ec2connect

Table of Contents

bmc ec2connect connects to a running EC2 instance via SSH or AWS SSM Session Manager.

Usage #

bmc ec2connect                              # Interactive instance picker (type to filter)
bmc ec2connect nginx                        # Filter instances by name/ID/IP first
bmc ec2connect -p TN-Production nginx       # Use a specific profile, then filter
bmc ec2connect -P nginx                     # Force interactive profile picker, then filter
bmc ec2connect -i i-0abc123                 # Connect to a specific instance ID
bmc ec2connect -u ubuntu                    # SSH as a specific user (skips method picker)
bmc ec2connect -k ~/.ssh/mykey.pem          # SSH with a specific identity file (skips method picker)
bmc ec2connect -k ~/.ssh/mykey.pem -u ubuntu  # SSH with key and user (no prompts)

Profile selection #

Every command that talks to AWS shares the same profile flags:

Flag	Behaviour
`-p`, `--profile <NAME>`	Use the named profile. Both `-p NAME` and `-p=NAME` work, and a positional search term (e.g. `nginx`) is kept intact
`-P`, `--pick`	Force the interactive profile picker, ignoring `AWS_PROFILE`
(neither)	Use `AWS_PROFILE` if set, otherwise show the picker

A bare -p with no value is an error (flag needs an argument) — use -P/--pick to force interactive selection.

Instance picker #

When no instance is preselected (via a [search] fragment or -i), BMC shows the interactive instance table. Start typing to filter the list in real time — matching is case-insensitive across the instance ID, name, and private/public IPs, so it works even when those columns are hidden by ec2.columns. Arrow keys move the selection, Enter connects to the highlighted instance, and Esc/Ctrl+C cancel. The same picker (and filter) is used by bmc ec2, bmc ec2stopstart, and bmc ec2scheduler.

Connection methods #

Without -u or -k, BMC asks which connection method to use. SSM is listed first, so pressing Enter starts an SSM session.

SSH #

Requires ssh on your PATH. BMC prompts for the SSH user (root, ubuntu, ec2-user, or custom) unless -u is specified.

Use -k/--key to pass an SSH identity file (e.g. a .pem key pair). The path is passed directly to ssh -i — no validation is performed by bmc. Providing -k automatically selects SSH as the connection method.

SSM Session Manager #

Requires:

aws CLI v2
session-manager-plugin

Check with bmc doctor. No SSH keys or open ports needed.

Stopped instances #

If the selected instance is stopped, BMC behaviour depends on ec2.auto_start_stopped in config:

Value	Behaviour
`prompt` (default)	Ask whether to start the instance
`always`	Start automatically without prompting
`never`	Exit with an error

Prerequisites #

bmc doctor    # Check ssh, aws CLI, and session-manager-plugin