delete-instance.sh

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Purpose

Delete an AWS RDS DB instance with controlled final-snapshot behavior and optional deletion wait.

Location

cloud/aws/rds/delete-instance.sh

Preconditions

  • Required tools: bash, aws, date, sleep, grep
  • Required permissions: rds:DeleteDBInstance, rds:DescribeDBInstances
  • Required environment variables: none

Arguments

Flag Required Default Description
--identifier ID Yes N/A DB instance identifier to delete
--skip-final-snapshot No false Skip final snapshot (destructive)
--final-snapshot-id ID No auto-generated Final snapshot ID when snapshot is enabled
--delete-automated-backups No true Remove retained automated backups
--retain-automated-backups No false Keep retained automated backups
--wait No false Wait until instance is fully deleted
--timeout SEC No 7200 Wait timeout
--poll-interval SEC No 20 Poll interval
--region REGION No AWS config Region override
--profile PROFILE No AWS config Profile override
--dry-run No false Print command only

Scenarios

  • Happy path: delete decommissioned instance while preserving a final snapshot.
  • Common operational path: remove temporary environments to reduce cost.
  • Failure path: instance not found or snapshot identifier conflict.
  • Recovery/rollback path: restore from the final snapshot into a replacement instance.

Usage

cloud/aws/rds/delete-instance.sh --identifier app-stg-db-01 --wait

cloud/aws/rds/delete-instance.sh \
  --identifier app-dev-db-01 \
  --skip-final-snapshot \
  --delete-automated-backups

Behavior

  • Main execution flow:
  • validates instance existence
  • enforces snapshot flag compatibility
  • auto-generates final snapshot ID when needed
  • calls delete-db-instance
  • optionally waits for DBInstanceNotFound
  • Idempotency notes: safe to rerun with --wait while resource is in deleting state.
  • Side effects: permanently removes DB instance; snapshot retention depends on flags.

Output

  • Standard output format:
  • stderr: timestamped logs and deletion progress
  • Exit codes:
  • 0 success
  • 2 validation/precondition errors
  • non-zero on AWS/API/wait errors

Failure Modes

  • Common errors and likely causes:
  • final snapshot ID collision
  • insufficient IAM permissions
  • deletion blocked by dependent operations
  • Recovery and rollback steps:
  • provide unique --final-snapshot-id
  • wait for pending operations to complete
  • restore deleted instance from snapshot if needed

Security Notes

  • Secret handling: no secret arguments required.
  • Least-privilege requirements: restrict delete permissions to approved operators.
  • Audit/logging expectations: deletions should be linked to approved change requests.

Testing

  • Unit tests:
  • snapshot flag conflict validation
  • generated snapshot identifier format
  • Integration tests:
  • delete with and without final snapshot in non-prod account
  • Manual verification:
  • verify instance absence and snapshot presence in RDS console
create-instance.sh snapshot-create.sh