# Welcome


This is the *Amazon EC2 API Reference*. It provides descriptions, API request parameters, and the XML response for each of the Amazon EC2 Query API actions. Note that the Amazon EC2 API includes actions for Amazon EC2 plus additional services, such as Amazon EBS and Amazon VPC.

Alternatively, use one of the following methods to access the Amazon EC2 API, instead of using the Query API directly:
+ [AWS CLI Command Reference – ec2 commands](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/ec2/index.html)
+ [AWS CloudFormation – Amazon EC2 resource type reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/AWS_EC2.html)
+ [AWS Tools for PowerShell Cmdlet Reference – Amazon EC2 cmdlets](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/reference/items/EC2_cmdlets.html)
+ [AWS SDKs](https://aws.amazon.com/developer/tools)


| How Do I? | Relevant Documentation | 
| --- | --- | 
|  Learn about using the Query API  |  [Making requests to the Amazon EC2 API](making-api-requests.md)  | 
|  Learn about the permissions required to call an Amazon EC2 API action  |  [Actions, resources, and condition keys for Amazon EC2](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/list_amazonec2.html)  | 
|  Get the list of API actions by service and resource  |  [Actions by service](OperationList-query.md)  | 
|  Get the alphabetical list of API actions  |  [Actions](API_Operations.md)  | 
|  Get descriptions of the API error codes  |  [Error codes for the Amazon EC2 API](errors-overview.md)  |