# Ec2

AWS EC2 virtual machine management, instances, security groups, key pairs, AMIs, EBS...

- Repository: https://github.com/itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills (1171 stars)
- Category: Security
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-26
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills --skill ec2 -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills --skill ec2 -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills --skill ec2 -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills --skill ec2 -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills`

## Description

AWS EC2 virtual machine management, instances, security groups, key pairs, AMIs, EBS volumes, Auto Scaling Groups, Spot Instances, Session Manager, placement groups, and instance lifecycle automation. Trigger on ANY of these, even when EC2 isn't named explicitly: - Launching or provisioning: "spin up a server", "create a VM", "new instance", "run-instances", mention of instance types (t3, m5, c5, r6, g5, p4d, t4g, c7g, etc.) - SSH / connectivity problems: "connection refused", "connection timed out", "permission denied publickey", "can't connect to my instance", "SSH not working" - Instance management: resize, stop, start, terminate, reboot, change instance type - Cost optimization: stop dev instances overnight, save money on EC2, spot vs on-demand, reserved instances - Auto Scaling: ASG, launch template, mixed instances policy, scale to zero, scheduled scaling - Spot Instances: spot fleet, spot interruption, capacity-optimized, price-capacity-optimized - AMIs and backups: create image, custom AMI, EBS snapshot, DLM lifecycle policy, copy AMI - Monitoring: EC2 CPU utilization, CloudWatch metrics for instance, instance status checks, console output - Access methods: Session Manager, EC2 Instance Connect, bastion host, port forwarding - Security: IMDSv2, instance metadata, IAM role on instance, security group rules - User data and bootstrap scripts, cloud-init

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# AWS EC2

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud.

**Advanced patterns** (Auto Scaling, Spot Fleets, Session Manager, Instance Connect, IMDS, Placement Groups, scheduled scaling): see [instance-management.md](instance-management.md).

## Table of Contents

- [Core Concepts](#core-concepts)
- [Common Patterns](#common-patterns)
- [CLI Reference](#cli-reference)
- [Best Practices](#best-practices)
- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)
- [References](#references)

## Core Concepts

### Instance Types

| Category | Example | Use Case |
|----------|---------|----------|
| General Purpose | t3, m6i, t4g (Graviton) | Web servers, dev environments |
| Compute Optimized | c6i, c7g (Graviton) | Batch processing, gaming |
| Memory Optimized | r6i, r7g (Graviton) | Databases, caching |
| Storage Optimized | i3, d3 | Data warehousing |
| Accelerated | p4d, g5 | ML, graphics |

Graviton (ARM) instances (t4g, m7g, c7g, r7g) are ~20% cheaper than x86 equivalents for the same performance, worth considering for new workloads.

### Purchasing Options

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| On-Demand | Pay by the hour/second |
| Reserved | 1-3 year commitment, up to 72% discount |
| Spot | Unused capacity, up to 90% discount, can be interrupted with 2-minute notice |
| Savings Plans | Flexible commitment-based discount |

### AMI (Amazon Machine Image)

Template containing OS, software, and configuration for launching instances. Use SSM Parameter Store to look up the latest official AMIs rather than hardcoding IDs:

```bash
# Latest Amazon Linux 2 AMI
aws ssm get-parameter \
  --name /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2 \
  --query 'Parameter.Value' --output text

# Latest Amazon Linux 2023
aws ssm get-parameter \
  --name /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/al2023-ami-kernel-default-x86_64 \
  --query 'Parameter.Value' --output text

The rest: https://github.com/itsmostafa/aws-agent-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/ec2/SKILL.md