# Missing S3 Lifecycle Policy for Incomplete Multipart Uploads

Canonical: https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/inefficiencies/missing-s3-lifecycle-policy-for-incomplete-multipart-uploads

[Cloud Efficiency Hub](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub) 

# Missing S3 Lifecycle Policy for Incomplete Multipart Uploads

## Explanation

Multipart upload allows large files to be uploaded in segments. Each part is stored individually until the upload is finalized by a "CompleteMultipartUpload" request. If this final request is never issued-due to a timeout, crash, failed job, or misconfiguration-the parts remain stored but are effectively useless: they do not form a valid object and cannot be retrieved. Without a lifecycle policy in place to clean up these incomplete uploads, the orphaned parts persist and continue to incur storage charges indefinitely.

## Relevant Billing Model

S3 charges per GB-month for all stored data, including partial object data from incomplete multipart uploads. These parts are billed as standard storage and remain in the bucket unless explicitly removed-either manually or via a lifecycle policy.

## Detection

- Identify S3 buckets that are used for large file uploads or automation-driven data ingestion

- Review whether an S3 Lifecycle rule exists to abort incomplete multipart uploads

- Consult with application owners or platform teams to confirm upload workflows and fault tolerance

## Remediation

Define an S3 Lifecycle rule to automatically abort incomplete multipart uploads after a specified number of days (e.g., 7 days). This ensures that leftover parts are cleaned up and do not persist indefinitely. Include this rule as a default in all buckets handling large object uploads or automation-driven data pipelines.

## Relevant Documentation

- [S3 Multipart Upload Overview](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/mpuoverview.html/%22)

- [Managing Incomplete Multipart Uploads Using Lifecycle Configuration](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/mpu-abort-incomplete-mpu-lifecycle-config.html/)

[Submit Feedback](https://hub.pointfive.co/inefficiencies/missing-s3-lifecycle-policy-for-incomplete-multipart-uploads)

## At a glance

Reference

CER-0076

Cloud provider

AWS

Service

AWS S3

Category

[Storage](https://www.pointfive.co/efficiency-hub/service-category/storage)

Inefficiency type

Inefficient Configuration

## Contributed by

- Taylor Houck 

### Taylor Houck

Cloud FinOps Specialist @ PointFive

[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/twhouck/)

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Source: the public page above. Product screenshots and illustrative interfaces are examples, not live customer data.