AWS Backup Management Skill
Analyze and manage AWS Backup plans, vaults, recovery points, and job statuses.
MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern
Always list vaults and plans before querying specific resources.
Phase 1: Discovery
#!/bin/bash
export AWS_PAGER=""
echo "=== Backup Vaults ==="
aws backup list-backup-vaults --output text \
--query 'BackupVaultList[].[BackupVaultName,NumberOfRecoveryPoints,CreationDate]'
echo ""
echo "=== Backup Plans ==="
aws backup list-backup-plans --output text \
--query 'BackupPlansList[].[BackupPlanId,BackupPlanName,CreationDate,LastExecutionDate]'
echo ""
echo "=== Backup Selections ==="
for plan_id in $(aws backup list-backup-plans --output text --query 'BackupPlansList[].BackupPlanId'); do
aws backup list-backup-selections --backup-plan-id "$plan_id" --output text \
--query "BackupSelectionsList[].[\"$plan_id\",SelectionId,SelectionName,IamRoleArn]" &
done
wait
Phase 2: Analysis
#!/bin/bash
export AWS_PAGER=""
echo "=== Recent Backup Jobs (last 24h) ==="
aws backup list-backup-jobs \
--by-created-after "$(date -u -d '24 hours ago' +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S 2>/dev/null || date -u -v-1d +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S)" \
--output text \
--query 'BackupJobs[].[BackupJobId,ResourceType,State,StatusMessage,CreationDate]' | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== Failed Backup Jobs (last 7 days) ==="
aws backup list-backup-jobs \
--by-state FAILED \
--by-created-after "$(date -u -d '7 days ago' +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S 2>/dev/null || date -u -v-7d +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S)" \
--output text \
--query 'BackupJobs[].[ResourceArn,ResourceType,StatusMessage,CreationDate]' | head -15
echo ""
echo "=== Recovery Points Summary ==="
for vault in $(aws backup list-backup-vaults --output text --query 'BackupVaultList[].BackupVaultName'); do
aws backup list-recovery-points-by-backup-vault --backup-vault-name "$vault" --max-results 5 --output text \
--query "RecoveryPoints[].[\"$vault\",ResourceType,Status,CreationDate,CompletionDate]" &
done
wait
echo ""
echo "=== Restore Jobs (recent) ==="
aws backup list-restore-jobs --output text \
--query 'RestoreJobs[:5].[RestoreJobId,Status,CreationDate,CompletionDate,RecoveryPointArn]' 2>/dev/null
Output Format
- Target ≤50 lines per output
- Use
--output text --query for all commands
- Tab-delimited fields: VaultName, PlanName, JobId, State, ResourceType
- Aggregate job counts by status when many jobs exist
- Never dump full plan rules -- summarize schedule and lifecycle
Anti-Hallucination Rules
- NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
- NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or
--help output.
- NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
- ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
- ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut |
Counter |
Why |
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" |
Always run Phase 1 discovery first |
Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" |
Follow the full discovery → analysis flow |
Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" |
Audit configuration explicitly |
Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" |
Always check relevant metrics when available |
API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" |
Try the command and report the actual error |
Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |
Common Pitfalls
- Job states: CREATED, PENDING, RUNNING, ABORTING, ABORTED, COMPLETED, FAILED, EXPIRED, PARTIAL
- Recovery point lifecycle: Check
Lifecycle for transition to cold storage and deletion rules
- Cross-region copies: Backup plans can copy to other regions -- check
CopyActions in plan rules
- Vault lock: Locked vaults prevent deletion of recovery points -- check
Locked and MinRetentionDays
- Resource selection: Selections use tag-based or ARN-based targeting -- verify coverage with
list-protected-resources
- Compliance frameworks: Use
list-frameworks and list-report-plans for compliance auditing
1---2name: managing-aws-backup3description: Use when working with Aws Backup — aWS Backup vault, plan, and job management. Covers backup vaults, backup plans, backup selections, recovery points, backup jobs, restore jobs, and compliance frameworks. Use when auditing backup coverage, checking backup job status, reviewing recovery points, or validating backup compliance.4---56# AWS Backup Management Skill78Analyze and manage AWS Backup plans, vaults, recovery points, and job statuses.910## MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern1112**Always list vaults and plans before querying specific resources.**1314### Phase 1: Discovery1516```bash17#!/bin/bash18export AWS_PAGER=""1920echo "=== Backup Vaults ==="21aws backup list-backup-vaults --output text \22 --query 'BackupVaultList[].[BackupVaultName,NumberOfRecoveryPoints,CreationDate]'2324echo ""25echo "=== Backup Plans ==="26aws backup list-backup-plans --output text \27 --query 'BackupPlansList[].[BackupPlanId,BackupPlanName,CreationDate,LastExecutionDate]'2829echo ""30echo "=== Backup Selections ==="31for plan_id in $(aws backup list-backup-plans --output text --query 'BackupPlansList[].BackupPlanId'); do32 aws backup list-backup-selections --backup-plan-id "$plan_id" --output text \33 --query "BackupSelectionsList[].[\"$plan_id\",SelectionId,SelectionName,IamRoleArn]" &34done35wait36```3738### Phase 2: Analysis3940```bash41#!/bin/bash42export AWS_PAGER=""4344echo "=== Recent Backup Jobs (last 24h) ==="45aws backup list-backup-jobs \46 --by-created-after "$(date -u -d '24 hours ago' +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S 2>/dev/null || date -u -v-1d +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S)" \47 --output text \48 --query 'BackupJobs[].[BackupJobId,ResourceType,State,StatusMessage,CreationDate]' | head -204950echo ""51echo "=== Failed Backup Jobs (last 7 days) ==="52aws backup list-backup-jobs \53 --by-state FAILED \54 --by-created-after "$(date -u -d '7 days ago' +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S 2>/dev/null || date -u -v-7d +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S)" \55 --output text \56 --query 'BackupJobs[].[ResourceArn,ResourceType,StatusMessage,CreationDate]' | head -155758echo ""59echo "=== Recovery Points Summary ==="60for vault in $(aws backup list-backup-vaults --output text --query 'BackupVaultList[].BackupVaultName'); do61 aws backup list-recovery-points-by-backup-vault --backup-vault-name "$vault" --max-results 5 --output text \62 --query "RecoveryPoints[].[\"$vault\",ResourceType,Status,CreationDate,CompletionDate]" &63done64wait6566echo ""67echo "=== Restore Jobs (recent) ==="68aws backup list-restore-jobs --output text \69 --query 'RestoreJobs[:5].[RestoreJobId,Status,CreationDate,CompletionDate,RecoveryPointArn]' 2>/dev/null70```7172## Output Format7374- Target ≤50 lines per output75- Use `--output text --query` for all commands76- Tab-delimited fields: VaultName, PlanName, JobId, State, ResourceType77- Aggregate job counts by status when many jobs exist78- Never dump full plan rules -- summarize schedule and lifecycle7980## Anti-Hallucination Rules81821. **NEVER assume resource names** — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.832. **NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions** — verify against the service documentation or `--help` output.843. **NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions** — confirm which version/API you are targeting.854. **ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain** — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.865. **ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully** — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.8788## Counter-Rationalizations8990| Shortcut | Counter | Why |91|----------|---------|-----|92| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |93| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |94| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |95| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |96| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |9798## Common Pitfalls99100- **Job states**: CREATED, PENDING, RUNNING, ABORTING, ABORTED, COMPLETED, FAILED, EXPIRED, PARTIAL101- **Recovery point lifecycle**: Check `Lifecycle` for transition to cold storage and deletion rules102- **Cross-region copies**: Backup plans can copy to other regions -- check `CopyActions` in plan rules103- **Vault lock**: Locked vaults prevent deletion of recovery points -- check `Locked` and `MinRetentionDays`104- **Resource selection**: Selections use tag-based or ARN-based targeting -- verify coverage with `list-protected-resources`105- **Compliance frameworks**: Use `list-frameworks` and `list-report-plans` for compliance auditing
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