terraform/website/source/docs/providers/aws/r/instance.html.markdown

---
layout: "aws"
page_title: "AWS: aws_instance"
sidebar_current: "docs-aws-resource-instance"
description: |-
  Provides an EC2 instance resource. This allows instances to be created, updated, and deleted. Instances also support provisioning.
---

# aws\_instance

Provides an EC2 instance resource. This allows instances to be created, updated,
and deleted. Instances also support [provisioning](/docs/provisioners/index.html).

## Example Usage

```
# Create a new instance of the latest Ubuntu 14.04 on an
# t1.micro node with an AWS Tag naming it "HelloWorld"
provider "aws" {
    region = "us-east-1"
}

data "aws_ami" "ubuntu" {
  most_recent = true
  filter {
    name = "name"
    values = ["ubuntu/images/ebs/ubuntu-trusty-14.04-amd64-server-*"]
  }
  filter {
    name = "virtualization-type"
    values = ["paravirtual"]
  }
  owners = ["099720109477"] # Canonical
}

resource "aws_instance" "web" {
    ami = "${data.aws_ami.ubuntu.id}"
    instance_type = "t1.micro"
    tags {
        Name = "HelloWorld"
    }
}
```

## Argument Reference

The following arguments are supported:

* `ami` - (Required) The AMI to use for the instance.
* `availability_zone` - (Optional) The AZ to start the instance in.
* `placement_group` - (Optional) The Placement Group to start the instance in.
* `tenancy` - (Optional) The tenancy of the instance (if the instance is running in a VPC). An instance with a tenancy of dedicated runs on single-tenant hardware. The host tenancy is not supported for the import-instance command.
* `ebs_optimized` - (Optional) If true, the launched EC2 instance will be
     EBS-optimized.
* `disable_api_termination` - (Optional) If true, enables [EC2 Instance
     Termination Protection](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/terminating-instances.html#Using_ChangingDisableAPITermination)
* `instance_initiated_shutdown_behavior` - (Optional) Shutdown behavior for the 
instance. Amazon defaults this to `stop` for EBS-backed instances and 
`terminate` for instance-store instances. Cannot be set on instance-store 
instances. See [Shutdown Behavior](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/terminating-instances.html#Using_ChangingInstanceInitiatedShutdownBehavior) for more information.
* `instance_type` - (Required) The type of instance to start
* `key_name` - (Optional) The key name to use for the instance.
* `monitoring` - (Optional) If true, the launched EC2 instance will have detailed monitoring enabled. (Available since v0.6.0)
* `security_groups` - (Optional) A list of security group names to associate with.
   If you are creating Instances in a VPC, use `vpc_security_group_ids` instead.
* `vpc_security_group_ids` - (Optional) A list of security group IDs to associate with.
* `subnet_id` - (Optional) The VPC Subnet ID to launch in.
* `associate_public_ip_address` - (Optional) Associate a public ip address with an instance in a VPC.  Boolean value. 
* `private_ip` - (Optional) Private IP address to associate with the
     instance in a VPC.
* `source_dest_check` - (Optional) Controls if traffic is routed to the instance when
  the destination address does not match the instance. Used for NAT or VPNs. Defaults true.
* `user_data` - (Optional) The user data to provide when launching the instance.
* `iam_instance_profile` - (Optional) The IAM Instance Profile to
  launch the instance with.
* `tags` - (Optional) A mapping of tags to assign to the resource.
* `root_block_device` - (Optional) Customize details about the root block
  device of the instance. See [Block Devices](#block-devices) below for details.
* `ebs_block_device` - (Optional) Additional EBS block devices to attach to the
  instance.  See [Block Devices](#block-devices) below for details.
* `ephemeral_block_device` - (Optional) Customize Ephemeral (also known as
  "Instance Store") volumes on the instance. See [Block Devices](#block-devices) below for details.


## Block devices

Each of the `*_block_device` attributes controls a portion of the AWS
Instance's "Block Device Mapping". It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with [AWS's Block Device
Mapping docs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/block-device-mapping-concepts.html)
to understand the implications of using these attributes.

The `root_block_device` mapping supports the following:

* `volume_type` - (Optional) The type of volume. Can be `"standard"`, `"gp2"`,
  or `"io1"`. (Default: `"standard"`).
* `volume_size` - (Optional) The size of the volume in gigabytes.
* `iops` - (Optional) The amount of provisioned
  [IOPS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-io-characteristics.html).
  This must be set with a `volume_type` of `"io1"`.
* `delete_on_termination` - (Optional) Whether the volume should be destroyed
  on instance termination (Default: `true`).

Modifying any of the `root_block_device` settings requires resource
replacement.

Each `ebs_block_device` supports the following:

* `device_name` - The name of the device to mount.
* `snapshot_id` - (Optional) The Snapshot ID to mount.
* `volume_type` - (Optional) The type of volume. Can be `"standard"`, `"gp2"`,
  or `"io1"`. (Default: `"standard"`).
* `volume_size` - (Optional) The size of the volume in gigabytes.
* `iops` - (Optional) The amount of provisioned
  [IOPS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-io-characteristics.html).
  This must be set with a `volume_type` of `"io1"`.
* `delete_on_termination` - (Optional) Whether the volume should be destroyed
  on instance termination (Default: `true`).
* `encrypted` - (Optional) Enables [EBS
  encryption](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/EBSEncryption.html)
  on the volume (Default: `false`). Cannot be used with `snapshot_id`.

Modifying any `ebs_block_device` currently requires resource replacement.

~> **NOTE on EBS block devices:** If you use `ebs_block_device` on an `aws_instance`, Terraform will assume management over the full set of non-root EBS block devices for the instance, and treats additional block devices as drift. For this reason, `ebs_block_device` cannot be mixed with external `aws_ebs_volume` + `aws_ebs_volume_attachment` resources for a given instance.

Each `ephemeral_block_device` supports the following:

* `device_name` - The name of the block device to mount on the instance.
* `virtual_name` - The [Instance Store Device
  Name](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/InstanceStorage.html#InstanceStoreDeviceNames)
  (e.g. `"ephemeral0"`)

Each AWS Instance type has a different set of Instance Store block devices
available for attachment. AWS [publishes a
list](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/InstanceStorage.html#StorageOnInstanceTypes)
of which ephemeral devices are available on each type. The devices are always
identified by the `virtual_name` in the format `"ephemeral{0..N}"`.

~> **NOTE:** Currently, changes to `*_block_device` configuration of _existing_
resources cannot be automatically detected by Terraform. After making updates
to block device configuration, resource recreation can be manually triggered by
using the [`taint` command](/docs/commands/taint.html).

## Attributes Reference

The following attributes are exported:

* `id` - The instance ID.
* `availability_zone` - The availability zone of the instance.
* `placement_group` - The placement group of the instance.
* `key_name` - The key name of the instance
* `public_dns` - The public DNS name assigned to the instance. For EC2-VPC, this 
  is only available if you've enabled DNS hostnames for your VPC
* `public_ip` - The public IP address assigned to the instance, if applicable. **NOTE**: If you are using an [`aws_eip`](/docs/providers/aws/r/eip.html) with your instance, you should refer to the EIP's address directly and not use `public_ip`, as this field will change after the EIP is attached.
* `private_dns` - The private DNS name assigned to the instance. Can only be 
  used inside the Amazon EC2, and only available if you've enabled DNS hostnames 
  for your VPC
* `private_ip` - The private IP address assigned to the instance
* `security_groups` - The associated security groups.
* `vpc_security_group_ids` - The associated security groups in non-default VPC
* `subnet_id` - The VPC subnet ID.


## Import

Instances can be imported using the `id`, e.g. 

```
$ terraform import aws_instance.web i-12345678
```