state, or a
            snapshot with this name already exists for the volume.
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
        '422':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/UnprocessableEntity'
        '500':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/InternalServerError'
      security:
        - SignatureAuth: []
components:
  parameters:
    IdempotencyKey:
      name: Idempotency-Key
      in: header
      description: >-
        Optional client-generated key that makes a create replay-safe. Retrying
        a request with the same key returns the original outcome verbatim
        instead of creating a duplicate resource. Reusing a key with a different
        request body is rejected (422); a request whose key is still being
        processed returns 409. Records are honored for 24 hours. Use a UUID or
        similarly unique token.
      required: false
      schema:
        type: string
        maxLength: 255
      example: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
  schemas:
    SnapshotCreateRequest:
      type: object
      required:
        - volume_id
        - name
      properties:
        volume_id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
          example: 5f8d2c1a-9b3e-4d7a-8c6f-1e2a3b4c5d6e
        name:
          type: string
          minLength: 1
          maxLength: 128
          example: nightly-2026-01-15
        description:
          type: string
          example: Nightly backup of data-vol-01
        tags:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Tags'
    SnapshotResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        snapshot:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Snapshot'
    Error:
      type: object
      required:
        - error
      properties:
        error:
          type: object
          required:
            - code
            - message
            - request_id
          properties:
            code:
              type: string
              description: Error code identifying the type of error
              example: INVALID_INPUT
            message:
              type: string
              description: Human-readable error message
              example: Invalid request parameters
            request_id:
              type: string
              format: uuid
              description: Request ID for debugging
              example: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
    Tags:
      type: object
      additionalProperties:
        type: string
      example:
        environment: production
        team: backend
    Snapshot:
      type: object
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
          readOnly: true
          example: 7b1e9c4d-3a2f-4b8c-9d6e-0f1a2b3c4d5e
        crn:
          type: string
          readOnly: true
          description: Cloud Resource Name (name-based, region-scoped).
          example: crn:storage:sa-saopaulo-1:my-account:snapshot/weekly-backup
        volume_id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
          description: Source volume the snapshot was taken from.
          example: 5f8d2c1a-9b3e-4d7a-8c6f-1e2a3b4c5d6e
        snapshot_policy_id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
          readOnly: true
          description: |
            The snapshot policy that took this snapshot. Absent when a
            person did. This is also what retention matches on, so its
            presence is what makes a snapshot eligible for automatic
            deletion — snapshots taken by hand are never reaped.
          example: 3c9f1b2e-6d4a-4e8b-9f1c-2a3b4c5d6e7f
        name:
          type: string
          maxLength: 128
          example: nightly-2026-01-15
        description:
          type: string
          example: Nightly backup of data-vol-01
        tags:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Tags'
        size_gb:
          type: integer
          description: |
            Frozen size of the source volume at the time the snapshot
            was taken — the volume may have been extended since.
          example: 100
        status:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/SnapshotStatus'
        error_message:
          type: string
          description: Last failure reason. Empty unless status=error.
          example: ''
        created_at:
          type: string
          format: date-time
          readOnly: true
          example: '2026-01-15T09:30:00Z'
        updated_at:
          type: string
          format: date-time
          readOnly: true
          example: '2026-01-15T09:30:42Z'
    SnapshotStatus:
      type: string
      enum:
        - creating
        - available
        - deleting
        - error
      example: available
  responses:
    BadRequest:
      description: Invalid request parameters
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          example:
            error:
              code: INVALID_INPUT
              message: Invalid request parameters
              request_id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
    Unauthorized:
      description: Authentication required or token invalid
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          example:
            error:
              code: UNAUTHORIZED
              message: Authentication required
              request_id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
    Forbidden:
      description: Insufficient permissions
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          example:
            error:
              code: ACCESS_DENIED
              message: You don't have permission to perform this action
              request_id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
    NotFound:
      description: Resource not found
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          example:
            error:
              code: NOT_FOUND
              message: Resource not found
              request_id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
    UnprocessableEntity:
      description: |
        The request is well-formed but cannot be processed as sent. On the
        operations that accept `Idempotency-Key` this is the key-reuse case: the
        key was first seen with a different request payload, so replaying the
        stored outcome would answer a question the caller did not ask.
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          example:
            error:
              code: IDEMPOTENCY_KEY_REUSED
              message: >-
                This Idempotency-Key was already used with a different request
                payload
              request_id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
    InternalServerError:
      description: Internal server error
      content:
        application/json:
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
          example:
            error:
              code: INTERNAL_ERROR
              message: An internal error occurred
              request_id: 550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000
  securitySchemes:
    SignatureAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: Authorization
      description: >
        Request signing with an access key issued to a service account. An

        HMAC-SHA256 over a canonical form of the request, close to AWS SigV4.

        The `basaltic` CLI signs for you.


        Send `Authorization`, `X-Date` (UTC, `YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ`) and `X-Nonce`

        (random per request); add `X-Content-Sha256` to bind a body, and

        `X-Amz-Security-Token` when using temporary credentials.


        ```

        Authorization: BASALTIC-HMAC-SHA256
        Credential=<access_key_id>/<date>/<region>/basaltic/basaltic_request,
        SignedHeaders=host;x-date;x-nonce, Signature=<hex>

        ```


        `<region>` is the region code you are calling, or `global` for the
        global

        services. A signature is valid for 5 minutes from `X-Date`, and mutating

        requests are replay-guarded on the nonce.


        **Full signing procedure, including a working implementation:**

        https://docs.basaltic.sh/authentication


        ## Rate limits

        There is no global request budget. A limit applies only where an

        operation documents a `429`, and that operation says what it counts.

        Those responses carry `X-RateLimit-Limit`, `X-RateLimit-Remaining`,

        `X-RateLimit-Reset` and, on a `429`, `Retry-After` — read them rather

        than hard-coding a number. Retrying before `Retry-After` is refused and

        extends the window. Everything else is bounded by quota, not by request

        rate.

````