AMI allowed instance types

As an AMI owner, you can specify which instance types your AMI supports or does not support. This prevents launches on incompatible instance types. Amazon EC2 enforces the allowed instance types at launch time.

For example, if your AMI requires GPU hardware, you can restrict it to GPU instance types only. If your AMI is incompatible with a specific instance family, you can exclude that family from the allowed instance types.

How allowed instance types work

You control allowed instance types through the InstanceTypeSpecification attribute on an AMI. This attribute contains two lists:

Amazon EC2 evaluates the specification using the following logic:

Wildcard support

Both lists support wildcard patterns using the * character. You can use wildcards to match multiple instance types without listing each one individually.

The following table shows examples of wildcard patterns.

Set allowed instance types for an AMI

You can set or change the allowed instance types for an AMI by using the Amazon EC2 console or the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI). You must be the AMI owner to perform this procedure.

Console

To set allowed instance types for an AMI

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

2. In the navigation pane, choose AMIs.

3. Select the AMI, and then choose Actions, Manage instance type specification.

4. Under Supported instance types or Unsupported instance types, choose Add.

5. Select the instance type.

6. Choose Save.

AWS CLI

To set supported instance types for an AMI

Use the replace-image-instance-type-specification command. The following example allows all t3 and a2 instance types except t3.micro.

aws ec2 replace-image-instance-type-specification \
    --image-id ami-1234567890abcdef0 \
    --instance-type-specification '{"SupportedInstanceTypes": ["t3.*", "a2.*"], "UnsupportedInstanceTypes": ["t3.micro"]}'

To set only unsupported instance types for an AMI

Use the following command to block specific instance types while allowing all others.

aws ec2 replace-image-instance-type-specification \
    --image-id ami-1234567890abcdef0 \
    --instance-type-specification '{"UnsupportedInstanceTypes": ["t3.micro", "t3.nano"]}'

To remove the instance type specification from an AMI

Use the following command without specifying --instance-type-specification to remove the restriction and allow all instance types.

aws ec2 replace-image-instance-type-specification \
    --image-id ami-1234567890abcdef0

View allowed instance types for an AMI

You can view the instance type specification for an AMI by using the Amazon EC2 console or the AWS CLI.

Console

To view the allowed instance types for an AMI

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.

2. In the navigation pane, choose AMIs.

3. Select the AMI.

4. On the Details tab, view the supported and unsupported instance types.

AWS CLI

To view the instance type specification for an AMI

Use the describe-images command. If the AMI has an instance type specification, the response includes the InstanceTypeSpecification field.

aws ec2 describe-images \
    --image-ids ami-1234567890abcdef0

The following is example output for an AMI with an instance type specification.

{
    "Images": [
        {
            "ImageId": "ami-1234567890abcdef0",
            ...
            "InstanceTypeSpecification": {
                "SupportedInstanceTypes": [
                    {
                        "InstanceType": "t3.*"
                    },
                    {
                        "InstanceType": "a2.*"
                    }
                ],
                "UnsupportedInstanceTypes": [
                    {
                        "InstanceType": "t3.micro"
                    }
                ]
            }
        }
    ]
}

Launch behavior with allowed instance types

When you launch an instance, Amazon EC2 checks whether the specified instance type is compatible with the AMI's instance type specification. If the instance type is not allowed, Amazon EC2 blocks the launch and returns an error.

Example: Blocked launch

The following command attempts to launch a t3.micro instance using an AMI that does not support t3.micro.

aws ec2 run-instances \
    --image-id ami-1234567890abcdef0 \
    --instance-type t3.micro

Amazon EC2 returns the following error:

An error occurred (InvalidParameterCombination) when calling the RunInstances operation: This AMI does not support the specified instance type. Check DescribeImages for InstanceTypeSpecification, and try again.

To resolve this error, choose an instance type that the AMI supports. Use the describe-images command to view the AMI's instance type specification.

Considerations

Keep the following information in mind when you use allowed instance types.