API Error Codes

There are two types of error codes, client and server.

Client error codes suggest that the error was caused by something the client did, such as an authentication failure or an invalid AMI identifier. In the SOAP API, These error codes are prefixed with Client. For example: Client.AuthFailure. In the Query API, these errors are accompanied by a 40x HTTP response code.

Server error codes suggest that the error was caused by a server-side issue, and should be reported. In the SOAP API, These error codes are prefixed with Server. For example: Server.Unavailable. In the Query API, these errors are accompanied by a 50x HTTP response code.

Error CodeDefinitionNotes
AuthFailure User not authorized. Common cause is trying to run an AMI for which you do not have permission.
InvalidManifest Specified AMI has an unparsable Manifest.
InvalidAMIID.Malformed Specified AMI ID is not valid.
InvalidAMIID.NotFound Specified AMI ID does not exist.
InvalidAMIID.Unavailable Specified AMI ID has been deregistered and is no longer available.
InvalidInstanceID.Malformed Specified instance ID is not valid.
InvalidInstanceID.NotFound Specified instance ID does not exist.
InvalidKeyPair.NotFound Specified keypair name does not exist.
InvalidKeyPair.Duplicate Attempt to create a duplicate keypair.
InvalidGroup.NotFound Specified group name does not exist.
InvalidGroup.Duplicate Attempt to create a duplicate group.
InvalidGroup.InUse Specified group can not be deleted because it is in use.
InvalidGroup.Reserved Specified group name is a reserved name.
InvalidParameterValue The value supplied for a parameter was invalid. Requests that could cause this error include (for example) supplying an invalid image attribute to the DescribeImageAttribute request or an invalid version or encoding value for the userData in a RunInstances request.
InvalidPermission.Duplicate Attempt to authorize a permission that has already been authorized.
InvalidPermission.Malformed Specified permission is invalid.
InvalidReservationID.Malformed Specified reservation ID is invalid.
InvalidReservationID.NotFound Specified reservation ID does not exist.
InstanceLimitExceeded User has max allowed concurrent running instances. Each user has a concurrent running instance limit. For new users during public beta, this limit is 20.
InvalidParameterCombination RunInstances was called with minCount and maxCount set to 0 or minCount > maxCount.
InvalidUserID.MalformedThe user ID is niether in the form of an AWS account ID or one of the special values accepted by the owner or executableBy flags in the DescribeImages call. 
InvalidAMIAttributeItemValueThe value of an item added to, or removed from, an image attribute is invalid.If you are specifying a userId check that it is in the form of an AWS account ID.
Error CodeDefinitionNotes
InternalError Internal Error. Should not occur. Please let us know. Try to reproduce.
InsufficientInstanceCapacity Not enough available instances to satify your minimum request. You can lower your request or wait for additional capacity to become available.
Unavailable Indicates the server is overloaded and cannot handle request.