Canister Snapshot Up/Download Next week, a new feature will be rolled out that allows controllers to download and upload canister snapshots. The feature is already available today (Sept. 12) on subnets csyj4 and w4asl . dfx canister snapshot download --dir <directory> <canister_id> <snapshot_id> do…

Super cool! Is there also going to be a way to do this programmatically? i.e. Clone a canister using a function call from a canister?

Yes, by using the management canister calls directly. That requires the calling canister to be controller of the target canister. Edit: And ofc the calling canister needs to accommodate for the snapshot memory.

This is amazing. Exactly what I always wanted to have :slight_smile:

Addendum: Please use dfx version 0.29.2-beta.0, when using this feature (not 0.29.1 as stated originally). The change is now rolled out on most app subnets, and rollout will be done by today EOD.

Canister Snapshot Up/Download

Developers

mraszyk December 14, 2025, 4:50pm 6

PocketIC v11 now also supports downloading and uploading canister snapshots in the same file format as used by dfx.

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Canister Snapshot Up/Download

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