Check --keep-newer-than before the backup starts (closes #307)

snapshot create read --keep-newer-than only in the post-backup prune,
so a value the duration parser rejects failed the run after the
snapshot was uploaded: a nightly cron line added a snapshot each night,
reported it as failed, and never deleted any. Without --prune the flag
was ignored. The command now checks the flag before it starts and fails
on an invalid duration or a missing --prune.

A failed post-backup prune is now wrapped in ErrPostBackupPruneFailed
and reported as "Backup completed, but post-backup prune failed: ..."
rather than as a failed snapshot creation. The exit status stays 1.

Model: opus-5-5

README.md

@@ -286,7 +286,9 @@ needed.
   remove orphaned blobs from remote storage. By default keeps only the latest
   snapshot per name; use `--keep-newer-than` for a rolling window.
 * `--keep-newer-than <duration>`: With `--prune`, keep snapshots newer than
-  this duration instead of only the latest (e.g. `4w`, `30d`, `6mo`, `1y`)
+  this duration instead of only the latest (e.g. `4w`, `30d`, `6mo`, `1y`).
+  Without `--prune`, or with a value that is not a valid duration, the
+  command fails before the backup starts.
 
 **`snapshot list`**: Show every snapshot known to this host — the union
 of the local index and the backup destination store — with timestamps
@@ -349,9 +351,11 @@ the backup destination store. Blobs are NOT touched — deleting blobs
 requires reading every remaining remote manifest (the destination store
 may hold snapshots this host doesn't know about), which is what
 `vaultik prune` does. On success the command prints the exact `vaultik
-prune` invocation to run as a follow-up. Local row cleanup (files,
+prune` invocation to run as a follow-up. An ID that names no snapshot in
-chunks, blobs the snapshot was the last referrer for) runs
+the local index or on the destination store is an error; with
-automatically. If the destination store is unreachable, the local-DB
+`--local-only`, the snapshot must be in the local index. Local row
+cleanup (files, chunks, blobs the snapshot was the last referrer for)
+runs automatically. If the destination store is unreachable, the local-DB
 removal still completes and a warning is emitted; run `vaultik snapshot
 remove <snapshot-id>` again once the store is reachable to remove the
 snapshot's metadata from it (`vaultik prune` does not). To wipe everything
@@ -399,7 +403,9 @@ orphaned blob figures are reported as unknown; `--json` gives them as
 `null`, lists the remote key of each unreadable manifest in
 `unreadable_manifests` and counts the manifests under skipped names in
 `skipped_manifest_count`. An unreadable manifest also leaves its
-snapshot's blob count and blob size unknown, `null` in `--json`.
+snapshot's blob count and blob size unknown, `null` in `--json`. A file
+under `blobs/` whose name is not a blob hash is not counted as a blob,
+since `prune` never deletes it.
 * `--json`: Output as JSON
 
 **`remote nuke`**: Delete every snapshot's metadata and every blob from the

TODO.md

@@ -22,6 +22,24 @@ the tag exists and is exercised; what is left is merging `next` to
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-10-13: Stopped `remote info` counting a file under `blobs/` that
+  is not a blob as an orphaned blob
+  ([issue #295](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/295)). A stray
+  file such as `.DS_Store` was reported as an orphaned blob and the
+  report advised running `prune`, which skips such a file and deleted
+  nothing. `remote info` now takes its blob list from the same listing
+  `prune` uses, in the table and in `--json`.
+
+- 2026-10-13: Made `snapshot remove` fail for a snapshot that does not
+  exist ([issue #293](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/293)).
+  The command never checked the ID: it reported the snapshot removed
+  from the local database and from the destination store and exited 0,
+  under `--json`, `--dry-run` and `--local-only` too. An ID that names
+  no snapshot in the local index or on the destination store is now an
+  error; with `--local-only`, the snapshot must be in the local index.
+  The command now reports a removal from either side only when one
+  happened, and `remote_removed` is true only when metadata was deleted.
+
 - 2026-10-12: Bound the local index to the destination an `s3.*` config
   names ([issue #298](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/298)).
   Only `storage_url` was checked, so after `s3.bucket` or `s3.prefix`

internal/cli/entry_snapshot_create_prune_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+package cli //nolint:testpackage // shares runEntry and the hermetic config helpers
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// Flags of `snapshot create` used to build argument vectors below.
+const (
+	flagPrune         = "--prune"
+	flagKeepNewerThan = "--keep-newer-than"
+)
+
+// TestEntrySnapshotCreateRejectsKeepNewerThanBeforeBackup checks that a
+// --keep-newer-than the post-backup prune could not use stops `snapshot
+// create` before the backup: the command fails and the destination
+// store stays empty. It used to be read only by the prune, after the
+// snapshot was uploaded, and without --prune it was ignored.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // replaces os.Args, os.Stdout, os.Stderr and the xdg globals
+func TestEntrySnapshotCreateRejectsKeepNewerThanBeforeBackup(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, testCase := range []struct {
+		name string
+		args []string
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "decimal in a day count",
+			args: []string{flagPrune, flagKeepNewerThan, "1.5d"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "unknown unit",
+			args: []string{flagPrune, flagKeepNewerThan, "4x"},
+		},
+		{
+			name: "without --prune",
+			args: []string{flagKeepNewerThan, "4w"},
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(testCase.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			configPath, storeDir := writeBackupConfig(t)
+
+			code, _, _ := runEntry(t, append(
+				[]string{flagConfig, configPath, cmdSnapshot, cmdCreate},
+				testCase.args...)...)
+
+			assert.Equal(t, 1, code)
+
+			stored, err := os.ReadDir(storeDir)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Empty(t, stored, "nothing may be uploaded")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestEntrySnapshotCreateReportsPostBackupPruneFailure makes the
+// post-backup prune fail after a good backup, by planting a manifest
+// that cannot be decoded, and checks that the failure is reported as the
+// prune's and not as a failed snapshot creation.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // replaces os.Args, os.Stdout, os.Stderr and the xdg globals
+func TestEntrySnapshotCreateReportsPostBackupPruneFailure(t *testing.T) {
+	configPath, storeDir := writeBackupConfig(t)
+
+	// A remote key is 64 lowercase hex characters. The prune reads every
+	// manifest on the store and fails on one it cannot decode.
+	plantedDir := filepath.Join(storeDir, "metadata", strings.Repeat("a", 64))
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(plantedDir, 0o750))
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(
+		filepath.Join(plantedDir, "manifest.json.zst"),
+		[]byte("not a valid manifest"), 0o600))
+
+	code, _, stderr := runEntry(t,
+		flagConfig, configPath, cmdSnapshot, cmdCreate, flagPrune)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, code)
+	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "Backup completed, but post-backup prune failed")
+	assert.NotContains(t, stderr, "Snapshot creation failed")
+
+	snapshots, err := os.ReadDir(filepath.Join(storeDir, "metadata"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, snapshots, 2,
+		"the new snapshot is on the store beside the planted one")
+}
+
+// writeBackupConfig builds a hermetic config with one small file in its
+// source directory and an empty destination store directory. Returns the
+// config path and the store directory.
+func writeBackupConfig(t *testing.T) (string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	configPath := writeHermeticPruneConfig(t, false)
+
+	// writeHermeticPruneConfig puts the source and store directories
+	// beside the config file.
+	dir := filepath.Dir(configPath)
+	sourceDir := filepath.Join(dir, "source")
+
+	require.NoError(t, os.Mkdir(sourceDir, 0o750))
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(
+		filepath.Join(sourceDir, "file.txt"), []byte("hello"), 0o600))
+
+	return configPath, filepath.Join(dir, "store")
+}

internal/cli/snapshot.go

@@ -71,6 +71,11 @@ otherwise from the platform config directory (~/.config/vaultik/config.yml
 on Linux), then /etc/vaultik/config.yml.`,
 		Args: cobra.ArbitraryArgs,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			err := opts.Validate()
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
 			// Pass snapshot names from args
 			opts.Snapshots = args
 			// --skip-errors is a global flag on the root command.
@@ -97,6 +102,13 @@ on Linux), then /etc/vaultik/config.yml.`,
 			}, func(v *vaultik.Vaultik) error {
 				return v.CreateSnapshot(opts)
 			}, func(err error) {
+				if errors.Is(err, vaultik.ErrPostBackupPruneFailed) {
+					log.Error("Post-backup prune failed", "error", err)
+					ReportErrorf("Backup completed, but %v", err)
+
+					return
+				}
+
 				log.Error("Snapshot creation failed", "error", err)
 				ReportErrorf("Snapshot creation failed: %v", err)
 			})
@@ -255,8 +267,12 @@ manifest (the destination store may hold snapshots this host doesn't
 know about), which is what 'vaultik prune' does. On success the command
 prints the exact 'vaultik prune' invocation to run as a follow-up.
 
+An ID that names no snapshot in the local index or on the destination
+store is an error.
+
 Use --local-only to skip the remote half (e.g. when you want to forget a
-snapshot locally without touching the destination store).
+snapshot locally without touching the destination store); the snapshot
+must then be in the local index.
 
 If the remote is unreachable, the local-database removal still completes
 and a warning is emitted; run 'vaultik snapshot remove <snapshot-id>' again

internal/vaultik/info.go

@@ -167,10 +167,6 @@ const (
 	// metadataKeyParts is the minimum "/"-separated segment count of a
 	// metadata object key (metadata/<snapshot-id>/<filename>).
 	metadataKeyParts = 3
-
-	// blobKeyParts is the minimum "/"-separated segment count of a blob
-	// object key (blobs/<aa>/<bb>/<hash>).
-	blobKeyParts = 4
 )
 
 // SnapshotMetadataInfo contains information about a single snapshot's metadata
@@ -454,23 +450,16 @@ func (v *Vaultik) scanRemoteBlobStorage(
 		v.stdoutf("Scanning blobs...\n")
 	}
 
-	blobCh := v.Storage.ListStream(v.ctx, "blobs/")
+	// Use prune's listing, so a file under blobs/ that prune would never
-	allBlobs := make(map[string]int64)
+	// delete is not counted as a blob, and so not as an orphaned one.
+	allBlobs, err := v.listAllRemoteBlobs()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
-	for obj := range blobCh {
+	for _, size := range allBlobs {
-		if obj.Err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("listing blobs: %w", obj.Err)
-		}
-
-		parts := strings.Split(obj.Key, "/")
-		if len(parts) < blobKeyParts {
-			continue
-		}
-
-		hash := parts[3]
-		allBlobs[hash] = obj.Size
 		result.TotalBlobCount++
-		result.TotalBlobSize += obj.Size
+		result.TotalBlobSize += size
 	}
 
 	// A blob named only by a manifest that could not be read, or by one

internal/vaultik/prune.go

@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ var errNukeRequiresForce = errors.New(
 // metadata.
 const metadataDirName = "metadata"
 
+// blobKeyParts is the "/"-separated segment count of a blob object key
+// (blobs/<aa>/<bb>/<hash>).
+const blobKeyParts = 4
+
 // NukeRemote deletes every snapshot's metadata and every blob from remote
 // storage, along with any object an upload cut off part-way left under a
 // temporary `.partial` name. After this returns successfully the bucket

internal/vaultik/remote_info_test.go

@@ -185,6 +185,39 @@ func TestRemoteInfo_SkipsNonConformingMetadataName(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NotContains(t, doc, "unreadable_manifests")
 }
 
+// TestRemoteInfo_DoesNotCountNonBlobFileUnderBlobs checks that a file
+// under blobs/ whose name is not a blob hash is not counted as a blob.
+// prune never deletes such a file, so counting it as an orphaned blob
+// would advise a prune that removes nothing.
+func TestRemoteInfo_DoesNotCountNonBlobFileUnderBlobs(t *testing.T) {
+	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	env := newListEnv(t)
+	env.addRemote(t, listRemoteID, time.Date(2026, 3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC))
+	addBlob(t, env.store.testStorer, testBlobHashA)
+	require.NoError(t, env.store.Put(context.Background(),
+		"blobs/"+testBlobHashA[:2]+"/"+testBlobHashA[2:4]+"/.DS_Store",
+		bytes.NewReader([]byte("junk"))))
+
+	require.NoError(t, env.v.RemoteInfo(false))
+
+	text := env.stdout.String()
+	assert.Contains(t, text, "Total blobs on remote:      1 (")
+	assert.Contains(t, text, "Orphaned (unreferenced):    0 (")
+	assert.NotContains(t, text, "vaultik prune")
+
+	env.stdout.Reset()
+	require.NoError(t, env.v.RemoteInfo(true))
+
+	var doc map[string]any
+
+	require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(env.stdout.Bytes(), &doc))
+	assert.InDelta(t, 1, doc["total_blob_count"], 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0, doc["orphaned_blob_count"], 0)
+	assert.InDelta(t, 0, doc["orphaned_blob_size"], 0)
+}
+
 // TestRemoteInfo_DirectoryWithoutManifestLeavesOrphansKnown checks that
 // a directory under metadata/ holding no manifest.json.zst, such as one
 // left by a backup interrupted before its manifest upload, leaves the

internal/vaultik/remove_snapshot_test.go

@@ -3,17 +3,21 @@ package vaultik_test
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
+	"database/sql"
 	"io"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/klauspost/compress/zstd"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/database"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/log"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/snapshot"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/storage"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/types"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/vaultik"
 )
 
@@ -214,6 +218,37 @@ func addBlob(t *testing.T, store *testStorer, hash string) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 }
 
+// newLocalIndex returns an in-memory local index holding a completed
+// snapshot row for each of ids.
+func newLocalIndex(t *testing.T, ids ...string) *database.Repositories {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	db, err := database.New(ctx, ":memory:")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = db.Close() })
+
+	repos := database.NewRepositories(db)
+
+	for _, id := range ids {
+		completedAt := time.Now().UTC()
+		snap := &database.Snapshot{
+			ID:          types.SnapshotID(id),
+			Hostname:    snapHostname,
+			StartedAt:   completedAt,
+			CompletedAt: &completedAt,
+		}
+
+		err = repos.WithTx(ctx, func(ctx context.Context, tx *sql.Tx) error {
+			return repos.Snapshots.Create(ctx, tx, snap)
+		})
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+
+	return repos
+}
+
 // ============================================================================
 // Unit Tests for RemoveSnapshot
 // ============================================================================
@@ -233,6 +268,7 @@ func TestRemoveSnapshot_LocalOnly_PreservesRemote(t *testing.T) {
 	addBlob(t, store, blobA)
 
 	tv := vaultik.NewForTesting(store)
+	tv.Repositories = newLocalIndex(t, "snapshot-001")
 
 	opts := &vaultik.RemoveOptions{Force: true, LocalOnly: true}
 	result, err := tv.RemoveSnapshot("snapshot-001", opts)
@@ -268,6 +304,7 @@ func TestRemoveSnapshot_DefaultRemovesMetadataNotBlobs(t *testing.T) {
 	addBlob(t, store, blobShared)
 
 	tv := vaultik.NewForTesting(store)
+	tv.Repositories = newLocalIndex(t, "snapshot-001", "snapshot-002")
 
 	opts := &vaultik.RemoveOptions{Force: true}
 	result, err := tv.RemoveSnapshot("snapshot-001", opts)
@@ -316,6 +353,84 @@ func TestRemoveSnapshot_DryRun(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Contains(t, tv.Stdout.String(), "[Dry run - no changes made]")
 }
 
+// TestRemoveSnapshot_UnknownIDIsError checks that an ID naming no
+// snapshot in the local index or on the destination store is an error
+// under every option, and that nothing is reported as removed.
+func TestRemoveSnapshot_UnknownIDIsError(t *testing.T) {
+	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	for name, opts := range map[string]vaultik.RemoveOptions{
+		"force":      {Force: true},
+		"json":       {JSON: true},
+		"dry-run":    {Force: true, DryRun: true},
+		"local-only": {Force: true, LocalOnly: true},
+	} {
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+
+			store := newTestStorer()
+			addManifest(t, store, "snapshot-001", nil)
+
+			tv := vaultik.NewForTesting(store)
+			tv.Repositories = newLocalIndex(t, "snapshot-001")
+
+			result, err := tv.RemoveSnapshot("snapshot-999", &opts)
+
+			require.ErrorContains(t, err, "snapshot not found")
+			assert.False(t, result.RemoteRemoved)
+			assert.Empty(t, tv.Stdout.String())
+			assert.True(t, store.hasKey(remoteKeyPath("snapshot-001")))
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// TestRemoveSnapshot_NoMetadataOnDestination checks that removing a
+// snapshot whose metadata is not on the destination store does not
+// report metadata removed from it.
+func TestRemoveSnapshot_NoMetadataOnDestination(t *testing.T) {
+	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	tv := vaultik.NewForTesting(newTestStorer())
+	tv.Repositories = newLocalIndex(t, "snapshot-001")
+
+	result, err := tv.RemoveSnapshot("snapshot-001",
+		&vaultik.RemoveOptions{Force: true})
+
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.False(t, result.RemoteRemoved)
+
+	out := tv.Stdout.String()
+	assert.Contains(t, out, "Removed snapshot 'snapshot-001' from local database")
+	assert.NotContains(t, out, "Removed snapshot metadata from remote storage")
+}
+
+// TestRemoveSnapshot_NotInLocalIndex checks that removing a snapshot
+// only the destination store holds removes its metadata there without
+// reporting a removal from the local database.
+func TestRemoveSnapshot_NotInLocalIndex(t *testing.T) {
+	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	store := newTestStorer()
+	addManifest(t, store, "snapshot-001", nil)
+
+	tv := vaultik.NewForTesting(store)
+	tv.Repositories = newLocalIndex(t)
+
+	result, err := tv.RemoveSnapshot("snapshot-001",
+		&vaultik.RemoveOptions{Force: true})
+
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.True(t, result.RemoteRemoved)
+	assert.False(t, store.hasKey(remoteKeyPath("snapshot-001")))
+
+	out := tv.Stdout.String()
+	assert.NotContains(t, out, "from local database")
+	assert.Contains(t, out, "Removed snapshot metadata from remote storage")
+}
+
 func TestRemoveAllSnapshots_RequiresForce(t *testing.T) {
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	t.Parallel()

internal/vaultik/snapshot.go

@@ -23,12 +23,19 @@ var (
 	errNoSnapshotsInConfig  = errors.New("no snapshots configured")
 	errSnapshotVerifyFailed = errors.New("verification failed")
 	errRemoveAllNeedsForce  = errors.New("--all requires --force")
+	errSnapshotNotFound     = errors.New("snapshot not found")
 	errInvalidTableName     = errors.New("invalid table name")
 	errNoAgeRecipients      = errors.New(
 		"creating a snapshot needs at least one public key in " +
 			"age_recipients (generate a keypair with: age-keygen)")
+	errKeepNewerThanNeedsPrune = errors.New("--keep-newer-than requires --prune")
 )
 
+// ErrPostBackupPruneFailed wraps a failure of the post-backup prune,
+// which runs only after every snapshot was created and uploaded, so the
+// caller can report it apart from a failed backup.
+var ErrPostBackupPruneFailed = errors.New("post-backup prune failed")
+
 // listRecentLimit caps how many snapshot rows are fetched from the
 // local index for listing and purge operations.
 const listRecentLimit = 10000
@@ -44,6 +51,26 @@ type SnapshotCreateOptions struct {
 	Snapshots     []string // Optional list of snapshot names to process (empty = all)
 }
 
+// Validate fails when KeepNewerThan is set without Prune or is not a
+// valid duration. Only the post-backup prune reads KeepNewerThan, after
+// the backup, so the caller checks it before starting one.
+func (opts *SnapshotCreateOptions) Validate() error {
+	if opts.KeepNewerThan == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	if !opts.Prune {
+		return errKeepNewerThanNeedsPrune
+	}
+
+	_, err := parseDuration(opts.KeepNewerThan)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("--keep-newer-than: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // CreateSnapshot executes the snapshot creation operation
 func (v *Vaultik) CreateSnapshot(opts *SnapshotCreateOptions) error {
 	// config.Load accepts an empty list, since listing, verifying and
@@ -122,7 +149,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) CreateSnapshot(opts *SnapshotCreateOptions) error {
 	if opts.Prune {
 		err = v.runPostBackupPrune(snapshotNames, opts.KeepNewerThan)
 		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("post-backup prune: %w", err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("%w: %w", ErrPostBackupPruneFailed, err)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -643,7 +670,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) confirmAndExecutePurge(
 				"snapshot_id", snapshotID, "error", err)
 		}
 
-		err = v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID))
+		_, err = v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID))
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("deleting snapshot %s from remote: %w", snapshotID, err)
 		}
@@ -1153,6 +1180,11 @@ func (v *Vaultik) RemoveSnapshot(
 		return result, err
 	}
 
+	inLocalIndex, err := v.findSnapshotToRemove(snapshotID, opts)
+	if err != nil {
+		return result, err
+	}
+
 	if opts.DryRun {
 		return v.removeSnapshotDryRun(result, snapshotID, opts)
 	}
@@ -1161,11 +1193,13 @@ func (v *Vaultik) RemoveSnapshot(
 		return result, nil
 	}
 
-	log.Info("Removing snapshot from local database", "snapshot_id", snapshotID)
+	if inLocalIndex {
+		log.Info("Removing snapshot from local database", "snapshot_id", snapshotID)
 
-	err = v.deleteSnapshotFromLocalDB(snapshotID)
+		err = v.deleteSnapshotFromLocalDB(snapshotID)
-	if err != nil {
+		if err != nil {
-		return result, fmt.Errorf("removing from local database: %w", err)
+			return result, fmt.Errorf("removing from local database: %w", err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	if !opts.LocalOnly {
@@ -1184,9 +1218,11 @@ func (v *Vaultik) RemoveSnapshot(
 		return result, v.outputRemoveJSON(result)
 	}
 
-	v.stdoutf("Removed snapshot '%s' from local database\n", snapshotID)
+	if inLocalIndex {
+		v.stdoutf("Removed snapshot '%s' from local database\n", snapshotID)
+	}
 
-	if !opts.LocalOnly && result.RemoteRemoved {
+	if result.RemoteRemoved {
 		v.printlnStdout("Removed snapshot metadata from remote storage")
 		v.stdoutf("\nNote: The removed snapshot's blobs remain on the remote. "+
 			"Run '%s' to delete any blobs no longer referenced by any "+
@@ -1196,6 +1232,45 @@ func (v *Vaultik) RemoveSnapshot(
 	return result, nil
 }
 
+// findSnapshotToRemove reports whether the local index has a row for
+// snapshotID, and returns errSnapshotNotFound when there is nothing to
+// remove: no row and, unless LocalOnly is set, no metadata on the
+// destination store either. The destination store is consulted only
+// when the local index has no row, so a snapshot in the local index can
+// still be removed from it while the destination store is unreachable.
+func (v *Vaultik) findSnapshotToRemove(
+	snapshotID string, opts *RemoveOptions,
+) (bool, error) {
+	if v.Repositories != nil {
+		snap, err := v.Repositories.Snapshots.GetByID(v.ctx, snapshotID)
+		if err != nil {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("looking up snapshot in local index: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		if snap != nil {
+			return true, nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	if opts.LocalOnly {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("%w in the local index: %s",
+			errSnapshotNotFound, snapshotID)
+	}
+
+	objects, err := v.remoteSnapshotObjects(snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID))
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("looking up snapshot on destination store: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	if len(objects) == 0 {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf(
+			"%w in the local index or on the destination store: %s",
+			errSnapshotNotFound, snapshotID)
+	}
+
+	return false, nil
+}
+
 // removeSnapshotDryRun reports what RemoveSnapshot would do without
 // making changes.
 func (v *Vaultik) removeSnapshotDryRun(
@@ -1255,14 +1330,14 @@ func (v *Vaultik) confirmRemoveSnapshot(snapshotID string, opts *RemoveOptions)
 // didn't finish and to run `vaultik snapshot remove` for the snapshot
 // again once the destination store is reachable (`vaultik prune` never
 // removes snapshot metadata). Returns true when the remote removal
-// succeeded.
+// succeeded and deleted something.
 func (v *Vaultik) removeSnapshotRemote(snapshotID string, opts *RemoveOptions) bool {
 	log.Info("Removing snapshot metadata from remote storage",
 		"snapshot_id", snapshotID)
 
 	remoteKey := snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID)
 
-	err := v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(remoteKey)
+	deleted, err := v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(remoteKey)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Warn("Could not remove snapshot metadata from remote storage; "+
 			"run '"+snapshotRemoveCommandHint+"' with the snapshot's ID "+
@@ -1280,7 +1355,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) removeSnapshotRemote(snapshotID string, opts *RemoveOptions) b
 		return false
 	}
 
-	return true
+	return deleted > 0
 }
 
 // RemoveAllSnapshots removes every snapshot known to the local
@@ -1572,7 +1647,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) removeAllLocalSnapshots(
 		}
 
 		if !opts.LocalOnly {
-			err = v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(
+			_, err = v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(
 				snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(snapshotID))
 			if err != nil {
 				log.Warn("Failed to remove snapshot metadata from remote",
@@ -1598,7 +1673,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) removeAllOrphanRemotes(
 	for _, key := range orphanRemoteKeys {
 		log.Info("Removing orphan remote snapshot", "remote_key", key)
 
-		err := v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(key)
+		_, err := v.deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(key)
 		if err != nil {
 			log.Warn("Failed to remove orphan from remote",
 				"remote_key", key, "error", err)
@@ -1645,34 +1720,44 @@ func (v *Vaultik) deleteSnapshotFromLocalDB(snapshotID string) error {
 }
 
 // deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey removes everything under
-// metadata/<remoteKey>/ on the destination store. The argument is a
+// metadata/<remoteKey>/ on the destination store and returns how many
-// remote key (double-SHA256 derivation), not a human snapshot ID;
+// objects it deleted. The argument is a remote key (double-SHA256
-// callers that have a human ID must hash via snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey
+// derivation), not a human snapshot ID; callers that have a human ID
-// first.
+// must hash via snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey first.
-func (v *Vaultik) deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(remoteKey string) error {
+func (v *Vaultik) deleteRemoteSnapshotByKey(remoteKey string) (int, error) {
-	prefix := fmt.Sprintf("metadata/%s/", remoteKey)
+	objectsToDelete, err := v.remoteSnapshotObjects(remoteKey)
-	objectCh := v.Storage.ListStream(v.ctx, prefix)
+	if err != nil {
-
+		return 0, err
-	var objectsToDelete []string
-
-	for object := range objectCh {
-		if object.Err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("listing objects: %w", object.Err)
-		}
-
-		objectsToDelete = append(objectsToDelete, object.Key)
 	}
 
-	for _, key := range objectsToDelete {
+	for i, key := range objectsToDelete {
-		err := v.Storage.Delete(v.ctx, key)
+		err = v.Storage.Delete(v.ctx, key)
 		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("removing %s: %w", key, err)
+			return i, fmt.Errorf("removing %s: %w", key, err)
 		}
 
 		log.Debug("Deleted remote object", "key", key)
 	}
 
-	return nil
+	return len(objectsToDelete), nil
+}
+
+// remoteSnapshotObjects lists the keys of every object under
+// metadata/<remoteKey>/ on the destination store.
+func (v *Vaultik) remoteSnapshotObjects(remoteKey string) ([]string, error) {
+	prefix := fmt.Sprintf("metadata/%s/", remoteKey)
+
+	var keys []string
+
+	for object := range v.Storage.ListStream(v.ctx, prefix) {
+		if object.Err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("listing objects: %w", object.Err)
+		}
+
+		keys = append(keys, object.Key)
+	}
+
+	return keys, nil
 }
 
 // outputRemoveJSON outputs the removal result as JSON