Find a

Linux

AMI

Before you can launch an instance, you must select an AMI from which to launch the
instance. When you select an AMI, consider the following requirements you might have for the
instances that you want to launch:

• The Region

• The operating system

• The architecture: 32-bit (i386), 64-bit (x86_64), or 64-bit ARM (arm64)

• The root device type: Amazon EBS or instance store

• The provider (for example, Amazon Web Services)

• Additional software (for example, SQL Server)

If you want to find a Windows AMI, see Find a Windows AMI in the Amazon EC2 User Guide for Windows Instances.

If you want to find an Ubuntu AMI, see their EC2 AMI Locator.

If you want to find a RedHat AMI, see the RHEL knowledgebase article.

Find a

Linux

AMI using the Amazon EC2 console

You can find Linux AMIs using the Amazon EC2 console. You can select from the list of AMIs
when you use the launch instance wizard to launch an instance, or you can search through
all available AMIs using the Images page. AMI IDs are unique to
each AWS Region.

To find a

Linux

AMI using the launch instance wizard

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at
   https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

2. From the navigation bar, select the Region in which to launch your instances. You can
   select any Region that’s available to you, regardless of your location.

3. From the console dashboard, choose Launch instance.

4. (New console) Under Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image),
   choose Quick Start, choose the operating system (OS) for
   your instance, and then, from Amazon Machine Image (AMI),
   select from one of the commonly used AMIs in the list. If you don’t see the AMI
   that you want to use, choose Browse more AMIs to browse the
   full AMI catalog. For more information, see Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image).

   (Old console) On the Quick Start tab, select from one of the commonly
   used AMIs in the list. If you don’t see the AMI that you want to use, choose the
   My AMIs, AWS Marketplace, or
   Community AMIs tab to find additional AMIs. For more
   information, see Step 1: Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI).

To find a

Linux

AMI using the AMIs page

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at
   https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

2. From the navigation bar, select the Region in which to launch your instances. You can
   select any Region that’s available to you, regardless of your location.

3. In the navigation pane, choose AMIs.

4. (Optional) Use the filter and search options to scope the list of displayed AMIs to see
   only the AMIs that match your criteria. For example, to list all Linux AMIs
   provided by AWS, choose Public images. Then use the
   search options to further scope the list of displayed AMIs.

   (New console) Choose the Search bar and, from the menu,
   choose Owner alias, then the =
   operator, and then the value amazon. Choose the
   Search bar again to choose
   Platform, then the = operator, and
   then the operating system from the list provided.

   (Old console) Choose the Search bar and, from the menu,
   choose Owner and then the value Amazon
   images. Choose the Search bar again to
   choose Platform and then the operating system from the list
   provided.

5. (Optional) Choose the Preferences icon (new console) or
   Show/Hide Columns icon (old console) to select which
   image attributes to display, such as the root device type. Alternatively, you
   can select an AMI from the list and view its properties on the
   Details tab.

6. Before you select an AMI, it’s important that you check whether it’s backed by
   instance store or by Amazon EBS and that you are aware of the effects of this
   difference. For more information, see Storage for the root device.

7. To launch an instance from this AMI, select it and then choose
   Launch instance from image (new console) or
   Launch (old console). For more information about
   launching an instance using the console, see Launch an instance using the new launch
   instance wizard. If you’re not ready to launch the instance now, make
   note of the AMI ID for later.

Find an AMI using the AWS CLI

You can use AWS CLI commands for Amazon EC2 to list only
the Linux AMIs that match your requirements. After locating an AMI that matches
your requirements, make note of its ID so that you can use it to launch instances. For
more information, see Launch your instance in the AWS Command Line Interface User Guide.

The describe-images
command supports filtering parameters. For example, use the --owners
parameter to display public AMIs owned by Amazon.

aws ec2 describe-images --owners self amazon

You can add the following filter to the previous command to display only AMIs
backed by Amazon EBS.

--filters "Name=root-device-type,Values=ebs"

Important

Omitting the --owners flag from the describe-images command returns all images for which you have
launch permissions, regardless of ownership.

Find the latest

Amazon Linux

AMI using Systems Manager

Amazon EC2 provides AWS Systems Manager public parameters for public AMIs maintained by AWS that you can
use when launching instances. For example, the EC2-provided parameter
/aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2 is
available in all Regions and always points to the latest version of the Amazon Linux 2 AMI in
a given Region.

The Amazon EC2 AMI public parameters are available from the following path:

/aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest

You can view a list of all Linux AMIs in the current AWS Region by running the following AWS CLI command.

aws ssm get-parameters-by-path --path /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest --query "Parameters[].Name"

To launch an instance using a public parameter

The following example uses the EC2-provided public parameter to launch an
m5.xlarge instance using the latest Amazon Linux 2 AMI.

To specify the parameter in the command, use the following syntax:
resolve:ssm:public-parameter, where
resolve:ssm is the standard prefix and public-parameter is
the path and name of the public parameter.

In this example, the --count and --security-group parameters
are not included. For --count, the default is 1. If you have a default VPC
and a default security group, they are used.

aws ec2 run-instances 
    --image-id resolve:ssm:/aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2 
    --instance-type m5.xlarge 
    --key-name MyKeyPair

For more information, see Using
public parameters in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide
and Query for the latest Amazon Linux AMI IDs Using AWS Systems Manager Parameter
Store.

Use a Systems Manager parameter to find an AMI

When you launch an instance using the EC2 launch instance wizard in the console, you can
either select an AMI from the list, or you can select an AWS Systems Manager parameter that points
to an AMI ID. If you use automation code to launch your instances, you can specify the
Systems Manager parameter instead of the AMI ID.

A Systems Manager parameter is a customer-defined key-value pair that you can create in Systems Manager
Parameter Store. The Parameter Store provides a central store to externalize your
application configuration values. For more information, see AWS
Systems Manager Parameter Store in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide.

When you create a parameter that points to an AMI ID, make sure that you specify the data
type as aws:ec2:image. Specifying this data type ensures that when the parameter is
created or modified, the parameter value is validated as an AMI ID. For more
information, see Native
parameter support for Amazon Machine Image IDs in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide.

Use cases

When you use Systems Manager parameters to point to AMI IDs, it is easier for your
users to select the correct AMI when launching instances. Systems Manager parameters can also simplify the
maintenance of automation code.

Easier for users

If you require instances to be launched using a specific AMI, and the AMI is regularly
updated, we recommend that you require your users to select a Systems Manager parameter to
find the AMI. Requiring your users to select a Systems Manager parameter ensures that the
latest AMI is used to launch instances.

For example, every month in your organization you might create a new version of your AMI
that has the latest operating system and application patches. You also require your
users to launch instances using the latest version of your AMI. To ensure that your
users use the latest version, you can create a Systems Manager parameter (for example,
golden-ami) that points to the correct AMI ID. Each time a new
version of the AMI is created, you update the AMI ID value in the parameter so that
it always points to the latest AMI. Your users don’t have to know about the periodic
updates to the AMI because they continue to select the same Systems Manager parameter each
time. Using a Systems Manager parameter for your AMI makes it easier for them to select the
correct AMI for an instance launch.

Simplify automation code maintenance

If you use automation code to launch your instances, you can specify the Systems Manager parameter
instead of the AMI ID. If a new version of the AMI is created, you can change the
AMI ID value in the parameter so that it points to the latest AMI. The automation
code that references the parameter doesn’t have to be modified each time a new
version of the AMI is created. This simplifies the maintenance of the automation and
helps to drive down deployment costs.

Note

Running instances are not affected when you change the AMI ID pointed to by the Systems Manager
parameter.

Permissions

If you use Systems Manager parameters that point to AMI IDs in the launch instance wizard, you must
add ssm:DescribeParameters and ssm:GetParameters to your
IAM policy. ssm:DescribeParameters grants your users permission
to view and select Systems Manager parameters. ssm:GetParameters grants your
users permission to retrieve the values of the Systems Manager parameters. You can also
restrict access to specific Systems Manager parameters. For more information, see Use the EC2 launch instance wizard.

Limitations

AMIs and Systems Manager parameters are Region specific. To use the same Systems Manager parameter name across
Regions, create a Systems Manager parameter in each Region with the same name (for example,
golden-ami). In each Region, point the Systems Manager parameter to an AMI in
that Region.

Launch an instance using a Systems Manager parameter

You can launch an instance using the console or the AWS CLI. Instead of specifying an AMI ID,
you can specify an AWS Systems Manager parameter that points to an AMI ID.

New console

To find a

Linux

AMI using a Systems Manager parameter (console)

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at
   https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

2. From the navigation bar, select the Region in which to launch your instances.
   You can select any Region that’s available to you, regardless of your
   location.

3. From the console dashboard, choose Launch
   instance.

4. Under Application and OS Images (Amazon Machine Image), choose
   Browse more AMIs.

5. Choose the arrow button to the right of the search bar, and
   then choose Search by Systems Manager
   parameter.

6. For Systems Manager parameter, select a parameter. The corresponding AMI ID
   appears below Currently resolves to.

7. Choose Search. The AMIs that match the AMI ID appear in the
   list.

8. Select the AMI from the list, and choose Select.

For more information about launching an instance using the launch instance
wizard, see Launch an instance using the new launch
instance wizard.

Old console

To find a

Linux

AMI using a Systems Manager parameter (console)

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at
   https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

2. From the navigation bar, select the Region in which to launch your instances.
   You can select any Region that’s available to you, regardless of your
   location.

3. From the console dashboard, choose Launch
   instance.

4. Choose Search by Systems Manager parameter (at top right).

5. For Systems Manager parameter, select a parameter. The corresponding AMI ID
   appears next to Currently resolves to.

6. Choose Search. The AMIs that match the AMI ID appear in the
   list.

7. Select the AMI from the list, and choose Select.

For more information about launching an instance from an AMI using the launch instance
wizard, see Step 1: Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI).

To launch an instance using an AWS Systems Manager parameter instead of an AMI ID (AWS CLI)

The following example uses the Systems Manager parameter golden-ami to launch an
m5.xlarge instance. The parameter points to an AMI ID.

To specify the parameter in the command, use the following syntax:
resolve:ssm:/parameter-name, where
resolve:ssm is the standard prefix and parameter-name
is the unique parameter name. Note that the parameter name is case-sensitive.
Backslashes for the parameter name are only necessary when the parameter is part of
a hierarchy, for example, /amis/production/golden-ami. You can omit the
backslash if the parameter is not part of a hierarchy.

In this example, the --count and --security-group parameters are
not included. For --count, the default is 1. If you have a default VPC and
a default security group, they are used.

aws ec2 run-instances 
    --image-id resolve:ssm:/golden-ami 
    --instance-type m5.xlarge 
    ...

To launch an instance using a specific version of an AWS Systems Manager parameter (AWS CLI)

Systems Manager parameters have version support. Each iteration of a parameter is assigned a unique
version number. You can reference the version of the parameter as follows
resolve:ssm:parameter-name:version,
where version is the unique version number. By default, the latest
version of the parameter is used when no version is specified.

The following example uses version 2 of the parameter.

In this example, the --count and --security-group parameters are
not included. For --count, the default is 1 If you have a default VPC
and a default security group, they are used.

aws ec2 run-instances 
    --image-id resolve:ssm:/golden-ami:2 
    --instance-type m5.xlarge 
    ...

To launch an instance using a public parameter provided by AWS

Amazon EC2 provides Systems Manager public parameters for public AMIs provided by AWS. For example,
the public parameter /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2 is
available in all Regions, and always points to the latest version of the Amazon Linux 2 AMI in
the Region.

aws ec2 run-instances 
    --image-id resolve:ssm:/aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2 
    --instance-type m5.xlarge 
    ...