• The AWS Systems Manager CloudWatch Dashboard will no longer be available after April 30, 2026. Customers can continue to use Amazon CloudWatch console to view, create, and manage their Amazon CloudWatch dashboards, just as they do today. For more information, see [Amazon CloudWatch Dashboard documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/CloudWatch_Dashboards.html). # Working with applications Application Manager is a component of AWS Systems Manager. This section includes topics to help you work with Application Manager applications and view operations information about your AWS resources. **Topics** + [ # Application overview in Application Manager ](application-manager-working-viewing-overview.md) + [ # Managing your application EC2 instances ](application-manager-working-instances.md) + [ # Viewing resources associated with your application ](application-manager-working-viewing-resources.md) + [ # Managing your application compliance ](application-manager-working-viewing-resource-compliance.md) + [ # Using CloudWatch Application Insights to monitor an application ](application-manager-working-viewing-monitors.md) + [ # Viewing OpsItems for an application ](application-manager-working-viewing-OpsItems.md) + [ # Managing your application logs ](application-manager-viewing-logs.md) + [ # Use Automation runbooks to remediate application issues ](application-manager-working-runbooks.md) + [ # Tag resources in Application Manager ](application-manager-working-tags.md) + [ # Working with CloudFormation templates and stacks in Application Manager ](application-manager-working-stacks.md) + [ # Working with clusters in Application Manager ](application-manager-working-clusters.md) # Application overview in Application Manager In Application Manager, a component of AWS Systems Manager, the **Overview** tab displays a summary of Amazon CloudWatch alarms, operational work items (OpsItems), CloudWatch Application Insights, and runbook history. Choose **View all** for any card to open the corresponding tab where you can view all application insights, alarms, OpsItems, or runbook history. **About Application Insights** CloudWatch Application Insights identifies and sets up key metrics, logs, and alarms across your application resources and technology stack. Application Insights continuously monitors metrics and logs to detect and correlate anomalies and errors. When the system detects errors or anomalies, Application Insights generates CloudWatch Events that you can use to set up notifications or take actions. If you choose the **Edit configuration** button on the **Monitoring** tab, the system opens the CloudWatch Application Insights console. For more information about Application Insights, see [What is Amazon CloudWatch Application Insights](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/appinsights-what-is.html) in the *Amazon CloudWatch User Guide*. **About Cost Explorer** Application Manager is integrated with AWS Cost Explorer, a feature of [AWS Cost Management](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/account-billing/index.html), through the **Cost** widget and **Cost** tab. After you enable Cost Explorer in the Cost Management console, the **Cost** widget and **Cost** tab in Application Manager shows cost data for a specific non-container application or application component. You can use filters in the widget, or tab, to view cost data according to different time periods, levels of granularity, and cost types in either a bar or line chart. You can enable this feature by choosing the **Go to AWS Cost Management console** button. By default, the data is filtered to the past three months. For a non-container application, if you choose the **View all** button, Application Manager opens the **Resources** tab. For container applications, the **View all** button opens the AWS Cost Explorer console. **Actions you can perform on this page** You can turn on and access information about the following widgets on the **Overview** tab on this page. When a widget is enabled, choose its **View all** to see relevant application details for that area. + In the **Insights and Alarms** section, choose the number for a severity to open the **Monitoring**, tab, where you can view more details about alarms of the chosen severity. + In the **Cost** section, choose **View all ** to open the **Resources** tab, where you can view cost data for a specific application or application component. + In the **Compliance** section, choose **View all ** to open the **Compliance** tab, where you can view compliance information from AWS Config and State Manager associations. **Note** To view patch compliance details, choose the **Compliance** tab directly. Then you can view patch compliance details for the managed nodes used by the selected application. + In the **Runbooks** section, choose a runbook to open it in the Systems Manager **Documents** page where you can view more details about the document. + In the **OpsItems** section, choose a severity to open the **OpsItems** tab where you can view all OpsItems of the chosen severity. + Choose a **View all** button to open the corresponding tab. You can view all alarms, OpsItems, or runbook history entries for the application. **To open the **Overview** tab** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. # Managing your application EC2 instances Application Manager integrates with Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) to display information about your instances in the context of an application. Application Manager displays instance state, status, and Amazon EC2 Auto Scaling health for a selected application in a graphical format. The **Instances** tab also includes a table with the following information for each instance in your application: + Instance state (Pending, Stopping, Running, Stopped) + Ping status for SSM Agent + Status and name of the most recent Systems Manager Automation runbook processed on the instance + A count of Amazon CloudWatch Logs alarms per state. + `ALARM` – The metric or expression is outside of the defined threshold. + `OK` – The metric or expression is within the defined threshold. + `INSUFFICIENT_DATA` – The alarm has just started, the metric is not available, or not enough data is available for the metric to determine the alarm state. + Auto Scaling group health for the parent and individual autoscaling groups If you choose an instance in the **All instances** table, Application Manager displays information about that instance on four tabs: + **Details** – All of the instance details from Amazon EC2, including the Amazon Machine Image (AMI), DNS information, IP address information, and more. + **Health** – The current status as provided by EC2 system and instance status checks. + **Execution history** – Execution logs for Systems Manager Automation runbooks and API calls processed by the instance. + **CloudWatch alarms** – The name, state, and more for any CloudWatch alarms raised by the instance. **Actions you can perform on this page** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Start, stop, and terminate instances. + Apply a Chef recipe. + Attach instances to, or detach instances from, an Auto Scaling group. + Enable automated updates for SSM Agent. **To open the **Instances** tab** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application that you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Instances** tab. **To view details for your application instances** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application that you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Instances** tab. 1. Select the button next to the instance whose details you want to view. 1. Review the instance details at the bottom of the page. **To automatically update SSM Agent** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application that you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Instances** tab. 1. In the **Agent actions** dropdown, choose **Configure SSM Agent update**. 1. Choose **All instances** to configure automatic SSM Agent updates for all managed instances. Alternatively, choose **Instance** to configure automation SSM Agent updates for a single instance in your application. 1. Select the **Enable automatic update** toggle. 1. In the **Specify schedule** dropdown, choose the schedule you want to use for SSM Agent updates. 1. Select **Configure**. # Viewing resources associated with your application In Application Manager, a component of AWS Systems Manager, the **Resources** tab displays the AWS resources in your application. If you choose a top-level component, this page displays all resources for that component and any subcomponents. If you choose a subcomponent, this page shows only the resources assigned to that subcomponent. **Actions you can perform on this page** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Choose a resource name to view information about it, including details provided by the console where it was created, tags, Amazon CloudWatch alarms, AWS Config details, and AWS CloudTrail log information. + Choose the option button beside a resource name. Then, choose the **Resource timeline** button to open the AWS Config console where you can view compliance information about a selected resource. + If you enabled AWS Cost Explorer, the **Cost Explorer** section shows cost data for a specific non-container application or application component. You can enable this feature by choosing the **Go to AWS Cost Management console** button. Use the filters in this section to view cost information about your application. **To open the **Resources** tab** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Resources** tab. # Managing your application compliance In Application Manager, a component of AWS Systems Manager, the **Configurations** page displays [AWS Config](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/config/latest/developerguide/) resource and configuration rule compliance information. This page also displays AWS Systems Manager [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/systems-manager-state.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/systems-manager-state.html) association compliance information. You can choose a resource, a rule, or an association to open the corresponding console for more information. This page displays compliance information from the last 90 days. **Actions you can perform on this page** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Choose a resource name to open the AWS Config console where you can view compliance information about a selected resource. + Choose the option button beside a resource name. Then, choose the **Resource timeline** button to open the AWS Config console where you can view compliance information about a selected resource. + In the **Config rules compliance** section, you can do the following: + Choose a rule name to open the AWS Config console where you can view information about that rule. + Choose **Add rules** to open the AWS Config console where you can create a rule. + Choose the option button beside a rule name, choose **Actions**, and then choose **Manage remediation** to change the remediation action for a rule. + Choose the option button beside a rule name, choose **Actions**, and then choose **Re-evaluate** to have AWS Config run a compliance check on the selected rule. + In the **Association compliance** section, you can do the following: + Choose an association name to open the **Associations** page where you can view information about that association. + Choose **Create association** to open Systems Manager State Manager where you can create an association. + Choose the option button beside an association name and choose **Apply association** to immediately start all actions specified in the association. **To open the **Compliance** tab** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Compliance** tab. # Using CloudWatch Application Insights to monitor an application In Application Manager, a component of AWS Systems Manager, the **Monitoring** tab displays Amazon CloudWatch Application Insights and alarm details for resources in an application. **About Application Insights** CloudWatch Application Insights identifies and sets up key metrics, logs, and alarms across your application resources and technology stack. Application Insights continuously monitors metrics and logs to detect and correlate anomalies and errors. When the system detects errors or anomalies, Application Insights generates CloudWatch Events that you can use to set up notifications or take actions. If you choose the **Edit configuration** button on the **Monitoring** tab, the system opens the CloudWatch Application Insights console. For more information about Application Insights, see [What is Amazon CloudWatch Application Insights](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/appinsights-what-is.html) in the *Amazon CloudWatch User Guide*. **Actions you can perform on this page** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Choose a service name in the **Alarms by AWS service** section to open CloudWatch to the selected service and alarm. + Adjust the time period for data displayed in widgets in the **Recent alarms** section by selecting one of the predefined time period values. You can choose **custom** to define your own time period. ![\[The time period controls on the Application Manager Monitoring tab.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/images/application-manager-Monitoring-1.png) + Hover your cursor over a widget in the **Recent alarms** section to view a data pop-up for a specific time. ![\[An alarm widget in the Recent alarms section of the Application Manager Monitoring tab.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/images/application-manager-Monitoring-2.png) + Choose the options menu in a widget to view display options. Choose **Enlarge** to expand a widget. Choose **Refresh** to update the data in a widget. Click and drag your cursor in a widget data display to select a specific range. You can then choose **Apply time range**. ![\[Alarm widget options in Application Manager.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/images/application-manager-Monitoring-3.png) + Choose the **Actions** menu to view alarm data **Override** options, which include the following: + Choose whether your widget displays live data. Live data is data published within the last minute that hasn't been fully aggregated. If live data is turned off, only data points with an aggregation period of at least one minute in the past are shown. For example, when using 5-minute periods, the data point for 12:35 would be aggregated from 12:35 to 12:40, and displayed at 12:41. If live data is turned on, the most recent data point is shown as soon as any data is published in the corresponding aggregation interval. Each time you refresh the display, the most recent data point might change as new data within that aggregation period is published. + Specify a time period for live data. + Link the charts in the **Recent alarms** section, so that when you zoom in or zoom out on one chart, the other chart zooms in or zooms out at the same time. You can unlink charts to limit zoom to one chart. + Hide Auto Scaling alarms. ![\[The Action menu of the Application Manager Monitoring tab.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/images/application-manager-Monitoring-4.png) **To open the **Monitoring** tab** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Monitoring** tab. # Viewing OpsItems for an application In Application Manager, a component of AWS Systems Manager, the **OpsItems** tab displays operational work items (OpsItems) for resources in the selected application. You can configure Systems Manager OpsCenter to automatically create OpsItems from Amazon CloudWatch alarms and Amazon EventBridge events. You can also manually create OpsItems. **Actions you can perform on this tab** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Filter the list of OpsItems by using the search field. You can filter by OpsItem name, ID, source ID, or severity. You can also filter the list based on status. OpsItems support the following statuses: Open, In progress, Open and In progress, Resolved, or All. + Change the status of an OpsItem by choosing the option button beside it and then choosing an option in the **Set status** menu. + Open Systems Manager OpsCenter to create an OpsItem by choosing **Create OpsItem**. **To open the **OpsItems** tab** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **OpsItems** tab. # Managing your application logs In Application Manager, a component of AWS Systems Manager, the **Logs** tab displays a list of log groups from Amazon CloudWatch Logs. **Actions you can perform on this tab** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Choose a log group name to open it in CloudWatch Logs. You can then choose a log stream to view logs for a resource in the context of an application. + Choose **Create log groups** to create a log group in CloudWatch Logs. **To open the **Logs** tab** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Logs** tab. # Use Automation runbooks to remediate application issues You can remediate issues with AWS resources from Application Manager, a tool in AWS Systems Manager, by using Automation runbooks. An Automation runbook defines the actions that Systems Manager performs on your managed instances and other AWS resources when an automation runs. Automation is a tool in AWS Systems Manager. A runbook contains one or more steps that run in sequential order. Each step is built around a single action. Output from one step can be used as input in a later step. When you choose **Start runbook** from an Application Manager application or cluster, the system displays a filtered list of available runbooks based on the type of resources in your application or cluster. When you choose the runbook you want to start, Systems Manager opens the **Execute automation document** page. Application Manager includes the following enhancements for working with runbooks. + If you choose the name of a resource in Application Manager and then choose **Execute runbook**, the system displays a filtered list of runbooks for that resource type. + You can initiate an automation on all resources of the same type by choosing a runbook in the list and then choosing **Run for resources of same type**. **Before you begin** Before you start a runbook from Application Manager, do the following: + Verify that you have the correct permissions for starting runbooks. For more information, see [Setting up Automation](automation-setup.md). + Review the Automation procedure documentation about starting runbooks. For more information, see [Run an automated operation powered by Systems Manager Automation](running-simple-automations.md). **To start a runbook from Application Manager** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose **Start runbook**. Application Manager opens the **Automation widget** pop up. For information about the options in the **Automation widget**, see [Run an automated operation powered by Systems Manager Automation](running-simple-automations.md). # Tag resources in Application Manager You can quickly add or delete tags on applications and AWS resources in Application Manager. Use the following procedure to add a tag to or delete a tag from an application and all AWS resources in that application. **To add a tag to or delete a tag from an application and all resources in the application** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. In the **Application information** section, choose the number beneath **Application tags**. If no tags are assigned to the application, the number is zero. 1. To add a tag, choose **Add new tag**. Specify a key and an optional value. To delete a tag, choose **Remove**. 1. Choose **Save**. Use the following procedure to add a tag to or delete a tag from a specific resource in Application Manager. **To add a tag to or delete a tag from a resource** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Applications** section, choose a category. If you want to open an application you created manually in Application Manager, choose **Custom applications**. 1. Choose the application in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. Choose the **Resources** tab. 1. Choose a resource name. 1. In the **Tags** section choose **Edit**. 1. To add a tag, choose **Add new tag**. Specify a key and an optional value. To delete a tag, choose **Remove**. 1. Choose **Save**. # Working with CloudFormation templates and stacks in Application Manager Working with CloudFormation templates and stacks Application Manager, a tool in AWS Systems Manager, helps you provision and manage resources for your applications by integrating with AWS CloudFormation. You can create, edit, and delete CloudFormation templates and stacks in Application Manager. A *stack* is a collection of AWS resources that you can manage as a single unit. This means you can create, update, or delete a collection of AWS resources by using CloudFormation stacks. A *template* is a formatted text file in JSON or YAML that specifies the resources you want to provision in your stacks. Application Manager also includes a template library where you can clone, create, and store templates. Application Manager and CloudFormation display the same information about the current status of a stack. Templates and template updates are stored in Systems Manager until you provision the stack, at which time the changes are also displayed in CloudFormation. After you create a stack in Application Manager, the **CloudFormation stacks** page displays helpful information about it. This includes the template used to create it, a count of [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/OpsCenter.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/OpsCenter.html) for resources in your stack, the [stack status](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/cfn-console-view-stack-data-resources.html#cfn-console-view-stack-data-resources-status-codes), and [drift status](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/using-cfn-stack-drift.html). **About Cost Explorer** Application Manager is integrated with AWS Cost Explorer, a feature of [AWS Cost Management](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/account-billing/index.html), through the **Cost** widget. After you enable Cost Explorer in the Cost Management console, the **Cost** widget in Application Manager shows cost data for a specific non-container application or application component. You can use filters in the widget to view cost data according to different time periods, granularities, and cost types in either a bar or line chart. You can enable this feature by choosing the **Go to AWS Cost Management console** button. By default, the data is filtered to the past three months. For a non-container application, if you choose the **View all** button, Application Manager opens the **Resources** tab. For container applications, the **View all** button opens the AWS Cost Explorer console. **Note** Cost Explorer uses tags to track your application costs. If your CloudFormation stack-based application isn't configured with the `AppManagerCFNStackKey` tag key, Cost Explorer fails to present accurate cost data in Application Manager. When the `AppManagerCFNStackKey` tag key is not detected, you will be prompted in the console to add the tag to your CloudFormation stack to enable cost tracking. Adding it maps the tag key to the Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of your stack and enables the **Cost** widget to display accurate cost data. **Important** Adding the `AppManagerCFNStackKey` tag will trigger a stack update. Any manual configurations that were performed after the stack was originally deployed will not be reflected after the user tag is added. For more information about resource update behaviors, see [Update behaviors of stack resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/ using-cfn-updating-stacks-update-behaviors.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide* ## Before you begin Use the following links to learn about CloudFormation concepts before you create, edit, or delete CloudFormation templates and stacks by using Application Manager. + [What is AWS CloudFormation?](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/Welcome.html) + [CloudFormation best practices](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/best-practices.html) + [Learn template basics](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/gettingstarted.templatebasics.html) + [Working with AWS CloudFormation stacks](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/stacks.html) + [Working with AWS CloudFormation templates](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/template-guide.html) + [Sample templates](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/cfn-sample-templates.html) **Topics** + [ ## Before you begin ](#application-manager-working-stacks-before-you-begin) + [ # Using Application Manager to manage CloudFormation templates ](application-manager-working-templates-overview.md) + [ # Using Application Manager to manage CloudFormation stacks ](application-manager-working-stacks-overview.md) # Using Application Manager to manage CloudFormation templates Application Manager, a tool in AWS Systems Manager, includes a template library and other tools to help you manage AWS CloudFormation templates. This section includes the following information. **Topics** + [ ## Working with the template library ](#application-manager-working-stacks-template-library-working) + [ ## Creating a template ](#application-manager-working-stacks-creating-template) + [ ## Editing a template ](#application-manager-working-stacks-editing-template) ## Working with the template library The Application Manager template library provides tools to help you view, create, edit, delete, and clone templates. You can also provision stacks directly from the template library. Templates are stored as Systems Manager (SSM) documents of type `CloudFormation`. By storing templates as SSM documents, you can use version controls to work with different versions of a template. You can also set permissions and share templates. After you successfully provision a stack, the stack and template are available in Application Manager and CloudFormation. **Before you begin** We recommend that you read the following topics to learn more about SSM documents before you start working with CloudFormation templates in Application Manager. + [AWS Systems Manager Documents](documents.md) + [Sharing SSM documents](documents-ssm-sharing.md) + [Best practices for shared SSM documents](documents-ssm-sharing.md#best-practices-shared) **To view the template library in Application Manager** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. Choose **CloudFormation Template Library**. ## Creating a template The following procedure describes how to create a CloudFormation template in Application Manager. When you create a template, you enter the stack details of the template in either JSON or YAML. If you're unfamiliar with JSON or YAML, you can use AWS Infrastructure Composer, a tool for visually creating and modifying templates. For more information, see [Create templates visually with Infrastructure Composer](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/infrastructure-composer-for-cloudformation.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. For information about the structure and syntax of a template, see [CloudFormation template sections](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/template-anatomy.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. You can also construct a template from multiple template snippets. Template snippets are examples that demonstrate how to write templates for a particular resource. For example, you can view snippets for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) domains, CloudFormation mappings, and more. Snippets are grouped by resource. You can find general-purpose CloudFormation snippets in the [General template snippets](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/quickref-general.html) section of the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. ### Creating a CloudFormation template in Application Manager (console) Use the following procedure to create a CloudFormation template in Application Manager by using the AWS Management Console. **To create a CloudFormation template in Application Manager** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. Choose **CloudFormation Template Library**, and then either choose **Create template** or choose an existing template and then choose **Actions**, **Clone**. 1. For **Name**, enter a name for the template that helps you identify the resources it creates or the purpose of the stack. 1. (Optional) For **Version name**, enter a name or a number to identity the template version. 1. In the **Code editor** section, choose either **YAML** or **JSON** and then either enter or copy and paste your template code. 1. (Optional) In the **Tags** section, apply one or more tag key name/value pairs to the template. 1. (Optional) In the **Permissions** section, enter an AWS account ID and choose **Add account**. This action provides read permission to the template. The account owner can provision and clone the template, but they can't edit or delete it. 1. Choose **Create**. The template is saved in the Systems Manager (SSM) Document service. ### Creating a CloudFormation template in Application Manager (command line) After you create the content of your CloudFormation template in JSON or YAML, you can use the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) or AWS Tools for PowerShell to save the template as an SSM document. Replace each *example resource placeholder* with your own information. **Before you begin** Install and configure the AWS CLI or the AWS Tools for PowerShell, if you have not already. For information, see [Installing or updating the latest version of the AWS CLI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html) and [Installing the AWS Tools for PowerShell](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/userguide/pstools-getting-set-up.html). ------ #### [ Linux & macOS ] ``` aws ssm create-document \ --content file://path/to/template_in_json_or_yaml \ --name "a_name_for_the_template" \ --document-type "CloudFormation" \ --document-format "JSON_or_YAML" \ --tags "Key=tag-key,Value=tag-value" ``` ------ #### [ Windows ] ``` aws ssm create-document ^ --content file://C:\path\to\template_in_json_or_yaml ^ --name "a_name_for_the_template" ^ --document-type "CloudFormation" ^ --document-format "JSON_or_YAML" ^ --tags "Key=tag-key,Value=tag-value" ``` ------ #### [ PowerShell ] ``` $json = Get-Content -Path "C:\path\to\template_in_json_or_yaml | Out-String New-SSMDocument ` -Content $json ` -Name "a_name_for_the_template" ` -DocumentType "CloudFormation" ` -DocumentFormat "JSON_or_YAML" ` -Tags "Key=tag-key,Value=tag-value" ``` ------ If successful, the command returns a response similar to the following. ``` { "DocumentDescription": { "Hash": "c1d9640f15fbdba6deb41af6471d6ace0acc22f213bdd1449f03980358c2d4fb", "HashType": "Sha256", "Name": "MyTestCFTemplate", "Owner": "428427166869", "CreatedDate": "2021-06-04T09:44:18.931000-07:00", "Status": "Creating", "DocumentVersion": "1", "Description": "My test template", "PlatformTypes": [], "DocumentType": "CloudFormation", "SchemaVersion": "1.0", "LatestVersion": "1", "DefaultVersion": "1", "DocumentFormat": "YAML", "Tags": [ { "Key": "Templates", "Value": "Test" } ] } ``` ## Editing a template Use the following procedure to edit a CloudFormation template in Application Manager. Template changes are available in CloudFormation after you provision a stack that uses the updated template. **To edit a CloudFormation template in Application Manager** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. Choose **CloudFormation Template Library** 1. Choose a template, and then choose **Actions**, **Edit**. You can't change the name of a template, but you can change all other details. 1. Choose **Save**. The template is saved in the Systems Manager Document service. # Using Application Manager to manage CloudFormation stacks Application Manager, a tool in AWS Systems Manager, helps you provision and manage resources for your applications by integrating with AWS CloudFormation. You can create, edit, and delete CloudFormation templates and stacks in Application Manager. A *stack* is a collection of AWS resources that you can manage as a single unit. This means you can create, update, or delete a collection of AWS resources by using CloudFormation stacks. A *template* is a formatted text file in JSON or YAML that specifies the resources you want to provision in your stacks. This section includes the following information. **Topics** + [ ## Creating a stack ](#application-manager-working-stacks-creating-stack) + [ ## Updating a stack ](#application-manager-working-stacks-editing-stack) ## Creating a stack The following procedures describe how to create a CloudFormation stack by using Application Manager. A stack is based on a template. When you create a stack, you can either choose an existing template or create a new one. After you create the stack, the system immediately attempts to create the resources identified in the stack. After the system successfully provisions the resources, the template and the stack are available to view and edit in Application Manager and CloudFormation. **Note** There is no charge to use Application Manager to create a stack, but you are charged for AWS resources created in the stack. ### Creating a CloudFormation stack by using Application Manager (console) Use the following procedure to create a stack by using Application Manager in the AWS Management Console. **To create a CloudFormation stack** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. Choose ** Create Application, CloudFormation Stack**. 1. In the **Prepare a template** section, choose an option. If you choose **Use an existing template**, you can use the tabs in the **Choose a template** section to locate the template you want. (If you choose one of the other options, complete the wizard to prepare a template.) 1. Select the button beside a template name, and then choose **Next**. 1. On the **Specify template details** page, verify the details of the template to ensure the process creates the resources you want. + (Optional) In the **Tags** section, apply one or more tag key name/value pairs to the template. + Tags are optional metadata that you assign to a resource. By using tags, you can categorize a resource in different ways, such as by purpose, owner, or environment. + Choose **Next**. 1. On the **Edit stack details** page, for **Stack name**, enter a name that helps you identify the resources created by the stack or its purpose. + The **Parameters** section includes all optional and required parameters specified in the template. Enter one or more parameters in each field. + (Optional) In the **Tags** section, apply one or more tag key name/value pairs to the stack. + (Optional) In the **Permissions** section, specify an AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) role name or an IAM Amazon Resource Name (ARN). The system uses the specified service role to create all resources specified in your stack. If you don't specify an IAM role, then CloudFormation uses a temporary session that the system generates from your user credentials. For more information about this IAM role, see [CloudFormation service role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/using-iam-servicerole.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. + Choose **Next**. 1. On the **Review and provision** page, review all the details of the stack. Choose an **Edit** button on this page to make change. 1. Choose **Provision stack**. Application Manager displays the **CloudFormation stacks** page and the status of the stack creation and deployment. If CloudFormation fails to create and provision the stack, see the following topics in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. + [Stack status codes](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/using-cfn-describing-stacks.html#w2ab1c23c15c17c11) + [Troubleshooting CloudFormation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/troubleshooting.html) After your stack resources are provisioned and running, users can edit resources directly by using the underlying service that created the resource. For example, a user can use the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) console to update a server instance that was created as part of a CloudFormation stack. Some changes may be accidental, and some may be made intentionally to respond to time-sensitive operational events. Regardless, changes made outside of CloudFormation can complicate stack update or deletion operations. You can use drift detection or *drift status* to identify stack resources to which configuration changes have been made outside of CloudFormation management. For information about drift status, see [Detecting unmanaged configuration changes to stacks and resources](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/using-cfn-stack-drift.html). ### Creating a CloudFormation stack by using Application Manager (command line) Use the following AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) procedure to provision a stack by using a CloudFormation template that is stored as an SSM document in Systems Manager. Replace each *example resource placeholder* with your own information. For information about other AWS CLI procedures for creating stacks, see [Creating a stack](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/using-cfn-cli-creating-stack.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. **Before you begin** Install and configure the AWS CLI or the AWS Tools for PowerShell, if you have not already. For information, see [Installing or updating the latest version of the AWS CLI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html) and [Installing the AWS Tools for PowerShell](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/userguide/pstools-getting-set-up.html). ------ #### [ Linux & macOS ] ``` aws cloudformation create-stack \ --stack-name a_name_for_the_stack \ --template-url "ssm-doc://arn:aws:ssm:Region:account_ID:document/template_name" \ ``` ------ #### [ Windows ] ``` aws cloudformation create-stack ^ --stack-name a_name_for_the_stack ^ --template-url "ssm-doc://arn:aws:ssm:Region:account_ID:document/template_name" ^ ``` ------ #### [ PowerShell ] ``` New-CFNStack ` -StackName "a_name_for_the_stack" ` -TemplateURL "ssm-doc://arn:aws:ssm:Region:account_ID:document/template_name" ` ``` ------ ## Updating a stack You can deploy updates to a CloudFormation stack by directly editing the stack in Application Manager. With a direct update, you specify updates to a template or input parameters. After you save and deploy the changes, CloudFormation updates the AWS resources according to the changes you specified. You can preview the changes that CloudFormation will make to your stack before you update it by using change sets. For more information, see [Updating stacks using change sets](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/using-cfn-updating-stacks-changesets.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. **To update a CloudFormation stack in Application Manager** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. Select the radio button next to an application name, and then choose **Actions**, **Update stack**. 1. On the **Specify template source** page, choose one of the following options, and then choose **Next**. + Choose **Use the template code currently provisioned in the stack** to view a template. Choose a template version in the **Versions** list, and then choose **Next**. + Choose **Switch to a different template** to choose or create a new template for the stack. 1. After you finish making changes to the template, choose **Next**. 1. On the **Edit stack details** page, you can edit parameters, tags, and permissions. You can't change the stack name. Make your changes and choose **Next**. 1. On the **Review and provision** page, review all the details of the stack, and then choose **Provision stack**. # Working with clusters in Application Manager Working with clusters This section includes topics to help you work with Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) container clusters in Application Manager, a component of AWS Systems Manager. **Topics** + [ # Working with Amazon ECS in Application Manager ](application-manager-working-ECS.md) + [ # Working with Amazon EKS in Application Manager ](application-manager-working-EKS.md) + [ # Working with runbooks for clusters ](application-manager-working-runbooks-clusters.md) # Working with Amazon ECS in Application Manager With Application Manager, a tool in AWS Systems Manager, you can view and manage your Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) cluster infrastructure. Application Manager applies a tag to your Amazon ECS cluster using the Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the cluster as the tag value. Application Manager provides a component runtime view of the compute, networking, and storage resources in a cluster. **Note** You can't manage or view operations information about your containers in Application Manager. You can only manage and view operations information about the infrastructure hosting your Amazon ECS resources. **Actions you can perform on this page** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Choose **Manage cluster** to open the cluster in Amazon ECS. + Choose **View all** to view a list of resources in your cluster. + Choose **View in CloudWatch** to view resource alarms in Amazon CloudWatch. + Choose **Manage nodes** or **Manage Fargate profiles** to view these resources in Amazon ECS. + Choose a resource ID to view detailed information about it in the console where it was created. + View a list of OpsItems related to your clusters. + View a history of runbooks that have been run on your clusters. **To open an **ECS cluster**** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Container clusters** section, choose **ECS clusters**. 1. Choose a cluster in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. # Working with Amazon EKS in Application Manager Application Manager, a tool in AWS Systems Manager, integrates with [Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/what-is-eks.html) (Amazon EKS) to provide information about the health of your Amazon EKS cluster infrastructure. Application Manager applies a tag to your Amazon EKS cluster using the Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the cluster as the tag value. Application Manager provides a component runtime view of the compute, networking, and storage resources in a cluster. **Note** You can't manage or view operations information about your Amazon EKS pods or containers in Application Manager. You can only manage and view operations information about the infrastructure hosting your Amazon EKS resources. **Actions you can perform on this page** You can perform the following actions on this page: + Choose **Manage cluster** to open the cluster in Amazon EKS. + Choose **View all** to view a list of resources in your cluster. + Choose **View in CloudWatch** to view resource alarms in Amazon CloudWatch. + Choose **Manage nodes** or **Manage Fargate profiles** to view these resources in Amazon EKS. + Choose a resource ID to view detailed information about it in the console where it was created. + View a list of OpsItems related to your clusters. + View a history of runbooks that have been run on your clusters. **To open an **EKS clusters** application** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Container clusters** section, choose **EKS clusters**. 1. Choose a cluster in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. # Working with runbooks for clusters You can remediate issues with AWS resources from Application Manager, a tool in AWS Systems Manager, by using Systems Manager Automation runbooks. When you choose **Start runbook** from an Application Manager cluster, the system displays a filtered list of runbooks based on the type of resources in your cluster. When you choose the runbook you want to start, Systems Manager opens the **Execute automation document** page. **Before you begin** Before you start a runbook from Application Manager, do the following: + Verify that you have the correct permissions for starting runbooks. For more information, see [Setting up Automation](automation-setup.md). + Review the Automation procedure documentation about starting runbooks. For more information, see [Run an automated operation powered by Systems Manager Automation](running-simple-automations.md). + If you intend to start runbooks on multiple resources at one time, review the documentation about using targets and rate controls. For more information, see [Run automated operations at scale](running-automations-scale.md). **To start a runbook for clusters from Application Manager** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Application Manager**. 1. In the **Container clusters** section, choose a container type. 1. Choose the cluster in the list. Application Manager opens the **Overview** tab. 1. On the **Runbooks** tab, choose **Start runbook**. Application Manager opens the **Execute automation document** page in a new tab. For information about the options in the **Execute automation document** page, see [Run an automated operation powered by Systems Manager Automation](running-simple-automations.md).