Use DescribeVpcs with an AWS SDK or CLI

The following code examples show how to use DescribeVpcs.

Action examples are code excerpts from larger programs and must be run in context. You can see this action in context in the following code example:

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.NET

AWS SDK for .NET

Note

There's more on GitHub. Find the complete example and learn how to set up and run in the AWS Code Examples Repository.

    /// <summary>
    /// Get the default VPC for the account.
    /// </summary>
    /// <returns>The default VPC object.</returns>
    public async Task<Vpc> GetDefaultVpc()
    {
        var vpcResponse = await _amazonEc2.DescribeVpcsAsync(
            new DescribeVpcsRequest()
            {
                Filters = new List<Amazon.EC2.Model.Filter>()
                {
                    new ("is-default", new List<string>() { "true" })
                }
            });
        return vpcResponse.Vpcs[0];
    }

• For API details, see DescribeVpcs in AWS SDK for .NET API Reference.

CLI

AWS CLI

Example 1: To describe all of your VPCs

The following describe-vpcs example retrieves details about your VPCs.

aws ec2 describe-vpcs

Output:

{
    "Vpcs": [
        {
            "CidrBlock": "30.1.0.0/16",
            "DhcpOptionsId": "dopt-19edf471",
            "State": "available",
            "VpcId": "vpc-0e9801d129EXAMPLE",
            "OwnerId": "111122223333",
            "InstanceTenancy": "default",
            "CidrBlockAssociationSet": [
                {
                    "AssociationId": "vpc-cidr-assoc-062c64cfafEXAMPLE",
                    "CidrBlock": "30.1.0.0/16",
                    "CidrBlockState": {
                        "State": "associated"
                    }
                }
            ],
            "IsDefault": false,
            "Tags": [
                {
                    "Key": "Name",
                    "Value": "Not Shared"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "CidrBlock": "10.0.0.0/16",
            "DhcpOptionsId": "dopt-19edf471",
            "State": "available",
            "VpcId": "vpc-06e4ab6c6cEXAMPLE",
            "OwnerId": "222222222222",
            "InstanceTenancy": "default",
            "CidrBlockAssociationSet": [
                {
                    "AssociationId": "vpc-cidr-assoc-00b17b4eddEXAMPLE",
                    "CidrBlock": "10.0.0.0/16",
                    "CidrBlockState": {
                        "State": "associated"
                    }
                }
            ],
            "IsDefault": false,
            "Tags": [
                {
                    "Key": "Name",
                    "Value": "Shared VPC"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Example 2: To describe a specified VPC

The following describe-vpcs example retrieves details for the specified VPC.

aws ec2 describe-vpcs \
    --vpc-ids vpc-06e4ab6c6cEXAMPLE

Output:

{
    "Vpcs": [
        {
            "CidrBlock": "10.0.0.0/16",
            "DhcpOptionsId": "dopt-19edf471",
            "State": "available",
            "VpcId": "vpc-06e4ab6c6cEXAMPLE",
            "OwnerId": "111122223333",
            "InstanceTenancy": "default",
            "CidrBlockAssociationSet": [
                {
                    "AssociationId": "vpc-cidr-assoc-00b17b4eddEXAMPLE",
                    "CidrBlock": "10.0.0.0/16",
                    "CidrBlockState": {
                        "State": "associated"
                    }
                }
            ],
            "IsDefault": false,
            "Tags": [
                {
                    "Key": "Name",
                    "Value": "Shared VPC"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

• For API details, see DescribeVpcs in AWS CLI Command Reference.

JavaScript

SDK for JavaScript (v3)

Note

There's more on GitHub. Find the complete example and learn how to set up and run in the AWS Code Examples Repository.

    const client = new EC2Client({});
    const { Vpcs } = await client.send(
      new DescribeVpcsCommand({
        Filters: [{ Name: "is-default", Values: ["true"] }],
      }),
    );

• For API details, see DescribeVpcs in AWS SDK for JavaScript API Reference.

PowerShell

Tools for PowerShell

Example 1: This example describes the specified VPC.

Get-EC2Vpc -VpcId vpc-12345678

Output:

CidrBlock       : 10.0.0.0/16
DhcpOptionsId   : dopt-1a2b3c4d
InstanceTenancy : default
IsDefault       : False
State           : available
Tags            : {Name}
VpcId           : vpc-12345678

Example 2: This example describes the default VPC (there can be only one per region). If your account supports EC2-Classic in this region, there is no default VPC.

Get-EC2Vpc -Filter @{Name="isDefault"; Values="true"}

Output:

CidrBlock       : 172.31.0.0/16
DhcpOptionsId   : dopt-12345678
InstanceTenancy : default
IsDefault       : True
State           : available
Tags            : {}
VpcId           : vpc-45678901

Example 3: This example describes the VPCs that match the specified filter (that is, have a CIDR that matches the value '10.0.0.0/16' and are in the state 'available').

Get-EC2Vpc -Filter @{Name="cidr"; Values="10.0.0.0/16"},@{Name="state";Values="available"}

Example 4: This example describes all your VPCs.

Get-EC2Vpc

• For API details, see DescribeVpcs in AWS Tools for PowerShell Cmdlet Reference.

Python

SDK for Python (Boto3)

Note

There's more on GitHub. Find the complete example and learn how to set up and run in the AWS Code Examples Repository.

class AutoScalingWrapper:
    """
    Encapsulates Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling and EC2 management actions.
    """

    def __init__(
        self,
        resource_prefix: str,
        inst_type: str,
        ami_param: str,
        autoscaling_client: boto3.client,
        ec2_client: boto3.client,
        ssm_client: boto3.client,
        iam_client: boto3.client,
    ):
        """
        Initializes the AutoScaler class with the necessary parameters.

        :param resource_prefix: The prefix for naming AWS resources that are created by this class.
        :param inst_type: The type of EC2 instance to create, such as t3.micro.
        :param ami_param: The Systems Manager parameter used to look up the AMI that is created.
        :param autoscaling_client: A Boto3 EC2 Auto Scaling client.
        :param ec2_client: A Boto3 EC2 client.
        :param ssm_client: A Boto3 Systems Manager client.
        :param iam_client: A Boto3 IAM client.
        """
        self.inst_type = inst_type
        self.ami_param = ami_param
        self.autoscaling_client = autoscaling_client
        self.ec2_client = ec2_client
        self.ssm_client = ssm_client
        self.iam_client = iam_client
        sts_client = boto3.client("sts")
        self.account_id = sts_client.get_caller_identity()["Account"]

        self.key_pair_name = f"{resource_prefix}-key-pair"
        self.launch_template_name = f"{resource_prefix}-template-"
        self.group_name = f"{resource_prefix}-group"

        # Happy path
        self.instance_policy_name = f"{resource_prefix}-pol"
        self.instance_role_name = f"{resource_prefix}-role"
        self.instance_profile_name = f"{resource_prefix}-prof"

        # Failure mode
        self.bad_creds_policy_name = f"{resource_prefix}-bc-pol"
        self.bad_creds_role_name = f"{resource_prefix}-bc-role"
        self.bad_creds_profile_name = f"{resource_prefix}-bc-prof"


    def get_default_vpc(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        """
        Gets the default VPC for the account.

        :return: Data about the default VPC.
        """
        try:
            response = self.ec2_client.describe_vpcs(
                Filters=[{"Name": "is-default", "Values": ["true"]}]
            )
        except ClientError as err:
            error_code = err.response["Error"]["Code"]
            log.error("Failed to retrieve the default VPC.")
            if error_code == "UnauthorizedOperation":
                log.error(
                    "You do not have the necessary permissions to describe VPCs. "
                    "Ensure that your AWS IAM user or role has the correct permissions."
                )
            elif error_code == "InvalidParameterValue":
                log.error(
                    "One or more parameters are invalid. Check the request parameters."
                )

            log.error(f"Full error:\n\t{err}")
        else:
            if "Vpcs" in response and response["Vpcs"]:
                log.info(f"Retrieved default VPC: {response['Vpcs'][0]['VpcId']}")
                return response["Vpcs"][0]
            else:
                pass

• For API details, see DescribeVpcs in AWS SDK for Python (Boto3) API Reference.