Find a Windows AMI - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Find a Windows AMI using the Amazon EC2 consoleFind an AMI using the AWS Tools for Windows PowerShellFind an AMI using the AWS CLIFind the latest Windows AMI using Systems ManagerUse a Systems Manager parameter to find an AMI

Find a Windows 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 – AMI IDs are unique to each AWS Region.

  • The operating system

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

  • The provider (for example, Amazon Web Services)

  • Additional software (for example, SQL Server)

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.

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

Find a Windows AMI using the Amazon EC2 console

You can find Windows 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 Windows 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 Windows 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 Windows AMIs provided by AWS, choose Public images. Then use the search options to further scope the list of displayed AMIs.

    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.

  5. (Optional) Choose the Preferences icon 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. To launch an instance from this AMI, select it and then choose Launch instance from image. 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 Tools for Windows PowerShell

You can use PowerShell cmdlets for Amazon EC2 or AWS Systems Manager to list only the Windows 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 an Instance Using Windows PowerShell in the AWS Tools for Windows PowerShell User Guide.

Amazon EC2

For information and examples, see Find an AMI Using Windows PowerShell in the AWS Tools for Windows PowerShell User Guide.

Systems Manager Parameter Store

For information and examples, see Query for the Latest Windows AMI Using Systems Manager Parameter Store.

Find an AMI using the AWS CLI

You can use AWS CLI commands for Amazon EC2 or AWS Systems Manager to list only the Windows 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.

Amazon EC2

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 Windows AMIs.

--filters "Name=platform,Values=windows"
Important

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

Systems Manager Parameter Store

For information and examples, see Query for the Latest Windows AMI Using Systems Manager Parameter Store.

Find the latest Windows 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.

To find the latest AL2023 AMI using AWS Systems Manager, see Get started with AL2023.

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

/aws/service/ami-windows-latest

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

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

For more information, see Using public parameters in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide and Query for the Latest Windows AMI 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 Windows 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 Windows 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 
    ...