How-to Get [Query] AWS EC2 Instance Metadata

In this tutorial we will learn how to get EC2 Instance Metadata from an AWS EC2 instance. We will get the metadata using ec2-metadata and ec2 metadata. This is not typo. The tools name is really similar but one of them using dash on its name.

By Muhammad Panji | 2021.03.11

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will learn how to get EC2 Instance Metadata from an AWS EC2 instance. We will get the metadata using ec2-metadata and ec2 metadata. This is not a typo. The tool’s name is really similar but one of them using dash on its name.

Using EC2 Instance Metadata Query Tool (ec2-metadata)

Install EC2 Instance Metadata Query Tool

First of all let’s install ec2-metadata tool.

Download the script using the command below.

$ wget http:&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;//&lt;/span&gt;s3.amazonaws.com&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/ec2metadata/&lt;/span&gt;ec2-metadata

Move the script to the /usr/local/bin/ directory.

$ sudo mv ec2-metadata /usr/&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;local&lt;/span&gt;/bin

Change the permission of the script so we can use the script.

$ chmod u+x &lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;local&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/bin/&lt;/span&gt;ec2-metadata

Using EC2 Instance Metadata Query Tool Outside EC2 Instance

If you run ec2-metadata outside EC2 instance you will get the error message below.

&#091;ERROR] Command &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;not&lt;/span&gt; valid outside EC2 &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;instance&lt;/span&gt;. Please run &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;this&lt;/span&gt; command &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;within&lt;/span&gt; a running EC2 &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;instance&lt;/span&gt;.

When we run ec2-metadata from an EC2 instance without any option, the help page will be printed.

$ ec2-metadata v0.1.1
Use to retrieve EC2&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;metadata from within a running EC2 instance. 
e.g. to retrieve&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;id: ec2-metadata -i
         to retrieve ami id: ec2-metadata -a
         to get help: ec2-metadata --help
For more information on Amazon EC2&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;meta-data, refer to the documentation at
http:&#047;&#047;docs.amazonwebservices.com/AWSEC2/2008-05-05/DeveloperGuide/AESDG-chapter-instancedata.html

Usage: ec2-metadata &lt;option&gt;
Options:
--all                     Show all metadata information for this host (also default).
-a/--ami-id               The AMI ID used to launch this&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance
&lt;/span&gt;-l/--ami-launch-index     The index of this&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;in the reservation (per AMI).
-m/--ami-manifest-path    The manifest path of the AMI with which the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;was launched.
-n/--ancestor-ami-ids     The AMI IDs of any instances that were rebundled to create this AMI.
-b/--block-device-mapping Defines native device names to use when exposing virtual devices.
-i/--instance-id          The ID of this&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance
&lt;/span&gt;-t/--instance-type        The type of&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;to launch. For more information, see Instance Types.
-h/--local-hostname       The local hostname of the instance.
-o/--local-ipv4           Public IP address&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; if &lt;/span&gt;launched with direct addressing;&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt; private&lt;/span&gt; IP address&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; if &lt;/span&gt;launched with&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt; public&lt;/span&gt; addressing.
-k/--kernel-id            The ID of the kernel launched with this instance,&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; if &lt;/span&gt;applicable.
-z/--availability-zone    The availability zone in which the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;launched. Same as placement
-c/--product-codes        Product codes associated with this instance.
-p/--public-hostname      The&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt; public&lt;/span&gt; hostname of the instance.
-v/--public-ipv4          NATted&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt; public&lt;/span&gt; IP Address
-u/--public-keys          Public keys. Only available&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; if &lt;/span&gt;supplied at&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;launch time
-r/--ramdisk-id           The ID of the RAM disk launched with this instance,&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; if &lt;/span&gt;applicable.
-e/--reservation-id       ID of the reservation.
-s/--security-groups      Names of the security groups the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;is launched in. Only available&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; if &lt;/span&gt;supplied at&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;launch time
-d/--user-data            User-supplied data.Only available&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; if &lt;/span&gt;supplied at&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;launch time.

Get The AMI ID used to launch this instance using ec2-metadata

$ ec2-metadata -a
ami-&lt;span class="hljs-attribute"&gt;id:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt; ami&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-002&lt;/span&gt;fe7e709bf81e3a

Get The index of this instance in the reservation (per AMI).

$ ec2-metadata -l
ami-&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;launch&lt;/span&gt;-index: &lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;0&lt;/span&gt;

Get The manifest path of the AMI with which the instance was launched.

$ ec2-metadata -m
ami-manifest-&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;path&lt;/span&gt;: (unknown)

Get The AMI IDs of any instances that were rebundled to create this AMI.

&lt;span class="hljs-variable"&gt;$ &lt;/span&gt;ec2-metadata -n
ancestor-ami-&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;ids:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;not&lt;/span&gt; available

Get Defines native device names to use when exposing virtual devices.

$ ec2-metadata -b
block-device-mapping: 
&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;     ami:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/dev/&lt;/span&gt;sda1
&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;     root:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/dev/&lt;/span&gt;sda1

Get EC2 Instance ID using ec2-metadata

$ ec2-metadata -&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;i&lt;/span&gt;
instance-id: &lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;i&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-043&lt;/span&gt;c348f4bc24b818

Get Instance Type using ec2-metadata

$ ec2-metadata -t
&lt;span class="hljs-title"&gt;instance&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;type&lt;/span&gt;: t2.nano

Get Private / Local Hostname of EC2 Instance

$ ec2-metadata -h
local-hostname: ip&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;-172&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;-31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;-16&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;-47&lt;/span&gt;.ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;-1&lt;/span&gt;.compute.internal

Get Private / Local IP of EC2 Instance

$ ec2-metadata -o
local-ipv4: &lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;172.31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-meta"&gt;.16&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-meta"&gt;.47&lt;/span&gt;

Get Kernel ID of the instance

$ ec2-metadata -k
kernel-&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;id&lt;/span&gt;: &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;not&lt;/span&gt; available

Get Availability Zone Of the EC2 Instance

$ ec2-metadata -&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;z&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;placement:&lt;/span&gt; ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-1&lt;/span&gt;a

Get Product Codes of the EC2 Instance

&lt;span class="hljs-variable"&gt;$ &lt;/span&gt;ec2-metadata -c
product-&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;codes:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;not&lt;/span&gt; available

Get Public Hostname of the EC2 Instance

$ ec2-metadata -&lt;span class="hljs-selector-tag"&gt;p&lt;/span&gt;
public-hostname: ec2-&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;13&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;229&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;225&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;234&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-selector-class"&gt;.ap-southeast-1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-selector-class"&gt;.compute&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-selector-class"&gt;.amazonaws&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-selector-class"&gt;.com&lt;/span&gt;

Get Public IP of the EC2 Instance

$ ec2-metadata -v
&lt;span class="hljs-meta"&gt;public&lt;/span&gt;-ipv4: &lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;13.229&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-meta"&gt;.225&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-meta"&gt;.234&lt;/span&gt;

Get Public Key of the EC2 Instance

$ ec2-metadata -u
&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;public&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;keys:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;keyname:&lt;/span&gt;testing
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;index:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;0&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;format:&lt;/span&gt;openssh-key
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;key:&lt;/span&gt;(begins from next line)
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCV03OY7jrv&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/6rQyPL3ffsQcw7ENGixKFUpxaCXjIV1pD23rD9lb+mgX7OCBUsO4eXUUIPdr1ygh3o3AosM2CUv/&lt;/span&gt;pUexb4L2Mg2NkNyHQdfcGPQod0OFiw&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/bOd02FOD/&lt;/span&gt;oBxXQIl5UOuiXhfxEwZ5P3Hn1XaTwIMnT37e3gyfhif4XW9WKemCwCmSkPMvhEDYa0ymZElXvQ8YfkGWANktHj52de0b68D0Iwg6IVJbv9rqRcHVXk2Wp9V2X0cMLs8v9UYd4N0GmDB8FBC&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/ZAttWi6ESF0EKWv4jy/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;94&lt;/span&gt;EDP1nw9jD8tZnWiGV69vk/wKAoYI3BpZ6tAOTd82NdtFCWngrt testing

Get Ramdisk ID of The EC2 Instance

$ ec2-metadata -r
ramdisk-&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;id&lt;/span&gt;: &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;not&lt;/span&gt; available

Get Reservation ID using ec2-metadata

$ ec2-metadata &lt;span class="hljs-_"&gt;-e&lt;/span&gt;
reservation-id: r-0589&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;fc&lt;/span&gt;9d835e37094

Get Security Groups

$ ec2-metadata -&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt;s&lt;/span&gt;
security-groups: &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;test&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;cluster&lt;/span&gt;

Get User-supplied data. Only available if supplied at instance launch time.

&lt;span class="hljs-variable"&gt;$ &lt;/span&gt;ec2-metadata -d
user-&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;data:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;not&lt;/span&gt; available

Get all EC2 Metadata Using ec2-metadata

$ ec2-metadata --all

ami-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;id:&lt;/span&gt; ami&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-002&lt;/span&gt;fe7e709bf81e3a
ami-launch-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;index:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;0&lt;/span&gt;
ami-manifest-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;path:&lt;/span&gt; (unknown)
ancestor-ami-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;ids:&lt;/span&gt; not available
block-device-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;mapping:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;     ami:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/dev/&lt;/span&gt;sda1
&lt;span class="hljs-symbol"&gt;     root:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/dev/&lt;/span&gt;sda1
instance-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;id:&lt;/span&gt; i&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-043&lt;/span&gt;c348f4bc24b818
instance-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;type:&lt;/span&gt; t2.nano
local-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;hostname:&lt;/span&gt; ip&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-172&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-16&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-47.&lt;/span&gt;ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-1.&lt;/span&gt;compute.internal
local-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;ipv4:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;172.31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.16&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.47&lt;/span&gt;
kernel-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;id:&lt;/span&gt; not available
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;placement:&lt;/span&gt; ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-1&lt;/span&gt;a
product-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;codes:&lt;/span&gt; not available
&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;public&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;hostname:&lt;/span&gt; ec2&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-13&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-229&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-225&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-234.&lt;/span&gt;ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-1.&lt;/span&gt;compute.amazonaws.com
&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;public&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;ipv4:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;13.229&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.225&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.234&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;public&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;keys:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;keyname:&lt;/span&gt;testing
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;index:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;0&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;format:&lt;/span&gt;openssh-key
&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;key:&lt;/span&gt;(begins from next line)
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCV03OY7jrv&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/6rQyPL3ffsQcw7ENGixKFUpxaCXjIV1pD23rD9lb+mgX7OCBUsO4eXUUIPdr1ygh3o3AosM2CUv/&lt;/span&gt;pUexb4L2Mg2NkNyHQdfcGPQod0OFiw&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/bOd02FOD/&lt;/span&gt;oBxXQIl5UOuiXhfxEwZ5P3Hn1XaTwIMnT37e3gyfhif4XW9WKemCwCmSkPMvhEDYa0ymZElXvQ8YfkGWANktHj52de0b68D0Iwg6IVJbv9rqRcHVXk2Wp9V2X0cMLs8v9UYd4N0GmDB8FBC&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/ZAttWi6ESF0EKWv4jy/&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;94&lt;/span&gt;EDP1nw9jD8tZnWiGV69vk/wKAoYI3BpZ6tAOTd82NdtFCWngrt testing
ramdisk-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;id:&lt;/span&gt; not available
reservation-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;id:&lt;/span&gt; r&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-0589&lt;/span&gt;fc9d835e37094
security-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;groups:&lt;/span&gt; test-cluster
user-&lt;span class="hljs-string"&gt;data:&lt;/span&gt; not available

Using ec2metadata

ec2metadata (without dash) should already installed on Ubuntu / Amazon Linux based instance.

To test whether this command already exist or not we can use the --help option.

$ ec2metadata --help
Syntax: /usr/bin/ec2metadata &#091;options]

Query&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; and &lt;/span&gt;display EC2 metadata.

If no options are provided, all options will be displayed

Options:
    -h --help               show this help

    --kernel-id             display the kernel id
    --ramdisk-id            display the ramdisk id
    --reservation-id        display the reservation id

    --ami-id                display the ami id
    --ami-launch-index      display the ami launch index
    --ami-manifest-path     display the ami manifest path
    --ancestor-ami-ids      display the ami ancestor id
    --product-codes         display the ami associated product codes
    --availability-zone     display the ami placement zone

    --instance-id           display the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;id
    --instance-type         display the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;type

    --local-hostname        display the local hostname
    --public-hostname       display the&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt; public&lt;/span&gt; hostname

    --local-ipv4            display the local ipv4 ip address
    --public-ipv4           display the&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt; public&lt;/span&gt; ipv4 ip address

    --block-device-mapping  display the block device id
    --security-groups       display the security groups

    --mac                   display the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;mac address
    --profile               display the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance &lt;/span&gt;profile
    --instance-action       display the&lt;span class="hljs-built_in"&gt; instance-action
&lt;/span&gt;
    --public-keys           display the openssh&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt; public&lt;/span&gt; keys
    --user-data             display the user data (not actually metadata)

    -u | --url URL          use URL (default: http://169.254.169.254/2009-04-04)

The the next sections we will learn to use each option of ec2metadata command to see the output sample.

Get Kernel ID of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--kernel-id&lt;/span&gt;
unavailable

Get Ramdisk ID of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--ramdisk-id&lt;/span&gt;
unavailable

Get Reservation ID of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--reservation-id&lt;/span&gt;
r-&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;0589&lt;/span&gt;fc9d835e37094

Get AMI ID of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--ami-id&lt;/span&gt;
ami-&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;002&lt;/span&gt;fe7e709bf81e3a

Get AMI Launch Index of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--ami-launch-index&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;0&lt;/span&gt;

Get AMI Manifest Path of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--ami-manifest-path&lt;/span&gt;
(unknown)

Get Ancestor AMI ID of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--ancestor-ami-ids&lt;/span&gt;
unavailable

Get Product Codes of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--product-codes&lt;/span&gt;
unavailable

Get Availability Zone Info of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--availability-zone&lt;/span&gt;
ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;a&lt;/span&gt;

Get Instance ID of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--instance-id&lt;/span&gt;
i-&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;043&lt;/span&gt;c348f4bc24b818

Get Instance Type of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --instance-&lt;span class="hljs-class"&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;type&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
t2.nano

Get Local Hostname of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --local-hostname
ip&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-172&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-16&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-47.&lt;/span&gt;ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-1.&lt;/span&gt;compute.internal

Get Public Hostname of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --public-hostname
ec2&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-13&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-229&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-225&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-234.&lt;/span&gt;ap-southeast&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-1.&lt;/span&gt;compute.amazonaws.com

Get Private IPv4 / Local IPv4 of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --local-ipv4
&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;172.31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.16&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.47&lt;/span&gt;

Get Public IPv4 of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --public-ipv4
&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;13.229&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.225&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.234&lt;/span&gt;

Get Block Device Mapping Info of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--block-device-mapping&lt;/span&gt;
ami
root

Get Security Groups of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --security-groups
&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;test&lt;/span&gt;-&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;cluster&lt;/span&gt;

Get Mac Address of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--mac&lt;/span&gt;
unavailable

Get Instance Profile of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--profile&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;default&lt;/span&gt;-hvm

Get Instance Action of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --instance-&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;action&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class="hljs-keyword"&gt;none&lt;/span&gt;

Get Public Keys of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata --public-keys
&#091;&#039;ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCV03OY7jrv/6rQyPL3ffsQcw7ENGixKFUpxaCXjIV1pD23rD9lb+mgX7OCBUsO4eXUUIPdr1ygh3o3AosM2CUv/pUexb4L2Mg2NkNyHQdfcGPQod0OFiw/bOd02FOD/oBxXQIl5UOuiXhfxEwZ5P3Hn1XaTwIMnT37e3gyfhif4XW9WKemCwCmSkPMvhEDYa0ymZElXvQ8YfkGWANktHj52de0b68D0Iwg6IVJbv9rqRcHVXk2Wp9V2X0cMLs8v9UYd4N0GmDB8FBC/ZAttWi6ESF0EKWv4jy/94EDP1nw9jD8tZnWiGV69vk/wKAoYI3BpZ6tAOTd82NdtFCWngrt testing&#039;]

Get User Data of an EC2 Instance

$ ec2metadata &lt;span class="hljs-comment"&gt;--user-data&lt;/span&gt;

Which Package Providing ec2metadata In Ubuntu?

If you’re wondering which package providing the ec2metadata tool in Ubuntu, you can use the command below.

$ dpkg -S &lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;bin&lt;span class="hljs-regexp"&gt;/ec2metadata&lt;/span&gt;

cloud-guest-utils: /usr/bin/ec2metadata

To see the cloud-guest-utils package installed we can use the command below

$ dpkg -l | grep cloud-guest-utils
ii  cloud-guest-utils              &lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;0.31&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-7&lt;/span&gt;-gd99b2d76&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;-0&lt;/span&gt;ubuntu1         all          cloud guest utilities

We can also see the list of files in the cloud-guest-utils package using the command below.

$ dpkg -L cloud-guest-utils
/.
/usr
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;bin
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;bin/ec2metadata
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;bin/growpart
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;bin/vcs-run
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share/doc
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/doc/&lt;/span&gt;cloud-guest-utils
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/doc/&lt;/span&gt;cloud-guest-utils/changelog.Debian.gz
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/doc/&lt;/span&gt;cloud-guest-utils/copyright
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share/man
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/man/&lt;/span&gt;man1
&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/usr/&lt;/span&gt;share&lt;span class="hljs-meta-keyword"&gt;/man/&lt;/span&gt;man1/growpart&lt;span class="hljs-number"&gt;.1&lt;/span&gt;.gz

References

EC2 Instance Metadata Query Tool