If you want repeatable EC2 deployments and backups that do not make you cry at 3 AM this guide walks you through making a clean AWS AMI image from an instance. You will learn how to prepare the instance how to create the AMI how to verify the snapshots and how to test and share the image. Yes it covers the boring but crucial stuff that saves production teams from mystery outages.

Why make an AMI at all

An AMI is a golden image for EC2. It is the thing you clone when you want a new server that looks and behaves like the one that worked yesterday. Use AMIs to speed launches handle backups and standardize deployments across regions and accounts.

Quick checklist before you start

• Update OS and packages so you are not shipping last month s vulnerabilities
• Remove user keys and SSH known hosts from the image
• Clear temporary files and caches that only take up space
• Stop services that might be mid write when snapshot happens
• Decide whether you accept a brief reboot or you want no reboot

Step by step create the AMI

Pick your poison the AWS console or the AWS CLI. Console is fine for one off images. CLI is better for automation and pipelines.

Using the AWS console

Go to the EC2 instances page choose the instance then select Create Image. Give the AMI a descriptive name and tags. Watch for block device mappings if you have extra EBS volumes attached.

Using the AWS CLI

CLI people will feel at home with a command like this. Substitute your instance id and a sensible name.

aws ec2 create-image --instance-id i-1234567890abcdef0 --name "MyApp-AMI-v1" --no-reboot

The no reboot option reduces downtime but it can leave the file system in a weird state if your app is mid write. If consistency matters reboot the instance first or perform application level quiesce before creating the image.

Verify snapshots and permissions

After the AMI is created the underlying EBS snapshots appear. Confirm snapshots completed and that tags are present so your future self can figure out what you did. Use the describe snapshots command or the console to check progress. Also review the AMI launch permissions to control who in your account or other accounts can use this AMI.

Smoke test by launching a new instance

This step separates confidence from wishful thinking. Launch a new EC2 instance from the AMI and run basic checks.

• Verify network settings and security groups
• Confirm application starts cleanly
• Run a few endpoints or health checks
• Check disk mounts and data integrity

If anything fails fix the source instance then create a new AMI. Repeat until the test instance behaves like a trustworthy minion.

Copy share and version the AMI

Copy AMIs to other regions for disaster readiness with the copy image command. Share carefully when collaborating with other accounts. Maintain a naming and versioning convention so you do not end up with mystery images named things like final_final_better really this time.

aws ec2 copy-image --source-region us-east-1 --source-image-id ami-0123456789abcdef0 --name "MyApp-AMI-v1-us-west-2"

Tips and gotchas

• Tag everything. Tags are your breadcrumb trail when troubleshooting months later
• Keep a small base image and layer configuration management or containers on top
• Beware of ephemeral instance store volumes they are not captured by EBS snapshots
• Automate AMI builds if you create images often to avoid manual mistakes

Recap

Create a clean source instance tidy up sensitive data stop or quiesce services create the AMI with the console or AWS CLI verify snapshots and permissions launch a test instance and then copy or share the AMI as needed. Do this and you will sleep slightly better on release days.