# GetObjectLegalHold

GetObjectLegalHold tells you whether an object version is under a legal hold: `ON` while the
version is held, `OFF` once the hold has been lifted. A version under a legal hold cannot be
deleted or overwritten until the hold is lifted, so this is the question to ask before a clean-up
touches it. Holds are placed and lifted with [PutObjectLegalHold](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/PutObjectLegalHold), and
they exist in buckets with [Object Lock](https://docs.strg.com/object-locks) enabled.

**Info: Good to know on STRG**

- Each bucket is reached through its own regional endpoint, and a bucket in another region
  answers `404 NoSuchBucket` rather than a redirect.
- `x-amz-expected-bucket-owner` is welcome and has nothing to check: a key only ever reaches
  buckets of its own account.
- A key with a `.` or `..` path segment (`a/../b`) cannot be put in a URL, so STRG answers
  `400 InvalidURI` for it.

## When you'd use it

- **A clean-up job that skips what is held.** A nightly job that permanently deletes old
  versions with [DeleteObject](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/DeleteObject) can read each version's legal hold first and
  leave the held ones for later, rather than meeting an error halfway through.
- **Closing a dispute or an investigation.** A team that placed holds on a set of contracts can
  check which of them are still `ON` before the matter is closed and the holds are lifted.
- **Showing a version's state.** An internal records tool, or an agent asked whether a document
  can be removed yet, reads the hold and reports it alongside the version's retention from
  [GetObjectRetention](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/GetObjectRetention).

## Request

```http
GET /photos/2024/cat.jpg?legal-hold HTTP/1.1
Host: my-bucket.s3.eu-central-1.strg.com
Authorization: AWS4-HMAC-SHA256 Credential=...
x-amz-date: 20260926T120000Z
x-amz-content-sha256: e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855
```

The path-style form is `GET /my-bucket/photos/2024/cat.jpg?legal-hold` on
`s3.eu-central-1.strg.com` - [Addressing](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/overview#addressing) explains both.

### Permissions

The access key needs **Read legal holds** (`object-legal-hold:read`). A key limited to certain
buckets can hold it too, and then reads legal holds in those buckets; a key limited to a
key prefix reads them for objects under that prefix. [Access keys](https://docs.strg.com/access-keys#object-lock)
has the details.

### URI parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `Bucket` | String | Yes | The bucket holding the object. |
| `Key` | String | Yes | The object's key. A key with a `.` or `..` path segment (`a/../b`) is answered `400 InvalidURI`. |
| `legal-hold` | Flag | Yes | Selects the legal hold subresource. Sent with no value. |
| `versionId` | String | No | The version to read. Without it, the current version. |

A query parameter other than these is answered `501 NotImplemented`, so a client knows straight
away; presigning's `X-Amz-*` parameters and the JavaScript SDK's `x-id` are always welcome.

### Request headers

| Name | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `x-amz-expected-bucket-owner` | String | No | Welcome, with nothing to check: an access key only ever reaches its own account's buckets. |
| `x-amz-request-payer` | String | No | Not applicable: STRG has no Requester Pays buckets. |

### Request body

None.

## Response

A successful request answers `200 OK` with the legal hold as XML.

### Response headers

| Name | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `x-amz-request-id` | The request ID, handy for a support request. |

### Response body

| Element | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `LegalHold` | Container | The root element. |
| `Status` | String | `ON` or `OFF`. |

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<LegalHold>
  <Status>ON</Status>
</LegalHold>
```

## Errors

These are the errors this request can return, and the situation behind each one.

| Code | HTTP status | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `NoSuchBucket` | 404 | The bucket does not exist, it is in a region other than the endpoint's, or the account has no storage in this endpoint's region. |
| `AccessDenied` | 403 | The access key lacks **Read legal holds**, or the bucket or key is outside its buckets or prefix. |
| `InvalidAccessKeyId` | 403 | The access key does not exist, has expired or been revoked - or it was created moments ago and is not usable yet in a region where the account already stores data, in which case the same request works shortly afterwards. |
| `InvalidURI` | 400 | The key contains a `.` or `..` path segment. |
| `SignatureDoesNotMatch` | 403 | The request signature does not match. |
| `RequestTimeTooSkewed` | 403 | The request time is more than 15 minutes from the server's. |
| `AuthorizationHeaderMalformed` | 400 | The signature's credential scope names a region other than the endpoint's. |
| `NotImplemented` | 501 | The request carries a query parameter other than `legal-hold` and `versionId` (presigning's `X-Amz-*` parameters and the JavaScript SDK's `x-id` aside). |
| `SlowDown` | 503 | Too many requests. The `Retry-After` header says when a retry is welcome; the AWS SDKs retry on their own. |
| `ServiceUnavailable` | 503 | A temporary failure; the same request can be retried. |

In a bucket without Object Lock there are no legal holds to read, and the request answers with a
`4xx` error rather than a `Status`.

## Differences from Amazon S3

The table lists each place where STRG behaves differently, and what that means for a client.

| Aspect | Amazon S3 | STRG |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Bucket in another region | `301` redirect with `x-amz-bucket-region` | `404 NoSuchBucket`. A bucket is reached through its own regional endpoint |
| Nothing stored in the endpoint's region yet | Any valid key reaches the endpoint | `404 NoSuchBucket` |
| `x-amz-expected-bucket-owner` | Checked against the bucket owner | Welcome, with nothing to check |
| Keys with `.` or `..` segments | Allowed | `400 InvalidURI`: such a key cannot be put in a URL, so its legal hold cannot be read |

## Examples

Reading the legal hold of the current version of `photos/2024/cat.jpg`:

**AWS CLI**

```bash
aws s3api get-object-legal-hold \
  --bucket my-bucket \
  --key photos/2024/cat.jpg \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.eu-central-1.strg.com \
  --region eu-central-1
```

**Python (boto3)**

```python
import boto3

s3 = boto3.client(
    "s3",
    endpoint_url="https://s3.eu-central-1.strg.com",
    region_name="eu-central-1",
)

response = s3.get_object_legal_hold(Bucket="my-bucket", Key="photos/2024/cat.jpg")
print(response["LegalHold"]["Status"])
```

**JavaScript (AWS SDK v3)**

```javascript
import { GetObjectLegalHoldCommand, S3Client } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3";

const client = new S3Client({
  endpoint: "https://s3.eu-central-1.strg.com",
  region: "eu-central-1",
});

const response = await client.send(
  new GetObjectLegalHoldCommand({ Bucket: "my-bucket", Key: "photos/2024/cat.jpg" }),
);
console.log(response.LegalHold?.Status);
```

Reading the legal hold of a specific version, whose ID [ListObjectVersions](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/ListObjectVersions)
lists:

**AWS CLI**

```bash
aws s3api get-object-legal-hold \
  --bucket my-bucket \
  --key photos/2024/cat.jpg \
  --version-id "$VERSION_ID" \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.eu-central-1.strg.com \
  --region eu-central-1
```

**Python (boto3)**

```python
import os

import boto3

s3 = boto3.client(
    "s3",
    endpoint_url="https://s3.eu-central-1.strg.com",
    region_name="eu-central-1",
)

response = s3.get_object_legal_hold(
    Bucket="my-bucket",
    Key="photos/2024/cat.jpg",
    VersionId=os.environ["VERSION_ID"],
)
print(response["LegalHold"]["Status"])
```

**JavaScript (AWS SDK v3)**

```javascript
import { GetObjectLegalHoldCommand, S3Client } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3";

const client = new S3Client({
  endpoint: "https://s3.eu-central-1.strg.com",
  region: "eu-central-1",
});

const response = await client.send(
  new GetObjectLegalHoldCommand({
    Bucket: "my-bucket",
    Key: "photos/2024/cat.jpg",
    VersionId: process.env.VERSION_ID,
  }),
);
console.log(response.LegalHold?.Status);
```

## Related

- [PutObjectLegalHold](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/PutObjectLegalHold)
- [GetObjectRetention](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/GetObjectRetention), [PutObjectRetention](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/PutObjectRetention)
- [GetObjectLockConfiguration](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/GetObjectLockConfiguration)
- [Object Lock](https://docs.strg.com/object-locks), including [locking individual objects](https://docs.strg.com/object-locks#locking-individual-objects)
- [Access keys](https://docs.strg.com/access-keys)
- [S3 API overview](https://docs.strg.com/s3-api/overview)