Create EC2 instance using CLI

In this guide, you’ll learn how to launch and inspect EC2 instances using the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI). We’ll cover:

Prerequisites
Exploring EC2 commands
Finding a suitable AMI
Launching an instance
Inspecting instance details

Note

Make sure you have the AWS CLI installed and configured with valid credentials. Set your default region with aws configure or by exporting the AWS_DEFAULT_REGION environment variable.

Step	Description	Sample Command
1. Explore EC2 commands	View available EC2 operations and options	`aws ec2 help`
2. Find an AMI	List AMIs you own or public AMIs by Amazon	`aws ec2 describe-images --owners self amazon`
3. Launch an instance	Start a new instance with AMI ID and type	`aws ec2 run-instances …`
4. Inspect instance details	Retrieve instance metadata and status	`aws ec2 describe-instances`

1. Exploring EC2 Commands

To discover all EC2 subcommands, options, and examples:

aws ec2 help

For details on a specific operation—such as launching instances:

aws ec2 run-instances help

These built-in help pages include required parameters, optional flags, and sample usage.

2. Finding a Suitable AMI

An Amazon Machine Image (AMI) is required to launch an EC2 instance. To list AMIs you own and public AMIs provided by Amazon:

aws ec2 describe-images --owners self amazon

Example JSON output:

{
  "Images": [
    {
      "ImageId": "ami-056b35f582f6afbe7",
      "Name": "Cloud9AmazonLinux2-2023-04-04",
      "Architecture": "x86_64",
      "CreationDate": "2023-04-04T18:10:12.000Z",
      "PlatformDetails": "Linux/UNIX",
      "BlockDeviceMappings": [
        {
          "DeviceName": "/dev/xvda",
          "Ebs": {
            "SnapshotId": "snap-0875cc8a125bc63fd",
            "VolumeSize": 10,
            "VolumeType": "gp2"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Key fields:

Field	Description
ImageId	AMI identifier (used by `run-instances`)
Name	Human-readable name of the AMI
Architecture	CPU architecture (e.g., x86_64, arm64)
PlatformDetails	OS platform (Linux/UNIX, Windows)
BlockDeviceMappings	Root volume size and type

3. Launching an EC2 Instance

With your chosen AMI ID, launch a t2.micro instance:

aws ec2 run-instances \
  --image-id ami-056b35f582f6afbe7 \
  --instance-type t2.micro \
  --tag-specifications 'ResourceType=instance,Tags=[{Key=Name,Value=MyDemoInstance}]'

Warning

Running EC2 instances incurs AWS charges. Always terminate resources you no longer need:

aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids <your-instance-id>

Example JSON response:

{
  "Instances": [
    {
      "InstanceId": "i-076290d4a72165019",
      "ImageId": "ami-056b35f582f6afbe7",
      "InstanceType": "t2.micro",
      "LaunchTime": "2023-09-13T06:35:11+00:00",
      "Placement": {
        "AvailabilityZone": "ap-southeast-1a"
      }
    }
  ]
}

4. Inspecting Instance Details

To view the full set of metadata, including networking and state:

aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids i-076290d4a72165019

Partial JSON output:

{
  "Reservations": [
    {
      "Instances": [
        {
          "PrivateIpAddress": "172.31.39.161",
          "PublicDnsName": "",
          "State": {
            "Code": 0,
            "Name": "pending"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Important fields to track:

Field	Description
InstanceId	Unique identifier of the instance
PrivateIpAddress	Internal IP within the VPC
PublicDnsName	Public DNS assigned (if any)
State.Name	Current state (pending, running)
LaunchTime	Timestamp of instance launch

Create EC2 instance using CLI

Table of Contents

1. Exploring EC2 Commands

2. Finding a Suitable AMI

3. Launching an EC2 Instance

4. Inspecting Instance Details

Links and References

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