MCPInstall

aws-ami-builder

by hashicorp OfficialDevOps & Cloud

Build Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) with Packer using the amazon-ebs builder. Use when creating custom AMIs for EC2 instances.

Installs
3.2K
Last 24h
+18
Trending rank
#6386
Security
Not audited

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/hashicorp/agent-skills --skill aws-ami-builder
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads aws-ami-builder automatically when relevant.

  3. 03

    Review the result

    The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

AWS AMI Builder

Build Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) using Packer's amazon-ebs builder.

Reference: Amazon EBS Builder

Note: Building AMIs incurs AWS costs (EC2 instances, EBS storage, data transfer). Builds typically take 10-30 minutes depending on provisioning complexity.

Basic AMI Template

packer {
  required_plugins {
    amazon = {
      source  = "github.com/hashicorp/amazon"
      version = "~> 1.3"
    }
  }
}

variable "region" {
  type    = string
  default = "us-west-2"
}

locals {
  timestamp = regex_replace(timestamp(), "[- TZ:]", "")
}

source "amazon-ebs" "ubuntu" {
  region        = var.region
  instance_type = "t3.micro"

  source_ami_filter {
    filters = {
      name                = "ubuntu/images/*ubuntu-jammy-22.04-amd64-server-*"
      root-device-type    = "ebs"
      virtualization-type = "hvm"
    }
    most_recent = true
    owners      = ["099720109477"] # Canonical
  }

  ssh_username = "ubuntu"
  ami_name     = "my-app-${local.timestamp}"

  tags = {
    Name      = "my-app"
    BuildDate = local.timestamp
  }
}

build {
  sources = ["source.amazon-ebs.ubuntu"]

  provisioner "shell" {
    inline = [
      "sudo apt-get update",
      "sudo apt-get upgrade -y",
    ]
  }
}

Common Source AMI Filters

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

source_ami_filter {
  filters = {
    name                = "ubuntu/images/*ubuntu-jammy-22.04-amd64-server-*"
    root-device-type    = "ebs"
    virtualization-type = "hvm"
  }
  most_recent = true
  owners      = ["099720109477"] # Canonical
}

Amazon Linux 2023

source_ami_filter {
  filters = {
    name                = "al2023-ami-*-x86_64"
    root-device-type    = "ebs"
    virtualization-type = "hvm"
  }
  most_recent = true
  owners      = ["amazon"]
}

Multi-Region AMI

source "amazon-ebs" "ubuntu" {
  region        = "us-west-2"
  instance_type = "t3.micro"

  source_ami_filter {
    filters = {
      name = "ubuntu/images/*ubuntu-jammy-22.04-amd64-server-*"
    }
    most_recent = true
    owners      = ["099720109477"]
  }

  ssh_username = "ubuntu"
  ami_name     = "my-app-${local.timestamp}"

  # Copy to additional regions
  ami_regions = ["us-east-1", "us-east-2", "eu-west-1"]
}

Authentication

Packer uses AWS credential resolution:

  1. Environment variables: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
  2. AWS credentials file: ~/.aws/credentials
  3. IAM instance profile (when running on EC2)
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-access-key"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="your-secret-key"
export AWS_REGION="us-west-2"

packer build .

Build Commands

# Initialize plugins
packer init .

# Validate template
packer validate .

# Build AMI
packer build .

# Build with variables
packer build -var "region=us-east-1" .

Common Issues

SSH Timeout

  • Ensure security group allows SSH (port 22)
  • Verify subnet has internet access

AMI Already Exists

  • AMI names must be unique
  • Use timestamp in name: my-app-${local.timestamp}

Volume Size Too Small

  • Check source AMI's volume size
  • Set launch_block_device_mappings.volume_size accordingly

References

FAQ

What does the aws-ami-builder skill do?

Build Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) with Packer using the amazon-ebs builder. Use when creating custom AMIs for EC2 instances.

How do I install aws-ami-builder?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/hashicorp/agent-skills --skill aws-ami-builder in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/aws-ami-builder/ (personal) or .claude/skills/aws-ami-builder/ (project).

Which AI agents can use aws-ami-builder?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is aws-ami-builder safe to install?

No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.

Who maintains aws-ami-builder?

It is published by hashicorp in hashicorp/agent-skills, and it is an official skill from the maker of the technology it covers. It has 3,185 recorded installs.

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