boto3 error DBSnapshotNotFound when restoring a migrated RDS snapshot in a new region

boto3 error DBSnapshotNotFound when restoring a migrated RDS snapshot in a new region

TL;DR: RDS snapshots live in one region - the snapshot identifier you are restoring does not exist in the region your boto3 client points at. Copy the snapshot to the target region first, then restore from the copy. The identifier is fine; it is just not addressable where you are looking.

boto3 error DBSnapshotNotFound when restoring a migrated RDS snapshot in a new region

Steps

1. Confirm where the snapshot actually lives: aws rds describe-db-snapshots --db-snapshot-identifier [snapshot-id] --region [source-region]. Expected: the snapshot is listed in the source region.

2. Prove the miss: run the same describe against the target region. Expected: empty result or DBSnapshotNotFound - confirming a region problem, not a typo in the identifier.

3. Copy it to the target region: aws rds copy-db-snapshot --source-db-snapshot-identifier [snapshot-id] --source-region [source-region] --target-db-snapshot-identifier [new-id] --region [target-region]. Expected: the copy starts; poll until its status is available.

4. Restore in the target region from the copied snapshot identifier. Expected: the restore begins; DBSnapshotNotFound is gone.

5. If boto3 raised the error, double-check the client region: a client pointed at the wrong region produces this exact error even when everything else is right. Expected: the client region matches the region where the snapshot lives.

Use this when

• DBSnapshotNotFound fires restoring an RDS snapshot after a region migration.
• The identifier is known-good in another region.
• The same restore call worked before the region move.

Not for this skill when

• The snapshot was deleted or never existed - verify with describe first.
• You are mixing DB cluster snapshots with DB instance snapshots - use the matching restore call for each.
• The error is about snapshot state (not yet available) rather than existence - wait instead.

Variant phrasings

• rds snapshot not found in new region
• boto3 restore db instance from db snapshot DBSnapshotNotFound
• copy rds snapshot to another region before restore

Why it happens

Automated and manual RDS snapshots are regional resources. "Migrating" a snapshot really means copying it - until the copy exists, the original identifier is meaningless in the new region, and both the API and boto3 report it as not found.

Edge cases

• Cross-region copy time scales with snapshot size - poll for available status before restoring, or the restore fails on state.
• Encrypted snapshots need the KMS key to exist in the target region; keys do not cross regions automatically.
• The copy gets a new identifier - restore from the copy's identifier, not the original.

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstbR961hkUbYJeJq0v1HMAQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstbR961hkUbYJeJq0v1HMAQ

Thread query: boto3 error DBSnapshotNotFound when restoring a migrated RDS snapshot in a new region

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