# Find shared AMIs to use for Amazon EC2 instances
<a name="usingsharedamis-finding"></a>

You can use the Amazon EC2 console or the command line to find public or private shared AMIs to use with your Amazon EC2 instances.

AMIs are a Regional resource. When you search for a shared AMI (public or private), you must search for it from the same Region from which it is shared. To make an AMI available in a different Region, copy the AMI to the Region, and then share it. For more information, see [Copy an Amazon EC2 AMI](CopyingAMIs.md).

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#### [ Console ]

The console provides an AMI filter field. You can also scope your searches using the filters provided in the **Search** field.

**To find a shared or AMI**

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/).

1. In the navigation pane, choose **AMIs**.

1. In the first filter, choose one of the following options:
   + **Private images** – Lists all AMIs that are shared with you.
   + **Public images** – Lists all public AMIs.

1. (Optional) To display only the public images from Amazon, choose the **Search** field and then, from the menu options, choose **Owner alias**, then **=**, and then **amazon**.

1. (Optional) Add filters to scope your search to AMIs that meet your requirements.

**To find a shared public AMI from a [verified provider](sharing-amis.md#verified-ami-provider)**

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/).

1. In the navigation pane, choose **AMI Catalog**.

1. Choose **Community AMIs**.

1. In the **Refine results** pane, select **Verified provider**. The **Verified provider** label indicates that the AMIs are from Amazon or a verified partner.

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#### [ AWS CLI ]

Use the [describe-images](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/ec2/describe-images.html) command to list AMIs. You can scope the list to the types of AMIs that interest you, as shown in the following examples.

**To list all public AMIs**  
The following command lists all public AMIs, including any public AMIs that you own.

```
aws ec2 describe-images --executable-users all
```

**To list AMIs with explicit launch permissions**  
The following command lists the AMIs for which you have explicit launch permissions. This list does not include any AMIs that you own.

```
aws ec2 describe-images --executable-users self
```

**To list AMIs owned by verified providers**  
The following command lists the AMIs owned by [verified providers](sharing-amis.md#verified-ami-provider). Public AMIs owned by verified providers (either Amazon or verified partners) have an aliased owner, which appears as `amazon`, `aws-backup-vault`, or `aws-marketplace` in the account field. This helps you to easily find AMIs from verified providers. Other users can't alias their AMIs.

```
aws ec2 describe-images \
    --owners amazon aws-marketplace \
    --query 'Images[*].[ImageId]' \
    --output text
```

**To list AMIs owned by an account**  
The following command lists the AMIs owned by the specified AWS account.

```
aws ec2 describe-images --owners 123456789012
```

**To scope AMIs using a filter**  
To reduce the number of displayed AMIs, use a filter to list only the types of AMIs that interest you. For example, use the following filter to display only EBS-backed AMIs.

```
--filters "Name=root-device-type,Values=ebs"
```

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#### [ PowerShell ]

Use the [Get-EC2Image](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/powershell/latest/reference/items/Get-EC2Image.html) cmdlet (Tools for Windows PowerShell) to list AMIs. You can scope the list to the types of AMIs that interest you, as shown in the following examples.

**To list all public AMIs**  
The following command lists all public AMIs, including any public AMIs that you own.

```
Get-EC2Image -ExecutableUser all
```

**To list AMIs with explicit launch permissions**  
The following command lists the AMIs for which you have explicit launch permissions. This list does not include any AMIs that you own.

```
Get-EC2Image -ExecutableUser self
```

**To list AMIs owned by verified providers**  
The following command lists the AMIs owned by [verified providers](sharing-amis.md#verified-ami-provider). Public AMIs owned by verified providers (either Amazon or verified partners) have an aliased owner, which appears as `amazon`, `aws-backup-vault`, or `aws-marketplace` in the account field. This helps you to easily find AMIs from verified providers. Other users can't alias their AMIs.

```
Get-EC2Image -Owner amazon aws-marketplace
```

**To list AMIs owned by an account**  
The following command lists the AMIs owned by the specified AWS account.

```
Get-EC2Image -Owner 123456789012
```

**To scope AMIs using a filter**  
To reduce the number of displayed AMIs, use a filter to list only the types of AMIs that interest you. For example, use the following filter to display only EBS-backed AMIs.

```
-Filter @{Name="root-device-type"; Values="ebs"}
```

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