Introduction
A snapshot is a point-in-time copy of your database that you can restore in case of accidental changes, data loss, or to test changes safely without impacting your main database.
In this lesson, you’ll learn about the types of snapshot available, how to access them, and retention policies for different Aura tiers.
Snapshot Types
Aura provides two types of snapshots to help you protect your data and maintain operational flexibility, full and sequential backups.
A full snapshot captures your entire database at a specific point in time - it’s complete and self-contained.
A differential snapshot, on the other hand, only records the changes since the last full snapshot, making it more efficient but dependent on the full snapshot that came before it.
You can use both types of snapshots to restore your database to a specific point in time, but only full snapshots can be exported.
Scheduled Snapshots
Scheduled snapshots run automatically. The frequency of scheduled snapshots depends on your tier.
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AuraDB Professional and AuraDS Professional create snapshots once per day.
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AuraDB Business Critical creates snapshots every hour.
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AuraDB Virtual Dedicated Cloud creates both daily full snapshots and hourly differential snapshots.
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AuraDS Enterprise creates daily snapshots.
On Demand Snapshots
You can create a snapshot anytime using the Take snapshot button in the Aura console. This is useful before major changes or migrations.
Accessing Snapshots
To view and manage snapshots:
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Navigate to your Aura instance card in the console
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Click the More menu icon (…) on the instance card
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Select Snapshots
Snapshot list
The Snapshots tab displays a list of available snapshots with their creation time, type, and available actions.
Snapshot Actions
Each full snapshot has two actions via the more menu (…):
The arrow icon 
to the right of each snapshot item allows you to restore the snapshot to overwrite the current instance.
Export
The Export action downloads a snapshot as a backup file for offline storage or use with other Neo4j installations.
AuraDB instances export as .backup files (latest version) or .dump files (version 4.x). AuraDS instances export as .tar files.
Show exportable only
Use the Show exportable only filter to identify downloadable snapshots. Only full snapshots can be exported.
Create Instance from Snapshot
The Create instance from snapshot action creates a new instance with data from the snapshot. Your original instance remains unchanged.
This is useful to test changes, debug production issues, or provide realistic test data without affecting production.
Restore from snapshot
The Restore from snapshot action reverts your instance to the snapshot state.
You will be prompted to confirm the operation by entering RESTORE to confirm.
Any updates made to your instance between the time of the snapshot and the current time will be lost.
Overwriting existing data
Restoring overwrites all current data in your instance. This operation is destructive and irreversible.
To verify snapshot data without overwriting, you can create a new instance from the snapshot instead.
Snapshot Retention
The retention policy for snapshots depends on the tier of your instance.
| Tier |
Restorable Days |
Exportable Days |
Total Retention |
AuraDB Free |
N/A (on-demand only) |
N/A (on-demand only) |
N/A |
AuraDB Professional |
7 |
7 |
7 |
AuraDB Business Critical |
30 |
30 (full only) |
30 |
AuraDB Virtual Dedicated Cloud (latest) |
60 (full) |
60 (full) |
90 |
AuraDB Virtual Dedicated Cloud (4.x) |
60 (long), 7 (short) |
14 (long), 7 (short) |
90 |
AuraDS Professional |
7 |
7 |
30 |
AuraDS Enterprise |
14 |
7 |
90 |
Check Your Understanding
Snapshot Frequency
Your team is running an Aura Professional instance with critical business data.
How frequently are automatic snapshots created for this instance?
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❏ Hourly
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✓ Daily
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❏ Weekly
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❏ Only on demand
Hint
Different Aura tiers have different snapshot schedules. Review the snapshot schedules for each tier covered in this lesson.
Solution
The correct answer is Daily.
Aura Professional instances have automatic daily snapshots with 7-day retention.
Business Critical and Virtual Dedicated Cloud (latest version) have hourly differential snapshots plus daily full snapshots. Virtual Dedicated Cloud 4.x instances have snapshots every 6 hours.
Aura Free does not support automatic snapshots - only on-demand snapshots.
Summary
You now know how to manage snapshots for your Aura instances.
You’ve learned about automatic snapshot schedules, retention policies, and how to access the Snapshots page in the Aura console.
Next up, you’ll learn about the restore operations available in Aura.
