ec2-describe-instances

Description

Returns information about instances that you own.

If you specify one or more instance IDs, Amazon EC2 returns information for those instances. If you do not specify instance IDs, Amazon EC2 returns information for all relevant instances. If you specify an invalid instance ID, a fault is returned. If you specify an instance that you do not own, it will not be included in the returned results.

Recently terminated instances might appear in the returned results.This interval is usually less than one hour.

Syntax

ec2-describe-instances [instance_id

Options

Name Description Required

Name	Description	Required
`instance_id`	Instance IDs to describe. Type: String Default: Returns all instances. Example: i-15a4417c	No

instance_id

Instance IDs to describe.

Type: String

Default: Returns all instances.

Example: i-15a4417c

Output

The command returns a table that contains the following information:

Output type identifier ("RESERVATION", "INSTANCE")
Instance ID for each running instance
AMI ID of the image on which the instance is based
Public DNS name associated with the instance. This is only present for instances in the running state
Private DNS name associated with the instance. This is only present for instances in the running state
Instance state
Key name. If a key was associated with the instance at launch, its name will appear
AMI launch index
Product codes attached to the instance
Instance type. The type of the instance
Instance launch time. The time the instance launched
Availability Zone. The Availability Zone in which the instance is located
Monitoring state

Amazon EC2 displays errors on stderr.

Examples

Example Request

This example describes the current state of the instances owned by this user.

PROMPT> ec2-describe-instances
RESERVATION r-15a4417c AIDADH4IGTRXXKCD
INSTANCE i-3ea74257 ami-6ba54002
							ec2-204-236-184-27.us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com
							ip-10-162-29-189.us-west-1.compute.internal running 0 m1.small
							2009-11-13T16:09:12+0000 us-west-1b aki-f70657b2 ari-ff0657ba monitoring-disabled
							204.236.184.27 10.162.29.189 ebs
BLOCKDEVICE vol-6605d50e 2009-11-13T16:09:18.000Z
INSTANCE i-31a74258 ami-6ba54002
							ec2-204-236-184-27.us-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com
							ip-10-162-29-189.us-west-1.compute.internal running 0 m1.small
							2009-11-13T16:09:12+0000 us-west-1b aki-f70657b2 ari-ff0657ba monitoring-disabled
							204.236.184.21 10.162.29.187 ebs
BLOCKDEVICE vol-6605d50e 2009-11-13T16:09:18.000Z