User-Data Scripts Is Not Running on My Custom Ami, But Working in Standard Amazon Linux

User-data scripts is not running on my custom AMI, but working in standard Amazon linux

User_data is run only at the first start up. As your image is a custom one, I suppose it have already been started once and so user_data is desactivated.

For windows, it can be done by checking a box in Ec2 Services Properties. I'm looking at the moment how to do that in an automated way at the end of the custom image creation.

For linux, I suppose the mechanism is the same, and user_data needs to be re-activated on your custom image.

The #cloud-boothook make it works because it changes the script from a user_data mechanism to a cloud-boothook one that runs on each start.

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EDIT :

Here is the code to reactivate start on windows using powershell:

$configFile = "C:\\Program Files\\Amazon\\Ec2ConfigService\\Settings\\Config.xml"
[xml] $xdoc = get-content $configFile
$xdoc.SelectNodes("//Plugin") |?{ $_.Name -eq "Ec2HandleUserData"} |%{ $_.State = "Enabled" }
$xdoc.SelectNodes("//Plugin") |?{ $_.Name -eq "Ec2SetComputerName"} |%{ $_.State = "Enabled" }
$xdoc.OuterXml | Out-File -Encoding UTF8 $configFile

$configFile = "C:\\Program Files\\Amazon\\Ec2ConfigService\\Settings\\BundleConfig.xml"
[xml] $xdoc = get-content $configFile
$xdoc.SelectNodes("//Property") |?{ $_.Name -eq "AutoSysprep"} |%{ $_.Value = "Yes" }
$xdoc.OuterXml | Out-File -Encoding UTF8 $configFile

(I know the question focus linux, but it could help others ...)

AWS EC2 User Data Not Running, Node Not Saved for AMIs

User data shell scripts must start with the #! characters and the path to the interpreter you want to read the script (commonly /bin/bash).

So for this script works add the following at beginning:

#!/bin/bash

Also you need to source the NVM files to ensure that variables are available within the current shell

To works you script will be like the following one:

#!/bin/bash
apt-get -y update
cat > /tmp/subscript.sh << EOF
# START UBUNTU USERSPACE
echo "Setting up NodeJS Environment"
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.34.0/install.sh | bash
echo 'export NVM_DIR="/home/ubuntu/.nvm"' >> /home/ubuntu/.bashrc
echo '[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && . "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"  # This loads nvm' >> /home/ubuntu/.bashrc
# Dot source the files to ensure that variables are available within the current shell
. /home/ubuntu/.nvm/nvm.sh
. /home/ubuntu/.profile
. /home/ubuntu/.bashrc
# Install NVM, NPM, Node.JS & Grunt
nvm install node
sudo yum install git -y
git clone https://github.com/justincervantes/socketio-server-demo.git
cd socketio-server-demo
node index.ts
EOF

chown ubuntu:ubuntu /tmp/subscript.sh && chmod a+x /tmp/subscript.sh
sleep 1; su - ubuntu -c "/tmp/subscript.sh"

Run userdata on custom EC2 AMI created from centos 7

To create custom AMIs, you can use Packer.

It has the advantages to define the build of your custom AMI as code (Infrastructure as Code). Userdata will be able to run in that custom AMI.

Also have a look at an existing issue on SO for other solutions.

Amazon EC2 custom AMI not running bootstrap (user-data)

Update 4/15/2017: For EC2Launch and Windows Server 2016 AMIs

Per AWS documentation for EC2Launch, Windows Server 2016 users can continue using the persist tags introduced in EC2Config 2.1.10:

For EC2Config version 2.1.10 and later, or for EC2Launch, you can use
true in the user data to enable the plug-in after
user data execution.

User data example:

<powershell>
    insert script here 
</powershell> 
<persist>true</persist>

For subsequent boots:

Windows Server 2016 users must additionally enable configure and enable EC2Launch instead of EC2Config. EC2Config was deprecated on Windows Server 2016 AMIs in favor of EC2Launch.

Run the following powershell to schedule a Windows Task that will run the user data on next boot:

C:\ProgramData\Amazon\EC2-Windows\Launch\Scripts\InitializeInstance.ps1 –Schedule

By design, this task is disabled after it is run for the first time. However, using the persist tag causes Invoke-UserData to schedule a separate task via Register-FunctionScheduler, to persist your user data on subsequent boots. You can see this for yourself at C:\ProgramData\Amazon\EC2-Windows\Launch\Module\Scripts\Invoke-Userdata.ps1.

Further troubleshooting:

If you're having additional issues with your user data scripts, you can find the user data execution logs at C:\ProgramData\Amazon\EC2-Windows\Launch\Log\UserdataExecution.log for instances sourced from the WS 2016 base AMI.

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Original Answer: For EC2Config and older versions of Windows Server

User data execution is automatically disabled after the initial boot. When you created your image, it is probable that execution had already been disabled. This is configurable manually within C:\Program Files\Amazon\Ec2ConfigService\Settings\Config.xml.

The documentation for "Configuring a Windows Instance Using the EC2Config Service" suggests several options:

• Programmatically create a scheduled task to run at system start using schtasks.exe /Create, and point the scheduled task to the user data script (or another script) at C:\Program Files\Amazon\Ec2ConfigServer\Scripts\UserScript.ps1.

• Programmatically enable the user data plug-in in Config.xml.

Example, from the documentation:

<powershell>
$EC2SettingsFile="C:\Program Files\Amazon\Ec2ConfigService\Settings\Config.xml"
$xml = [xml](get-content $EC2SettingsFile)
$xmlElement = $xml.get_DocumentElement()
$xmlElementToModify = $xmlElement.Plugins

foreach ($element in $xmlElementToModify.Plugin)
{
    if ($element.name -eq "Ec2SetPassword")
    {
        $element.State="Enabled"
    }
    elseif ($element.name -eq "Ec2HandleUserData")
    {
        $element.State="Enabled"
    }
}
$xml.Save($EC2SettingsFile)
</powershell>

• Starting with EC2Config version 2.1.10, you can use <persist>true</persist> to enable the plug-in after user data execution.

Example, from the documentation:

<powershell>
    insert script here
</powershell>
<persist>true</persist>

AWS EC2 User Data doesn't work after modifying it

To quote User data and shell scripts:

By default, user data scripts and cloud-init directives run only during the boot cycle when you first launch an instance. You can update your configuration to ensure that your user data scripts and cloud-init directives run every time you restart your instance. For more information, see How can I execute user data with every restart of my EC2 instance? in the AWS Knowledge Center.

AWS - UserData is not executed for instance created from custom image

User data scripts only run once when the instance is launched (created not started up). They are then disabled on the instance. So when when you grab an AMI from that instance and launch a new one, user data has already been disabled.

Enable UserData

To allow it run again when you launch a new one from an AMI you created you must turn user data support back on at the EC2ConfigService Settings utility by checking the UserData box (before grabbing the AMI).

Persist Enabling UserData

Now after this if you reboot the instance again then the UserData will run and again disable itself. To disable this functionality too you will need to add <persist>true</persist> to the instance's UserData which will keep the checkbox in the same state (on if you turn it on).

More info:

• http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/WindowsGuide/ec2-instance-metadata.html
• http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/user-data.html
• User-data scripts is not running on my custom AMI, but working in standard Amazon linux
• Amazon EC2 custom AMI not running bootstrap (user-data)

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