# Get started

In order to start scheduling automated & frequent native snapshots of your Lightsail Instances, you must connect your AWS account.

After connecting the account, Weap.io will automatically import all your Lightsail Instances and you will be able to choose the ones that should be backed-up, configure the backup frequency and finally the retention policy.

### 1. Open the Weap.io Provider Snapshots page

Open your Weap.io dashboard and click the **`Provider Backups`** button located in the top menu. On the page just opened, click the button **`Connect cloud account`**.

![](/files/-MKFS79za8hO2odyBa8d)

### 2. Generate your AWS Access Key

In order for Weap.io to be able to create snapshots of your AWS Lightsail Instances, you must create an Access Key. Open the AWS Console in a new tab, go to the IAM service and create a new policy using the following JSON:

```
{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "WeapIo",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "lightsail:GetInstances",
                "lightsail:GetInstance",
                "lightsail:GetInstanceState",
                "lightsail:GetInstanceSnapshots",
                "lightsail:GetInstanceSnapshot",
                "lightsail:CreateInstanceSnapshot",
                "lightsail:DeleteInstanceSnapshot",
                "lightsail:GetOperation"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        }
    ]
}
```

Give an intuitive name to the policy to easily recognize it later, for example **`weap_backups`**. Now it's time to create a new user (again from the IAM service). Make sure to select **`Programmatic access`** as **`Access type`**. When done, click the button **`Next: Permissions`**

![](/files/-MKJ66ofIPjHQqlLdra7)

In the Permissions view select the option **`Attach existing policies directly`** and search the policy you just created previously. Once found, select it and click the button **`Next: Tags`**

![](/files/-MKJ6ZGyr55aVm8k9W16)

The Tags step can be omitted. Click the button **`Next: Review`**. In the next view click **`Create User`**.

![](/files/-MKJ7L_QNKE7zeTx8bTi)

In the last view you will find the Access Key details that must be provided when connecting the AWS account to Weap.io

### 3. Select the AWS Lightsail provider, choose a name for the account and provide your Access key

Go back to Weap.io and in the modal opened at step 1 select the **`AWS Lightsail`** provider. Type an intuitive name that will help you easily recognize the account later. 

Paste the Access Key ID & Secret generated in the previous step and choose the location of your Lightsail instances.

When done, click the  **`Save`** button.

![](/files/-MKJh922MT3SEAqjrNs2)

### 4. Synchronize the account

After clicking the **`Save`** button, the list of your connected accounts will be reloaded and the newly connected account will appear.

The last thing you have to do is clicking the button **`Synchronize account`**. By doing that, Weap.io will import all your AWS Lightsail Instances. If you don't press the button, Weap.io will automatically run the synchronization after some minutes. 

Once synchronized, all your Lightsail Instances will be visible and you will be able to configure the backup frequency, retention or even completely pause the backups for some of them. 

![](/files/-MKJiJAidCX9YjcJLy_C)


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