snapshot-backup-sp-delete-backup-file-snapshot.md

title	description	author	ms.author	ms.reviewer	ms.date	ms.service	ms.subservice	ms.topic	dev_langs
sp_delete_backup_file_snapshot (Transact-SQL)	Deletes a specified backup snapshot from the specified database.	MashaMSFT	mathoma	randolphwest	03/07/2025	sql	system-objects	reference	TSQL

sp_delete_backup_file_snapshot (Transact-SQL)

[!INCLUDE sqlserver2016]

Deletes a specified backup snapshot from the specified database. Use this system stored procedure in conjunction with the sys.fn_db_backup_file_snapshots system function to identify and delete orphaned backup snapshots. For more information, see File-Snapshot Backups for Database Files in Azure.

:::image type="icon" source="../../includes/media/topic-link-icon.svg" border="false"::: Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

sys.sp_delete_backup_file_snapshot
    [ @db_name = ] N'database_name'
    , [ @snapshot_url = ] N'<snapshot_url>'

Arguments

[!INCLUDE extended-stored-procedures]

[ @db_name = ] N'database_name'

The name of the database containing the snapshot to be deleted, provided as a Unicode string.

[ @snapshot_url = ] N'snapshot_url'

The URL of the snapshot to be deleted, provided as a Unicode string.

Permissions

Requires ALTER ANY DATABASE permission.

Related content

• sys.fn_db_backup_file_snapshots (Transact-SQL)
• sp_delete_backup (Transact-SQL)