S3 Crash when deleting a folder from Bucket

I understand you're having trouble deleting a folder with many files from an S3 bucket using the S3 interface. This is a common issue when dealing with large numbers of objects. Here are some suggestions to help you delete the folder more effectively:

1. Use the AWS CLI with the 's3 rm' command and '--recursive' flag. While you mentioned this is time-consuming, it's often the most reliable method for deleting large numbers of objects. The command would look like this:

aws s3 rm s3://your-bucket-name/your-folder-name --recursive

2. If you prefer using the S3 console, try deleting smaller batches of objects at a time instead of the entire folder at once. This can help avoid timeouts or freezes in the interface.

3. Consider using the S3 Batch Operations feature. This AWS service is designed to perform large-scale batch operations on S3 objects, including deletions. It can handle lists of specific objects you want to delete.

4. For very large datasets, you might want to use Amazon S3 Inventory to get a list of your objects and then use that with S3 Batch Operations to delete them.

5. If you're comfortable with programming, you could write a script using one of the AWS SDKs (e.g., Python's boto3) to delete the objects in smaller batches, which can be more efficient than the CLI for very large numbers of objects.

Remember, when deleting large numbers of objects, it's important to be patient as the process can take some time depending on the number and size of the objects. Also, ensure you have the necessary permissions to delete the objects in the bucket.

If you continue to experience issues or need to frequently delete large numbers of objects, you might want to consider implementing a lifecycle policy on your bucket to automatically delete or transition objects based on specific criteria.
Sources
Step 4: Delete a File From Your Amazon S3 Bucket - AWS Quick Start Guide: Back Up Your Files to Amazon Simple Storage Service
Deleting a bucket - Amazon Simple Storage Service
Deleting objects in buckets in Amazon S3 compatible storage on Snow Family devices - AWS Snowball Edge Developer Guide