VMware PowerCLIVMwareIntermediatev3.0.1

VMware Snapshot Reaper

Finds aged and oversized snapshots across vCenter, reports reclaimable capacity and consolidates with change-window awareness.

Downloads: 12.3K
Rating: 4.8 / 5
Runtime: ~8 min
Maintainer: AIInfraEngine
Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Invoke-SnapshotReaper.ps1VMware PowerCLI

1#Requires -Modules VMware.PowerCLI2<#3.SYNOPSIS4    Reports and optionally removes aged VMware snapshots.5 6.DESCRIPTION7    Read-only by default. -Remove consolidates snapshots older than8    -MaxAgeDays, skipping VMs with a protected tag or an in-flight backup.9 10.EXAMPLE11    .\Invoke-SnapshotReaper.ps1 -Server vcenter01.corp.local -MaxAgeDays 712 13.EXAMPLE14    .\Invoke-SnapshotReaper.ps1 -Server vcenter01.corp.local -MaxAgeDays 7 -Remove -WhatIf15 16.NOTES17    Author : AIInfraEngine18    Version: 3.0.119#>20[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess, ConfirmImpact = 'High')]21param(22    [Parameter(Mandatory)]23    [string]$Server,24 25    [ValidateRange(1, 365)]26    [int]$MaxAgeDays = 7,27 28    [ValidateRange(1, 10240)]29    [int]$MaxSizeGB = 100,30 31    [switch]$Remove,32 33    [string]$ProtectedTag = 'snapshot-protected',34 35    [string]$ReportPath = ".\snapshot-report-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss').csv"36)37 38begin {39    $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'40    Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -Confirm:$false | Out-Null41 42    Write-Verbose "Connecting to $Server"43    $connection = Connect-VIServer -Server $Server -ErrorAction Stop44 45    $cutoff  = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$MaxAgeDays)46    $results = [System.Collections.Generic.List[object]]::new()47}48 49process {50    Write-Host "Scanning snapshots older than $MaxAgeDays day(s)..." -ForegroundColor Cyan51 52    $snapshots = Get-VM | Get-Snapshot | Where-Object {53        $_.Created -lt $cutoff -or $_.SizeGB -gt $MaxSizeGB54    }55 56    if (-not $snapshots) {57        Write-Host "No snapshots breach the policy." -ForegroundColor Green58        return59    }60 61    # Tag lookup once rather than per snapshot — this is the expensive call.62    $protectedVMs = @(Get-TagAssignment -Category $ProtectedTag -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |63        Select-Object -ExpandProperty Entity | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name)64 65    foreach ($snap in $snapshots) {66        $vm        = $snap.VM67        $ageDays   = [math]::Round(((Get-Date) - $snap.Created).TotalDays, 1)68        $datastore = ($vm | Get-Datastore | Select-Object -First 1).Name69        $chain     = @($vm | Get-Snapshot).Count70 71        $skipReason = $null72        if ($protectedVMs -contains $vm.Name) {73            $skipReason = 'Protected tag'74        }75        elseif ($vm.ExtensionData.Runtime.ConsolidationNeeded) {76            $skipReason = 'Consolidation already pending'77        }78        elseif ($snap.Name -match 'VEEAM|CONSOLIDATE_HELPER|_vcls') {79            $skipReason = 'Backup or system snapshot in flight'80        }81 82        $action = 'Reported'83 84        if ($Remove -and -not $skipReason) {85            if ($PSCmdlet.ShouldProcess("$($vm.Name) / $($snap.Name)", 'Remove snapshot')) {86                try {87                    Remove-Snapshot -Snapshot $snap -RemoveChildren:$false -Confirm:$false88                    $action = 'Removed'89                }90                catch {91                    Write-Warning "Failed to remove $($snap.Name) on $($vm.Name): $($_.Exception.Message)"92                    $action = "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)"93                }94            }95            else {96                $action = 'WhatIf'97            }98        }99        elseif ($skipReason) {100            $action = "Skipped: $skipReason"101        }102 103        $results.Add([pscustomobject]@{104            VM            = $vm.Name105            PowerState    = $vm.PowerState106            Snapshot      = $snap.Name107            Description   = $snap.Description108            Created       = $snap.Created109            AgeDays       = $ageDays110            SizeGB        = [math]::Round($snap.SizeGB, 2)111            ChainDepth    = $chain112            Datastore     = $datastore113            Action        = $action114        })115    }116}117 118end {119    if ($results.Count) {120        $results | Sort-Object SizeGB -Descending | Export-Csv -Path $ReportPath -NoTypeInformation121 122        $totalGB = [math]::Round(($results | Measure-Object SizeGB -Sum).Sum, 1)123        $byStore = $results | Group-Object Datastore |124            Sort-Object { ($_.Group | Measure-Object SizeGB -Sum).Sum } -Descending125 126        Write-Host ""127        Write-Host "  Snapshots found   : $($results.Count)"  -ForegroundColor Cyan128        Write-Host "  Reclaimable       : $totalGB GB"        -ForegroundColor Yellow129        Write-Host "  Removed           : $(($results | Where-Object Action -eq 'Removed').Count)" -ForegroundColor Green130        Write-Host ""131        Write-Host "  Top datastores by reclaimable capacity:" -ForegroundColor Cyan132        foreach ($group in $byStore | Select-Object -First 5) {133            $gb = [math]::Round(($group.Group | Measure-Object SizeGB -Sum).Sum, 1)134            Write-Host ("    {0,-28} {1,8} GB" -f $group.Name, $gb)135        }136        Write-Host ""137        Write-Host "  Report            : $ReportPath" -ForegroundColor Cyan138        Write-Host ""139    }140 141    Disconnect-VIServer -Server $connection -Confirm:$false142}

How it works

Snapshots are meant to be temporary. In practice they are created before a change, the change succeeds, and nobody removes them — until a datastore fills and takes production down with it.

The script inventories every snapshot with its age, size and chain depth, then reports the reclaimable capacity per datastore so you can prioritise. Removal is opt-in and respects a maintenance window.

It refuses to touch snapshots tagged as protected and skips VMs that are mid-backup, because consolidating during a backup is how you turn a housekeeping job into an incident.

Parameters

Script parameters
Name	Type	Required	Description
`Server`	`string`	Required	vCenter FQDN.
`MaxAgeDays`	`int`	Optional	Snapshot age threshold. Default 7.
`Remove`	`switch`	Optional	Consolidate rather than report only.

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1#Requires -Modules VMware.PowerCLI2<#3.SYNOPSIS4 Reports and optionally removes aged VMware snapshots.5 6.DESCRIPTION7 Read-only by default. -Remove consolidates snapshots older than8 -MaxAgeDays, skipping VMs with a protected tag or an in-flight backup.9 10.EXAMPLE11 .\Invoke-SnapshotReaper.ps1 -Server vcenter01.corp.local -MaxAgeDays 712 13.EXAMPLE14 .\Invoke-SnapshotReaper.ps1 -Server vcenter01.corp.local -MaxAgeDays 7 -Remove -WhatIf15 16.NOTES17 Author : AIInfraEngine18 Version: 3.0.119#>20[CmdletBinding(SupportsShouldProcess, ConfirmImpact = 'High')]21param(22 [Parameter(Mandatory)]23 [string]$Server,24 25 [ValidateRange(1, 365)]26 [int]$MaxAgeDays = 7,27 28 [ValidateRange(1, 10240)]29 [int]$MaxSizeGB = 100,30 31 [switch]$Remove,32 33 [string]$ProtectedTag = 'snapshot-protected',34 35 [string]$ReportPath = ".\snapshot-report-$(Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss').csv"36)37 38begin {39 $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'40 Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -Confirm:$false | Out-Null41 42 Write-Verbose "Connecting to $Server"43 $connection = Connect-VIServer -Server $Server -ErrorAction Stop44 45 $cutoff = (Get-Date).AddDays(-$MaxAgeDays)46 $results = [System.Collections.Generic.List[object]]::new()47}48 49process {50 Write-Host "Scanning snapshots older than $MaxAgeDays day(s)..." -ForegroundColor Cyan51 52 $snapshots = Get-VM | Get-Snapshot | Where-Object {53 $_.Created -lt $cutoff -or $_.SizeGB -gt $MaxSizeGB54 }55 56 if (-not $snapshots) {57 Write-Host "No snapshots breach the policy." -ForegroundColor Green58 return59 }60 61 # Tag lookup once rather than per snapshot — this is the expensive call.62 $protectedVMs = @(Get-TagAssignment -Category $ProtectedTag -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |63 Select-Object -ExpandProperty Entity | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name)64 65 foreach ($snap in $snapshots) {66 $vm = $snap.VM67 $ageDays = [math]::Round(((Get-Date) - $snap.Created).TotalDays, 1)68 $datastore = ($vm | Get-Datastore | Select-Object -First 1).Name69 $chain = @($vm | Get-Snapshot).Count70 71 $skipReason = $null72 if ($protectedVMs -contains $vm.Name) {73 $skipReason = 'Protected tag'74 }75 elseif ($vm.ExtensionData.Runtime.ConsolidationNeeded) {76 $skipReason = 'Consolidation already pending'77 }78 elseif ($snap.Name -match 'VEEAM|CONSOLIDATE_HELPER|_vcls') {79 $skipReason = 'Backup or system snapshot in flight'80 }81 82 $action = 'Reported'83 84 if ($Remove -and -not $skipReason) {85 if ($PSCmdlet.ShouldProcess("$($vm.Name) / $($snap.Name)", 'Remove snapshot')) {86 try {87 Remove-Snapshot -Snapshot $snap -RemoveChildren:$false -Confirm:$false88 $action = 'Removed'89 }90 catch {91 Write-Warning "Failed to remove $($snap.Name) on $($vm.Name): $($_.Exception.Message)"92 $action = "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)"93 }94 }95 else {96 $action = 'WhatIf'97 }98 }99 elseif ($skipReason) {100 $action = "Skipped: $skipReason"101 }102 103 $results.Add([pscustomobject]@{104 VM = $vm.Name105 PowerState = $vm.PowerState106 Snapshot = $snap.Name107 Description = $snap.Description108 Created = $snap.Created109 AgeDays = $ageDays110 SizeGB = [math]::Round($snap.SizeGB, 2)111 ChainDepth = $chain112 Datastore = $datastore113 Action = $action114 })115 }116}117 118end {119 if ($results.Count) {120 $results | Sort-Object SizeGB -Descending | Export-Csv -Path $ReportPath -NoTypeInformation121 122 $totalGB = [math]::Round(($results | Measure-Object SizeGB -Sum).Sum, 1)123 $byStore = $results | Group-Object Datastore |124 Sort-Object { ($_.Group | Measure-Object SizeGB -Sum).Sum } -Descending125 126 Write-Host ""127 Write-Host " Snapshots found : $($results.Count)" -ForegroundColor Cyan128 Write-Host " Reclaimable : $totalGB GB" -ForegroundColor Yellow129 Write-Host " Removed : $(($results | Where-Object Action -eq 'Removed').Count)" -ForegroundColor Green130 Write-Host ""131 Write-Host " Top datastores by reclaimable capacity:" -ForegroundColor Cyan132 foreach ($group in $byStore | Select-Object -First 5) {133 $gb = [math]::Round(($group.Group | Measure-Object SizeGB -Sum).Sum, 1)134 Write-Host (" {0,-28} {1,8} GB" -f $group.Name, $gb)135 }136 Write-Host ""137 Write-Host " Report : $ReportPath" -ForegroundColor Cyan138 Write-Host ""139 }140 141 Disconnect-VIServer -Server $connection -Confirm:$false142}

How it works

Snapshots are meant to be temporary. In practice they are created before a change, the change succeeds, and nobody removes them — until a datastore fills and takes production down with it.

It refuses to touch snapshots tagged as protected and skips VMs that are mid-backup, because consolidating during a backup is how you turn a housekeeping job into an incident.

Name

Type

Required

Description

Server

string

Required

vCenter FQDN.

MaxAgeDays

int

Optional

Snapshot age threshold. Default 7.

Remove

switch

Optional

Consolidate rather than report only.

VMware Snapshot Reaper

How it works

Parameters

Scripts that pair well with this one

VMware Orphaned VMDK Finder

Kubernetes Resource Rightsizer

Active Directory Stale Account Cleanup

Run this on a schedule, with approvals and rollback

VMware Snapshot Reaper

How it works

Parameters

Scripts that pair well with this one

VMware Orphaned VMDK Finder

Kubernetes Resource Rightsizer

Active Directory Stale Account Cleanup

Run this on a schedule, with approvals and rollback