AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner / EC2 - Elastic Compute Cloud

EC2 Instance Connect

🔷 What It Is

EC2 Instance Connect is a browser-based way to SSH into your instance — no key management needed. It generates a temporary key behind the scenes and logs you in instantly.

⚙️ Key Features

  • Browser-based → No terminal needed

  • No key management → Temporary key auto-generated per session

  • Best on Amazon Linux 2 → Native support

  • Still SSH under the hood → Uses port 22, just like regular SSH

  • One-click access → Connect instantly, no setup

🔄 How It Works

  • Go to EC2 Dashboard

  • Select your instance (My First Instance)

  • Click Connect

  • Choose EC2 Instance Connect and Click Connect (Default)

  • AWS generates a temporary key

  • Browser terminal opens instantly

👉 Run commands

whoami
ping google.com

  • Beginner-friendly (no SSH confusion)

  • Quick troubleshooting

  • Access from any device, anywhere

  • Temporary testing environments

  • No .pem key needed

  • Still requires port 22 (SSH) open

  • Default username:

    • 🐧 Amazon Linux → ec2-user

  • Not supported on all AMIs

If it fails:

  • Check Security Group

  • Allow:

    • Port 22 (SSH)

    • Source: Your IP / Anywhere (for testing)

🔁 Then retry connection