📌 Amazon Machine Image (AMI) - Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Today, I learned about Amazon Machine Images (AMI) — and it’s a major building block for AWS & DevOps Engineering! 🤩

I understood that an AMI is a pre-configured OS + software image used to launch EC2 instances quickly and consistently. It helps in standardizing environments and deploying servers at scale — especially in real-time DevOps and automation workflows.

Name – Sudarshan Yadav, Contact - 7709877817

Email Id – [e-mail]

GitHub: https://github.com/Sudarshanydv
Dev.to Blog: https://dev.to/sudarshan_yadav
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sudarshan-yadav
Resume (Drive) - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jas-UeQuCSR6OZCP6pAPTnLiWcJiAVk1/view?usp=drive_link

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1️⃣ Prepare a Source EC2 Instance

• Launch an EC2 instance (pick AMI, instance type, key pair, security group, subnet).
• SSH (Linux) or RDP (Windows) into the instance.
• Install and configure everything you want baked into the AMI:
  • Packages
  • Application code
  • Environment variables
  • Users & permissions
  • Firewall rules
• Clean up before imaging:
  • Remove logs & temporary files
  • Remove credentials, secrets
• For Windows → Run sysprep (generalize)

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2️⃣ Stop or Prepare for Snapshot

• Recommended: Stop instance for consistent file system state.
• If you want zero downtime → use --no-reboot (risk of inconsistency)

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3️⃣ Create the AMI (AWS Console)

1. Go to EC2 → Instances
2. Select your instance
3. Click Actions → Image and templates → Create image
4. Enter:
   • Name
   • Description
   • Reboot options
   • Volume snapshot settings (encryption optional)
5. Click Create image

AWS will create EBS snapshots and register the AMI.

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4️⃣ Create the AMI (AWS CLI)

Replace i-0123456789abcdef0 with your EC2 instance ID:

aws ec2 create-image \
  --instance-id i-0123456789abcdef0 \
  --name "my-app-ami-2025-11-27" \
  --description "AMI for my app" \
  --no-reboot

## 📌 Check AMI Status

bash
aws ec2 describe-images --image-ids ami-0abc1234
aws ec2 describe-image-status --image-ids ami-0abc1234
5️⃣ Wait for AMI & Snapshot Creation
AMI becomes available after snapshots complete

Snapshots cost storage → monitor usage

6️⃣ Launch Instances from the AMI
▶️ Console
EC2 → AMIs → Select AMI → Launch → Configure → Launch

▶️ AWS CLI
bash
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aws ec2 run-instances \
--image-id ami-0abc1234 \
--count 1 \
--instance-type t3.micro \
--key-name mykey \
--security-group-ids sg-0123abcd \
--subnet-id subnet-0ab1c2d3
7️⃣ Share / Copy / Make Public
✔ Share with specific AWS Accounts
bash
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aws ec2 modify-image-attribute \
--image-id ami-0abc1234 \
--launch-permission "Add=[{UserId=123456789012}]"
✔ Copy AMI to another region
bash
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aws ec2 copy-image \
--source-image-id ami-0abc1234 \
--source-region us-east-1 \
--name "my-ami-copy"
⚠ Make AMI Public (Be Careful)
Exposes full AMI to everyone

Use modify-image-attribute with all

8️⃣ Update / Recreate AMIs (Immutable Approach)
Do not modify AMI directly!

Steps:

Launch instance from AMI

Apply updates / patches

Create a new versioned AMI

Update Launch Templates / Terraform

9️⃣ Automate AMI Builds (Recommended Tools)
Packer

AWS EC2 Image Builder

CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions)

Process:

Base Image → Provision → Create AMI → Tag → Publish

🔟 Clean Up Old AMIs & Snapshots
Deregister AMI
bash
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aws ec2 deregister-image --image-id ami-0abc1234
Delete snapshot(s)
bash
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aws ec2 delete-snapshot --snapshot-id snap-0123456789abcdef0

1️⃣1️⃣ Useful Commands Summary

Purpose	Command Example
Create AMI	aws ec2 create-image
List AMIs	aws ec2 describe-images --owners self
Launch instance	aws ec2 run-instances
Share AMI	aws ec2 modify-image-attribute
Copy to region	aws ec2 copy-image
Deregister AMI	aws ec2 deregister-image
List snapshots	aws ec2 describe-snapshots