Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
API Reference (API Version 2011-12-15)
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Common Query Parameters

All Query actions share a set of common parameters that must be present in each call.

NameDescriptionRequired

Action

Indicates the action to perform.

Example: RunInstances

Yes

Version

The API version to use, as specified in the WSDL.

Example: 2011-12-15

Yes

AWSAccessKeyId

The Access Key ID for the request sender. This identifies the account which will be charged for usage of the service. The account with which the Access Key ID is associated must be signed up for Amazon EC2, or requests will not be accepted.

AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE

Yes

Timestamp

The date and time at which the request is signed, in the format YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ. For more information, go to ISO 8601.

Example: 2006-07-07T15:04:56Z

Yes

Expires

The date and time at which the signature included in the request expires, in the format YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ.

Example: 2006-07-07T15:04:56Z

Yes

SecurityToken

The temporary security token obtained through a call to AWS Security Token Service. For more information, go to Using Temporary Security Credentials in the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud User Guide.

Default: None

Type: String

No

Signature

The request signature. For more information, go to Making Query Requests in the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud User Guide.

Example: Qnpl4Qk/7tINHzfXCiT7VEXAMPLE

Yes

SignatureMethod

The hash algorithm you use to create the request signature. Valid values: HmacSHA256 | HmacSHA1. For more information, go to Making Query Requests in the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud User Guide.

Example: HmacSHA256

Yes

SignatureVersion

The signature version you use to sign the request. Set this value to 2. For more information, go to Making Query Requests in the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud User Guide.

Example: 2

Yes

[Note]Note

The Timestamp parameter can be used instead of Expires. Requests must include either Timestamp or Expires, but cannot contain both.

Parameter values must be URL-encoded. This is true for any Query parameter passed to Amazon EC2 and is typically necessary in the Signature parameter. Some clients do this automatically, but this is not the norm.