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Reference the latest AMIs using Systems Manager public parameters - Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
Find the SSM parameter for a public AMIList the Amazon Linux AMIsList the Windows AMIsLaunch an instance using a public parameter

Reference the latest AMIs using Systems Manager public parameters

AWS Systems Manager provides public parameters for public AMIs maintained by AWS. You can use the public parameters when launching instances to ensure that you're using the latest AMIs. For example, the public parameter /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/al2023-ami-kernel-default-arm64 is available in all Regions and always points to the latest version of the Amazon Linux 2023 AMI for arm64 architecture in a given Region.

The public parameters are available from the following paths:

  • Linux – /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest

  • Windows – /aws/service/ami-windows-latest

For more information, see Working with public parameters in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide.

Find the SSM parameter for a public AMI

When you describe a public AMI, the response includes the associated AWS Systems Manager (SSM) parameter in the PublicSsmParameterName field. Use this parameter to identify the SSM parameter that always points to the latest version of that AMI.

Console
To find the SSM parameter for a public AMI

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

  2. In the navigation pane, choose AMIs.

  3. Select a public AMI.

  4. On the Details tab, find Public SSM parameter name.

AWS CLI
To find the SSM parameter for a public AMI

Use the describe-images command. The response includes the PublicSsmParameterName field for public AMIs that have an associated SSM parameter.

aws ec2 describe-images \
    --image-ids ami-0abcdef1234567890

The following example output shows the PublicSsmParameterName field. Some fields are omitted for brevity.

{
    "Images": [
        {
            "ImageId": "ami-0abcdef1234567890",
            "Name": "al2023-ami-2023.7.20260601.0-kernel-6.1-x86_64",
            ...
            "PublicSsmParameterName": "aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/al2023-ami-kernel-default-x86_64"
        }
    ]
}
PowerShell
To find the SSM parameter for a public AMI

Use the Get-EC2Image cmdlet. The response includes the PublicSsmParameterName field for public AMIs that have an associated SSM parameter.

Get-EC2Image -ImageId ami-0abcdef1234567890

The following example output shows the PublicSsmParameterName field. Some fields are omitted for brevity.

ImageId                : ami-0abcdef1234567890
Name                   : al2023-ami-2023.7.20260601.0-kernel-6.1-x86_64
...
PublicSsmParameterName : aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/al2023-ami-kernel-default-x86_64

List the Amazon Linux AMIs

AWS CLI
To list the Linux AMIs in the current AWS Region

Use the following get-parameters-by-path command. The value for the --path parameter is specific to Linux AMIs.

aws ssm get-parameters-by-path \
    --path /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest \
    --query "Parameters[].Name"
PowerShell
To list the Linux AMIs in the current AWS Region

Use the Get-SSMParametersByPath cmdlet.

Get-SSMParametersByPath `
    -Path "/aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest" | `
    Sort-Object Name | Format-Table Name

List the Windows AMIs

AWS CLI
To list the Windows AMIs in the current AWS Region

Use the following get-parameters-by-path command. The value for the --path parameter is specific to Windows AMIs.

aws ssm get-parameters-by-path \
    --path /aws/service/ami-windows-latest \
    --query "Parameters[].Name"
PowerShell
To list the Windows AMIs in the current AWS Region

Use the Get-SSMParametersByPath cmdlet.

Get-SSMParametersByPath `
    -Path "/aws/service/ami-windows-latest" | `
    Sort-Object Name | Format-Table Name

Launch an instance using a public parameter

To specify the public parameter when launching an instance, use the following syntax: resolve:ssm:public-parameter, where resolve:ssm is the standard prefix and public-parameter is the path and name of the public parameter.

AWS CLI
To launch an instance using a public parameter

Use the run-instances command with the --image-id option. This example specifies a Systems Manager public parameter for the image ID to launch an instance using the latest Amazon Linux 2023 AMI

--image-id resolve:ssm:/aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/al2023-ami-kernel-default-x86_64
PowerShell
To launch an instance using a public parameter

Use the New-EC2Instance cmdlet with the -ImageId parameter. This example specifies a Systems Manager public parameter for the image ID to launch an instance using the latest AMI for Windows Server 2022.

-ImageId "resolve:ssm:/aws/service/ami-windows-latest/Windows_Server-2022-English-Full-Base"

For more examples that use Systems Manager parameters, see Query for the latest Amazon Linux AMI IDs Using AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store and Query for the Latest Windows AMI Using AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store.