Snapshot Commands

Complete reference for Daytona snapshot management commands

Overview

Snapshot commands allow you to create and manage reusable sandbox images. Snapshots define the base environment for your sandboxes, including the operating system, installed packages, and configuration.

daytona snapshot create

Create a new snapshot from a Dockerfile or base image.

Usage

daytona snapshot create [SNAPSHOT] [flags]

Flags

Image Source (one required)

• --dockerfile, -f - Path to Dockerfile to build
• --image, -i - The image name for the snapshot

Note: --dockerfile and --image are mutually exclusive.

Build Context

• --context, -c - Files or directories to include in the build context (can be specified multiple times). If not provided, context will be automatically determined from COPY/ADD commands in the Dockerfile

Container Configuration

• --entrypoint, -e - The entrypoint command for the snapshot
  • Note: Cannot be used with --dockerfile or --context

Resource Defaults

• --cpu - CPU cores that will be allocated to sandboxes using this snapshot (default: 1)
• --memory - Memory that will be allocated to sandboxes in GB (default: 1)
• --disk - Disk space that will be allocated to sandboxes in GB (default: 3)

Region

• --region - ID of the region where the snapshot will be available (defaults to organization default region)

Examples

# Create a snapshot from a Dockerfile
daytona snapshot create my-dev-env --dockerfile ./Dockerfile

# Create a snapshot with specific build context
daytona snapshot create my-app --dockerfile ./Dockerfile --context ./src --context ./config

# Create a snapshot from a base image
daytona snapshot create ubuntu-dev --image ubuntu:22.04

# Create a snapshot with custom entrypoint
daytona snapshot create node-app --image node:18 --entrypoint "node server.js"

# Create a snapshot with custom resource defaults
daytona snapshot create heavy-build --dockerfile ./Dockerfile --cpu 4 --memory 8 --disk 50

# Create a snapshot in a specific region
daytona snapshot create eu-snapshot --image ubuntu:22.04 --region eu-west-1

Output

When building from a Dockerfile, build logs are displayed in real-time:

[build logs...]
Snapshot my-dev-env successfully created
✓ Run 'daytona sandbox create --snapshot my-dev-env' to create a new sandbox using this snapshot

---

daytona snapshot list

List all available snapshots.

Usage

daytona snapshot list [flags]

Flags

• --page, -p - Page number for pagination (starting from 1, default: 1)
• --limit, -l - Maximum number of items per page (default: 100)
• --format - Output format (json, yaml)

Examples

# List all snapshots
daytona snapshot list

# List with pagination
daytona snapshot list --page 2 --limit 50

# Get snapshots as JSON
daytona snapshot list --format json

Output

Displays a table with:

• Snapshot ID
• Name
• State (Active, Building, Failed, etc.)
• Resources (CPU, Memory, Disk)
• Created date

---

daytona snapshot delete

Delete one or more snapshots.

Usage

daytona snapshot delete [SNAPSHOT_ID] [flags]

Flags

• --all, -a - Delete all snapshots

Examples

# Delete a specific snapshot
daytona snapshot delete my-dev-env

# Delete a snapshot by ID
daytona snapshot delete 7f8a9c2d-3e1f-4b6a-9c0d-5e8f7a2b3c4d

# Delete all snapshots
daytona snapshot delete --all

Output

# Single delete
Snapshot my-dev-env deleted

# Delete all
Deleted 5 snapshots

---

daytona snapshot push

Push a local Docker image to Daytona as a snapshot.

Usage

daytona snapshot push [IMAGE] [flags]

Flags

• --name, -n - Specify the Snapshot name (required)
• --entrypoint, -e - The entrypoint command for the image
• --cpu - CPU cores that will be allocated to sandboxes (default: 1)
• --memory - Memory that will be allocated to sandboxes in GB (default: 1)
• --disk - Disk space that will be allocated to sandboxes in GB (default: 3)
• --region - ID of the region where the snapshot will be available

Examples

# Push a local image
daytona snapshot push my-app:latest --name my-app-snapshot

# Push with custom entrypoint
daytona snapshot push node-app:v1.0 --name node-snapshot --entrypoint "npm start"

# Push with custom resource defaults
daytona snapshot push heavy-app:latest --name heavy-snapshot --cpu 4 --memory 8 --disk 50

# Push to a specific region
daytona snapshot push my-image:latest --name eu-snapshot --region eu-west-1

Requirements

• Docker must be installed and running locally
• The image must exist locally (use docker images to verify)
• The image must be compatible with AMD architecture (x86_64)

Notes

• The image is pushed to Daytona’s registry with a timestamp-based tag
• The command waits until the image is validated and the snapshot is active
• Use daytona snapshot create with --dockerfile for building images securely on Daytona’s infrastructure

Output

[push progress...]
Successfully pushed my-app:latest to Daytona
✓ Use 'my-app-snapshot' to create a new sandbox using this snapshot

---

Common Patterns

Create Snapshot from Dockerfile and Use It

# Create the snapshot
daytona snapshot create my-env --dockerfile ./Dockerfile

# Create a sandbox from it
daytona create --snapshot my-env --name dev-sandbox

Push Local Development Image

# Build image locally
docker build -t my-dev-env:latest .

# Push to Daytona
daytona snapshot push my-dev-env:latest --name my-dev-snapshot

# Create sandbox from it
daytona create --snapshot my-dev-snapshot

Create Snapshot with Multi-file Context

# Include specific files and directories
daytona snapshot create web-app \
  --dockerfile ./docker/Dockerfile \
  --context ./src \
  --context ./public \
  --context ./package.json \
  --context ./package-lock.json

Create High-Performance Snapshot

# Create snapshot with generous resource defaults
daytona snapshot create ml-snapshot \
  --dockerfile ./Dockerfile.ml \
  --cpu 8 \
  --memory 32 \
  --disk 100 \
  --region us-east-1

List and Clean Up Old Snapshots

# List all snapshots
daytona snapshot list

# Delete specific old snapshots
daytona snapshot delete old-snapshot-1
daytona snapshot delete old-snapshot-2

# Or delete all (use with caution)
daytona snapshot delete --all

---

Dockerfile Best Practices

When creating snapshots from Dockerfiles:

Use Official Base Images

FROM ubuntu:22.04
# or
FROM node:18-alpine

Install Common Development Tools

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    git \
    curl \
    wget \
    vim \
    build-essential \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

Set Up Working Directory

WORKDIR /workspace

Configure User Permissions

RUN useradd -m -s /bin/bash developer
USER developer

Example Development Snapshot

FROM ubuntu:22.04

# Install development tools
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    git curl wget vim nano \
    build-essential \
    python3 python3-pip \
    nodejs npm \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Create workspace
WORKDIR /workspace

# Set up user
RUN useradd -m -s /bin/bash developer && \
    chown -R developer:developer /workspace
USER developer

CMD ["/bin/bash"]

Create the snapshot:

daytona snapshot create full-dev-env --dockerfile ./Dockerfile