AWS Amazon Import/Export Snowball
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AI ReadinessFoundational (C+)58/100
Agent-ready OpenAPI document · curated by JenticStorageObject StorageapiKey26 EndpointsREST
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For Agents
Manage AWS Snow Family data-transfer jobs from request to return shipping. Agents can create addresses, request import or export jobs, retrieve manifests and unlock codes, and track job status.
Use for: I need to create a Snowball job to import data into S3, Register a new shipping address for a Snowball delivery, Get the job manifest and unlock code for a Snowball device that arrived, List all Snowball jobs that are currently in transit
Not supported: Does not transfer data between regions over the network, manage S3 object lifecycle, or perform on-device data manipulation - use for ordering and tracking Snow Family physical data-transfer jobs only.
Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for Amazon Import/Export Snowball, keeping it validated and agent-ready. The Snow Family management API lets organisations create and track jobs that move large volumes of data between on-premises sites and Amazon S3 using physical Snowball, Snowball Edge, and Snowcone devices. Agents can create addresses, request jobs and clusters, fetch job manifests and unlock codes, generate return shipping labels, and manage long-term pricing arrangements. The 26 operations cover addresses, jobs, clusters, manifests, return shipping, and Snow device pricing.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the Amazon Import/Export Snowball to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the Amazon Import/Export Snowball, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
1
Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Famazonaws.com%2Famazon-snowball" | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL "https://jentic.com/install.sh?src=apis&api=%2Fapis%2Famazonaws.com%2Famazon-snowball" | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with Amazon Import/Export Snowball API.
Create shipping addresses with CreateAddress so jobs can be sent to a physical site
Request import or export jobs against an S3 bucket using CreateJob
Group multiple devices into a Snowball Edge cluster with CreateCluster
Retrieve the encrypted job manifest and unlock code needed to access a device on arrival
Generate or check return shipping labels with CreateReturnShippingLabel and DescribeReturnShippingLabel
Inspect job, cluster, and address state with Describe and List operations
Configure long-term pricing for repeated Snow device usage
Use Cases
Patterns agents use Amazon Import/Export Snowball API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Bulk Data Migration into Amazon S3
Enterprises moving petabyte-scale data into AWS use Snowball to ship physical devices rather than saturate their network. Operators CreateAddress, CreateJob with JobType=IMPORT and the destination S3 bucket, and use the returned JobId to fetch the manifest and unlock code via GetJobManifest and GetJobUnlockCode once the device arrives.
CreateAddress for the data centre, CreateJob with JobType=IMPORT, RoleARN, and S3 destination bucket, then GetJobManifest and GetJobUnlockCode once Status=IN_TRANSIT_TO_CUSTOMER.
Edge Computing Cluster for Disconnected Sites
Field operations (research vessels, remote installations) order Snowball Edge clusters to run compute and storage in environments without reliable internet. CreateCluster provisions multiple devices that operate as a unit, and DescribeCluster tracks shipment, deployment, and return status.
CreateCluster with JobType=LOCAL_USE, AddressId, and node count, then DescribeCluster periodically to track ClusterState moving from AwaitingQuorum to InUse.
Job Lifecycle Tracking and Return Logistics
Operations teams track Snowball job state across creation, shipping, customer use, and return - using ListJobs, DescribeJob, CreateReturnShippingLabel, and DescribeReturnShippingLabel. Agents can flag jobs that are overdue for return or generate replacement labels when one is lost.
ListJobs filtered by JobState=WITH_CUSTOMER, then for any job past its expected return date call CreateReturnShippingLabel and DescribeReturnShippingLabel to confirm generation.
AI Agent Operational Status via Jentic
AI agents using Jentic can answer fleet-management questions like 'which Snowball jobs are still active?' or 'what is the unlock code for job X?' by calling the Snowball API through Jentic. Searches by intent return the right operation, and vault-stored AWS credentials sign each call.
Search Jentic for 'list snowball jobs', execute ListJobs filtered by JobState=IN_TRANSIT_TO_AWS, and return JobId, JobState, and CreationDate for each.
Key Endpoints
26 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for amazon import/export snowball, keeping it validated and agent-ready.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CreateJob
Create an import, export, or local-use Snowball job
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CreateAddress
Register a shipping address for jobs
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.DescribeJob
Fetch job state, shipping, and configuration
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.GetJobManifest
Retrieve the encrypted manifest for a delivered device
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.GetJobUnlockCode
Fetch the device unlock code
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CreateReturnShippingLabel
Generate a return shipping label for a completed job
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CancelJob
Cancel a Snowball job that has not yet shipped
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CreateJob
Create an import, export, or local-use Snowball job
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CreateAddress
Register a shipping address for jobs
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.DescribeJob
Fetch job state, shipping, and configuration
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.GetJobManifest
Retrieve the encrypted manifest for a delivered device
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.GetJobUnlockCode
Fetch the device unlock code
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CreateReturnShippingLabel
Generate a return shipping label for a completed job
POST
/#X-Amz-Target=AWSIESnowballJobManagementService.CancelJob
Cancel a Snowball job that has not yet shipped
Jentic AI Readiness Score
This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.
A
Amazon Import/Export Snowball
- Foundational (C+)58/100
99
Foundational Compliance53
Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility36
AI-Readiness & Agent Experience94
Agent Usability50
Security100
AI DiscoverabilityPowered by JenticScoring Framework 1.0.0 | Scoring Engine 0.4.0
Show dimension breakdown
99
Foundational Compliance
Base layer of spec validity and structural soundness.
Grade: A+Signals: 4
97%
Lint Results
Aggregated quality score from linter diagnostics, weighted by severity.
100%
Resolution Completeness
Percentage of `$ref` references that resolve successfully.
100%
Specification Validity
Checks whether the API description parses successfully and conforms to its declared specification (e.g., OpenAPI).
100%
Structural Integrity
Structural correctness score based on schema issues using logarithmic dampening.
53
Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility
Clarity, completeness, and ingestion readiness for developers and tooling.
Grade: CSignals: 4
2%
Example Density
How richly the API is illustrated with examples.
62%
Example Validity
Percentage of examples that conform to their schemas.
49%
Response Coverage
Percentage of operations with complete response definitions (success, client error, server error).
100%
Tooling Readiness
Health of API ingestion, bundling, and resolution within Jentic pipelines.
36
AI-Readiness & Agent Experience
Semantic breadth, depth, and agent comprehension for AI systems.
Grade: FSignals: 4
46%
Description Coverage
Coverage of descriptions across API elements.
0%
Error Standardization
Coverage of RFC 9457 Problem Details for error responses.
100%
OperationId Quality
Coverage, uniqueness, and casing consistency of operationIds for AI inference.
0%
Summary Coverage
Coverage of summaries across operations/tags/info.
94
Agent Usability
Functional utility, complexity comfort, and AI orchestration readiness.
Grade: A+Signals: 1
94%
Complexity Comfort
Agent comfort level based on API operational and structural complexity.
50
Security
Trust, risk posture, and security compliance.
Grade: C-Signals: 1
50%
Authentication Strength
Average quality of security schemes based on authentication method strength (weakest link for OAuth2).
100
AI Discoverability
Findability, semantic richness, and reasoning readiness.
Grade: A+Signals: 1
100%
Descriptive Richness
Clarity and depth of descriptions across API elements.
Score it yourself
Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>Why Jentic?
What agents get from Jentic-routed access to this vendor.
Setup
Wiring Amazon Import/Export Snowball by hand means computing SigV4 signatures, selecting the right regional snowball host, and routing calls through the X-Amz-Target action header yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import Snowball from the API Directory, store the access keys once, and your agent calls it.
Permission scoping
Snowball's actions route through one endpoint by X-Amz-Target rather than resource ids in the path, so scope the agent to the operations it needs, such as CreateJob and DescribeJob. You choose the operations it may call, so destructive ones like CancelJob are not included unless you add them.
Credential isolation
Your AWS access keys are stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and used to sign each Snowball request with SigV4 at execution time. They never enter the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'create a snowball job' or 'track a job in transit', and Jentic returns the matching Snowball operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using Amazon Import/Export Snowball API through Jentic.
Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for Amazon Import/Export Snowball?
AWS does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call Amazon Import/Export Snowball via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.
What authentication does the Amazon Import/Export Snowball use?
Snowball uses AWS Signature Version 4 with IAM credentials and permissions on the snowball:* and importexport:* actions. Through Jentic, AWS keys are stored encrypted in the vault and signed into each call - the raw credentials never enter the agent's runtime.
Can I track a Snowball device after it ships to me?
Yes. DescribeJob returns the JobState (NEW, PREPARING_APPLIANCE, IN_TRANSIT_TO_CUSTOMER, WITH_CUSTOMER, IN_TRANSIT_TO_AWS, COMPLETE) along with shipping carrier and tracking number details. GetJobManifest and GetJobUnlockCode are required once the device is on site to access the encrypted contents.
What are the rate limits for the Amazon Import/Export Snowball?
Snowball applies standard AWS API throttling - most operations are limited to a few requests per second per account per region with brief burst capacity. Throttled requests return a ThrottlingException; clients should retry with exponential backoff.
How do I create a Snowball import job through Jentic?
Through Jentic, search for 'create a snowball import job', load the CreateJob schema, and execute with JobType=IMPORT, RoleARN, AddressId, and the Resources block listing destination S3 buckets. Jentic returns the JobId so the agent can poll DescribeJob until the device ships.
Is the Amazon Import/Export Snowball free?
Snowball charges per device-job (a service fee that includes 10 days of on-site use) plus shipping and per-day rental beyond the included period. Long-term pricing offers reduced rates for multi-year commitments; see https://aws.amazon.com/snowball/pricing/.
Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Amazon Import/Export Snowball API?
Yes. Because Jentic One is self-hosted, your own rules decide which Snowball operations and credentials the agent may use. Snowball routes every action through a single endpoint via the X-Amz-Target header rather than resource ids in the path, so you scope the agent to just the operations it needs, such as CreateJob and DescribeJob. Since you choose the operations it may call, destructive ones like CancelJob are excluded unless you add them.
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