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AWS Documentation » AWS Resource Groups » User Guide » What Is AWS Resource Groups? » Getting Started with AWS Resource Groups » Build Queries and Groups in AWS Resource Groups
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Build Queries and Groups in AWS Resource Groups

In AWS Resource Groups, a query is the foundation of a group. You can base a resource group on one of two types of queries.

Tag-based

Tag-based queries include lists of resources that are specified in the following format AWS::service::resource, and tags. Tags are keys that help identify and sort your resources in your organization. Optionally, tags include values for keys.

For a tag-based query, you also specify the tags that are shared by the resources that you want to be members of the group. For example, if you want to create a resource group that has all of the Amazon EC2 instances and Amazon S3 buckets that you are using to run the testing stage of an application, and you have instances and buckets that are tagged this way, choose the AWS::EC2::Instance and AWS::S3::Bucket resource types from the drop-down list, and then specify the tag key Stage, with a tag value of Test.

AWS CloudFormation stack-based

In an AWS CloudFormation stack-based query, you choose an AWS CloudFormation stack in your account in the current region, and then choose resource types in the stack that you want to be in the group. You can base your query on only one AWS CloudFormation stack. Resource Groups supports queries based on AWS CloudFormation stacks that have one of the following statuses.

If you create a group based on an AWS CloudFormation stack, and the stack's status changes to one that is no longer supported as a basis for a group query, such as DELETE_COMPLETE, the group still exists, but it has no member resources.

  • CREATE_COMPLETE

  • CREATE_IN_PROGRESS

  • DELETE_IN_PROGRESS

  • DELETE_FAILED

  • REVIEW_IN_PROGRESS

  • ROLLBACK_IN_PROGRESS

  • ROLLBACK_FAILED

  • UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS

  • UPDATE_COMPLETE_CLEANUP_IN_PROGRESS

  • UPDATE_COMPLETE

  • UPDATE_ROLLBACK_IN_PROGRESS

  • UPDATE_ROLLBACK_FAILED

  • UPDATE_ROLLBACK_COMPLETE_CLEANUP_IN_PROGRESS

  • UPDATE_ROLLBACK_COMPLETE

After you have created a resource group, you can use the group to view insights about or perform tasks on the resources in the group.

Build a Query and Create a Group (Console)

The following procedures show you how to build a query and create a resource group in the AWS Management Console.

Create a Tag-based Group

  1. Open Resource Groups from the top left of the AWS Management Console. Choose Create a resource group.

  2. On the Create query-based group page, in Group type, choose the Tag based group type.

    Create a group page.

  3. In Grouping criteria, choose the resource types that you want to be in your resource group. You can have a maximum of 20 resource types in a query. For this walkthrough, choose AWS::EC2::Instance and AWS::S3::Bucket.

    Grouping criteria area, EC2 instance and S3 bucket resource types selected in a tag-based query.

  4. In Tags, specify a tag key, or a tag key and value pair, to limit the EC2 instances and S3 buckets in your account to only those that are tagged with your specified values. Choose Add or press Enter when you've finished your tag. In this example, filter for resources that have a tag key of Stage. The tag value is optional, but narrows the results of the query further. You can add multiple values for a tag key by adding an OR operator between tag values. To add more tags, choose Add. Queries assign an AND operator to tags, so any resource that matches the specified resource types and all specified tags is returned by the query.

    Query with tag key specified.

  5. Choose View group resources to return the list of EC2 instances and S3 buckets in your account that match the specified tag key or keys.

  6. To create a resource group based on your query, enter a name, and optionally, a description.

    1. In Group name, type a name for your resource group.

      A resource group name can have a maximum of 128 characters, including letters, numbers, hyphens, periods, and underscores. The name cannot start with AWS or aws. These are reserved. A resource group name must be unique in the current region in your account.

    2. (Optional) In Group description, enter a description of your group.

    3. (Optional) In Group tags, add tag key and value pairs that apply only to the resource group, not the member resources in the group.

      Group tags are useful if you plan to make this group a member of a larger group. Because specifying at least a tag key is required to create a group, be sure to add at least a tag key in Group tags to groups that you plan to nest into larger groups.

  7. When you are finished, choose Create group.

Create an AWS CloudFormation Stack-based Group

  1. Open Resource Groups from the top left of the AWS Management Console.

  2. Choose Create a resource group.

  3. On Create query-based group, in Group type, choose the CloudFormation stack based group type.

    Group type area, CloudFormation stack-based group type selected.

  4. Choose the stack that you want to be the basis of your group. A resource group can be based on only one stack. To filter the list of stacks, start typing the name of the stack. Only stacks with supported statuses appear in the list.

    Create a resource group page, no resource types selected, AWS CloudFormation stack-based query.

  5. Choose resource types in the stack that you want to include in the group. For this walkthrough, keep the default, All supported resource types. For more information about which resource types are supported and can be in the group, see Supported Resources.

  6. Choose View group resources to return the list of resources in the AWS CloudFormation stack that match your selected resource types.

  7. To create a resource group based on your query, enter a name, and optionally, a description.

    1. In Group name, enter a name for your resource group.

      A resource group name can have a maximum of 128 characters, including letters, numbers, hyphens, periods, and underscores. The name cannot start with AWS or aws. These are reserved. A resource group name must be unique in the current region in your account.

    2. (Optional) In Group description, enter a description of your group.

    3. (Optional) In Group tags, add tag key and value pairs that apply only to the resource group, not the member resources in the group.

      Group tags are useful if you plan to make this group a member of a larger group. Because specifying at least a tag key is required to create a group, be sure to add at least a tag key in Group tags to groups that you plan to nest into larger groups.

  8. When you are finished, choose Create group.

Build a Query and Create a Group (AWS CLI)

The following procedure shows you how to build a query and create a resource group in the AWS CLI.

In the AWS CLI, you build a query and create your resource group in the same command. The AWS CLI commands shown in this topic create groups.

Create a Tag-based Group in Resource Groups

A tag-based group is based on a query of type TAG_FILTERS_1_0.

  1. In an AWS CLI session, type the following, and then press Enter, replacing the values for group name, description, resource types, tag keys, and tag values with your own. Descriptions can have a maximum of 512 characters, including letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores, punctuation, and spaces. You can have a maximum of 20 resource types in a query. A resource group name can have a maximum of 128 characters, including letters, numbers, hyphens, periods, and underscores. The name cannot start with AWS or aws. These are reserved. A resource group name must be unique in your account.

    At least one value for ResourceTypeFilters is required. To specify all resource types, use AWS::AllSupported as the ResourceTypeFilters value. 

    aws resource-groups create-group --name resource-group-name --resource-query '{"Type":"TAG_FILTERS_1_0","Query":"{\"ResourceTypeFilters\":[\"resource_type1\",\"resource_type2\"],\"TagFilters\":[{\"Key\":\"Key1\",\"Values\":[\"Value1\",\"Value2\"]},{\"Key\":\"Key2\",\"Values\":[\"Value1\",\"Value2\"]}]}"}'

    The following command is an example.

    aws resource-groups create-group --name my-resource-group --resource-query '{"Type":"TAG_FILTERS_1_0","Query":"{\"ResourceTypeFilters\":[\"AWS::EC2::Instance\"],\"TagFilters\":[{\"Key\":\"Stage\",\"Values\":[\"Test\"]}]}"}'

    The following command is an example that includes all supported resource types. 

    aws resource-groups create-group --name my-resource-group --resource-query '{"Type":"TAG_FILTERS_1_0","Query":"{\"ResourceTypeFilters\":[\"AWS::AllSupported\"],\"TagFilters\":[{\"Key\":\"Stage\",\"Values\":[\"Test\"]}]}"}'

  2. The following are returned in the response to the command.

    • A full description of the group you have created.

    • The resource query that you used to create the group.

    • The tags that are associated with the group.

Create an AWS CloudFormation Stack-based Group in Resource Groups

An AWS CloudFormation stack-based group is based on a query of type CLOUDFORMATION_STACK_1_0.

  1. In an AWS CLI session, type the following, and then press Enter, replacing the values for group name, description, stack identifier, and resource types with your own. Descriptions can have a maximum of 512 characters, including letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores, punctuation, and spaces.

    If you do not specify resource types, Resource Groups includes all supported resource types in the stack. You can have a maximum of 20 resource types in a query. A resource group name can have a maximum of 128 characters, including letters, numbers, hyphens, periods, and underscores. The name cannot start with AWS or aws. These are reserved. A resource group name must be unique in your account.

    The stack_identifier is the stack ARN, as shown in the example command. 

    aws resource-groups create-group --name group_name --description "description" --resource-query '{"Type":"CLOUDFORMATION_STACK_1_0","Query":"{\"StackIdentifier\":\"stack_identifier\",\"ResourceTypeFilters\":[\"resource_type1\",\"resource_type2\"]}"}'

    The following command is an example.

    aws resource-groups create-group --name My-CFN-stack-group --description "My first CloudFormation stack-based group" --resource-query '{"Type":"CLOUDFORMATION_STACK_1_0","Query":"{\"StackIdentifier\":\"arn:aws:cloudformation:us-west-2:810000000000:stack\/AWStestuseraccount\/fb0d5000-aba8-00e8-aa9e-50d5cEXAMPLE\",\"ResourceTypeFilters\":[\"AWS::EC2::Instance\",\"AWS::S3::Bucket\"]}"}'

  2. The following are returned in the response to the command.

    • A full description of the group you have created.

    • The resource query that you used to create the group.