aws-ec2

Manage virtual servers and networking on Amazon EC2.

TLDR

Launch a new EC2 instance

$ aws ec2 run-instances --image-id [ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0] --instance-type [t2.micro] --key-name [my-key]

List all instances with their state

$ aws ec2 describe-instances --query "Reservations[*].Instances[*].[InstanceId,State.Name,InstanceType]" --output table

Stop a running instance

$ aws ec2 stop-instances --instance-ids [i-1234567890abcdef0]

Start a stopped instance

$ aws ec2 start-instances --instance-ids [i-1234567890abcdef0]

Terminate an instance permanently

$ aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids [i-1234567890abcdef0]

Create a security group and add an SSH rule

$ aws ec2 create-security-group --group-name [my-sg] --description "[My security group]" && aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-name [my-sg] --protocol tcp --port 22 --cidr 0.0.0.0/0

Create a key pair and save it

$ aws ec2 create-key-pair --key-name [my-key] --query "KeyMaterial" --output text > [my-key.pem]

List security groups with their rules

$ aws ec2 describe-security-groups --query "SecurityGroups[*].[GroupId,GroupName]" --output table

aws ec2 is the AWS CLI interface for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), providing programmatic access to scalable compute capacity. EC2 enables launching virtual servers, configuring networking and security, and managing storage.EC2 commands cover instance lifecycle management, Amazon Machine Images (AMIs), Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes, VPC networking, security groups, and key pairs. The service supports on-demand, reserved, and spot pricing models.

COMMANDS

run-instances

Launch new EC2 instances

describe-instances

List and describe instances

start-instances

Start stopped instances

stop-instances

Stop running instances

terminate-instances

Permanently delete instances

reboot-instances

Reboot running instances

create-image

Create an AMI from an instance

create-security-group

Create a security group

describe-security-groups

List and describe security groups

authorize-security-group-ingress

Add inbound rules to security group

create-key-pair

Generate a new key pair

create-vpc

Create a Virtual Private Cloud

create-volume

Create an EBS volume

attach-volume

Attach volume to an instance

INSTALL

sudo dnf install aws

sudo pacman -S aws-cli

sudo apk add aws-cli

sudo zypper install aws-cli

CAVEATS

Instances continue incurring charges until terminated (not just stopped) for EBS-backed instances. Security group rules are stateful but NACLs are not. Instance metadata service (IMDS) v1 is insecure; use IMDSv2. Spot instances can be terminated with 2 minutes notice.

HISTORY

Amazon EC2 launched in August 2006 as one of AWS's first services, revolutionizing cloud computing. VPC became mandatory in 2013. The service has continuously expanded instance types, from the original m1.small to hundreds of specialized types for compute, memory, GPU, and storage optimization.

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage · Documentation