Create an AMI image pipeline from the AWS CLI

To create an image pipeline from the AWS CLI, run the create-image-pipeline command with the configuration options that apply for your pipeline. You have the option to create a JSON file that contains all of your pipeline configuration, or to specify configuration at runtime. This section uses the JSON configuration file method to simplify the command.

How often your pipeline builds a new image to incorporate any pending updates from your base image and components depends on the schedule that you have configured. A schedule has the following attributes:

• scheduleExpression – Sets the schedule for when your pipeline runs to evaluate the pipelineExecutionStartCondition and determine if it should start a build. The schedule is configured with cron expressions. For more information on how to format a cron expression in Image Builder, see Use cron expressions in Image Builder.

• pipelineExecutionStartCondition – Determines if your pipeline should start the build. Valid values include:

  • EXPRESSION_MATCH_ONLY – your pipeline will build a new image every time the cron expression matches the current time.

  • EXPRESSION_MATCH_AND_DEPENDENCY_UPDATES_AVAILABLE – your pipeline will not start a new image build unless there are pending changes to your base image or components.

When you run the create-image-pipeline command in the AWS CLI, many of the configuration resources are optional. However, some of the resources have conditional requirements, depending on what type of image the pipeline creates. The following resource identifiers are required for AMI image pipelines:

• Image recipe ARN

• Infrastructure configuration ARN

 

Example: Create a Windows 2019 image

This example configures a pipeline that is scheduled to run once a week on Sunday. The configuration file shown in the first step uses existing resources for the image recipe, infrastructure, and distribution configuration, along with other settings to create a Windows 2019 image.

1. Create a configuration file (optional)

   This example uses a configuration file named create-image-pipeline.json to configure the settings in one place. Alternatively, you can use command line options when you run the command to specify all of the details that are shown here in the configuration file.

   {
   	"name": "ExampleWindows2019Pipeline",
   	"description": "Builds Windows 2019 Images",
   	"enhancedImageMetadataEnabled": true,
   	"imageRecipeArn": "arn:aws:imagebuilder:us-west-2:123456789012:image-recipe/my-example-recipe/2020.12.03",
   	"infrastructureConfigurationArn": "arn:aws:imagebuilder:us-west-2:123456789012:infrastructure-configuration/my-example-infrastructure-configuration",
   	"distributionConfigurationArn": "arn:aws:imagebuilder:us-west-2:123456789012:distribution-configuration/my-example-distribution-configuration",
   	"imageTestsConfiguration": {
   		"imageTestsEnabled": true,
   		"timeoutMinutes": 60
   	},
   	"schedule": {
   		"scheduleExpression": "cron(0 0 * * SUN *)",
   		"pipelineExecutionStartCondition": "EXPRESSION_MATCH_AND_DEPENDENCY_UPDATES_AVAILABLE"
   	},
   	"status": "ENABLED"
   }
   

   Note

   • You must include the file:// notation at the beginning of the JSON file path.

   • The path for the JSON file should follow the appropriate convention for the base operating system where you are running the command. For example, Windows uses the backslash (\) to refer to the directory path, while Linux and macOS use the forward slash (/).

2. Run the command to create an image

   This example uses the configuration file created in the first step as input to the create-image-pipeline command. Alternatively, you can specify the settings and resources for your pipeline directly when you run the command. For more information, see create-image-pipeline in the AWS CLI Reference.

   aws imagebuilder create-image-pipeline --cli-input-json file://create-image-pipeline.json