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Example Amazon ECS task definitions - Amazon Elastic Container Service
Webserversplunk log driverfluentd log drivergelf log driverWorkloads on external instancesAmazon ECR image and task definition IAM roleEntrypoint with commandContainer dependencyVolumes in task definitionsWindows sample task definitions

Example Amazon ECS task definitions

You can copy the examples and snippets to start creating your own task definitions.

You can copy the examples, and then paste them when you use the Configure via JSON option in the console. Make sure to customize the examples, such as using your account ID. You can include the snippets in your task definition JSON. For more information, see Creating an Amazon ECS task definition using the console and Amazon ECS task definition parameters for Fargate.

For more task definition examples, see AWS Sample Task Definitions on GitHub.

Webserver

The following is an example task definition using the Linux containers on Fargate that sets up a web server:

{
   "containerDefinitions": [ 
      { 
         "command": [
            "/bin/sh -c \"echo '  Amazon ECS Sample App   
 
Amazon ECS Sample App
 
Congratulations!
 
Your application is now running on a container in Amazon ECS.
 
' >  /usr/local/apache2/htdocs/index.html && httpd-foreground\""
         ],
         "entryPoint": [
            "sh",
            "-c"
         ],
         "essential": true,
         "image": "public.ecr.aws/docker/library/httpd:2.4",
         "logConfiguration": { 
            "logDriver": "awslogs",
            "options": { 
               "awslogs-group" : "/ecs/fargate-task-definition",
               "awslogs-region": "us-east-1",
               "awslogs-stream-prefix": "ecs"
            }
         },
         "name": "sample-fargate-app",
         "portMappings": [ 
            { 
               "containerPort": 80,
               "hostPort": 80,
               "protocol": "tcp"
            }
         ]
      }
   ],
   "cpu": "256",
   "executionRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::012345678910:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole",
   "family": "fargate-task-definition",
   "memory": "512",
   "networkMode": "awsvpc",
   "runtimePlatform": {
        "operatingSystemFamily": "LINUX"
    },
   "requiresCompatibilities": [ 
       "FARGATE" 
    ]
}

The following is an example task definition using the Windows containers on Fargate that sets up a web server:

{
    "containerDefinitions": [
        {
            "command": ["New-Item -Path C:\\inetpub\\wwwroot\\index.html -Type file -Value '  Amazon ECS Sample App   
 
Amazon ECS Sample App
 
Congratulations!
 
Your application is now running on a container in Amazon ECS.
'; C:\\ServiceMonitor.exe w3svc"],
            "entryPoint": [
                "powershell",
                "-Command"
            ],
            "essential": true,
            "cpu": 2048,
            "memory": 4096,
            "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis:windowsservercore-ltsc2019",
            "name": "sample_windows_app",
            "portMappings": [
                {
                    "hostPort": 80,
                    "containerPort": 80,
                    "protocol": "tcp"
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "memory": "4096",
    "cpu": "2048",
    "networkMode": "awsvpc",
    "family": "windows-simple-iis-2019-core",
    "executionRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::012345678910:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole",
    "runtimePlatform": {"operatingSystemFamily": "WINDOWS_SERVER_2019_CORE"},
    "requiresCompatibilities": ["FARGATE"]
}

splunk log driver

The following snippet demonstrates how to use the splunk log driver in a task definition that sends the logs to a remote service. The Splunk token parameter is specified as a secret option because it can be treated as sensitive data. For more information, see Pass sensitive data to an Amazon ECS container.

"containerDefinitions": [{
		"logConfiguration": {
			"logDriver": "splunk",
			"options": {
				"splunk-url": "https://cloud.splunk.com:8080",
				"tag": "tag_name",
			},
			"secretOptions": [{
				"name": "splunk-token",
				"valueFrom": "arn:aws:secretsmanager:region:aws_account_id:secret:splunk-token-KnrBkD"
}],

fluentd log driver

The following snippet demonstrates how to use the fluentd log driver in a task definition that sends the logs to a remote service. The fluentd-address value is specified as a secret option as it may be treated as sensitive data. For more information, see Pass sensitive data to an Amazon ECS container.

"containerDefinitions": [{
	"logConfiguration": {
		"logDriver": "fluentd",
		"options": {
			"tag": "fluentd demo"
		},
		"secretOptions": [{
			"name": "fluentd-address",
			"valueFrom": "arn:aws:secretsmanager:region:aws_account_id:secret:fluentd-address-KnrBkD"
		}]
	},
	"entryPoint": [],
	"portMappings": [{
             "hostPort": 80,
             "protocol": "tcp",
             "containerPort": 80
             },
             {
		"hostPort": 24224,
		"protocol": "tcp",
		"containerPort": 24224
	}]
}],

gelf log driver

The following snippet demonstrates how to use the gelf log driver in a task definition that sends the logs to a remote host running Logstash that takes Gelf logs as an input. For more information, see logConfiguration.

"containerDefinitions": [{
	"logConfiguration": {
		"logDriver": "gelf",
		"options": {
			"gelf-address": "udp://logstash-service-address:5000",
			"tag": "gelf task demo"
		}
	},
	"entryPoint": [],
	"portMappings": [{
			"hostPort": 5000,
			"protocol": "udp",
			"containerPort": 5000
		},
		{
			"hostPort": 5000,
			"protocol": "tcp",
			"containerPort": 5000
		}
	]
}],

Workloads on external instances

When registering an Amazon ECS task definition, use the requiresCompatibilities parameter and specify EXTERNAL which validates that the task definition is compatible to use when running Amazon ECS workloads on your external instances. If you use the console for registering a task definition, you must use the JSON editor. For more information, see Creating an Amazon ECS task definition using the console.

Important

If your tasks require a task execution IAM role, make sure that it's specified in the task definition.

When you deploy your workload, use the EXTERNAL launch type when creating your service or running your standalone task.

The following is an example task definition.

Linux
{
	"requiresCompatibilities": [
		"EXTERNAL"
	],
	"containerDefinitions": [{
		"name": "nginx",
		"image": "public.ecr.aws/nginx/nginx:latest",
		"memory": 256,
		"cpu": 256,
		"essential": true,
		"portMappings": [{
			"containerPort": 80,
			"hostPort": 8080,
			"protocol": "tcp"
		}]
	}],
	"networkMode": "bridge",
	"family": "nginx"
}
Windows
{
	"requiresCompatibilities": [
		"EXTERNAL"
	],
	"containerDefinitions": [{
		"name": "windows-container",
		"image": "mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis:windowsservercore-ltsc2019",
		"memory": 256,
		"cpu": 512,
		"essential": true,
		"portMappings": [{
			"containerPort": 80,
			"hostPort": 8080,
			"protocol": "tcp"
		}]
	}],
	"networkMode": "bridge",
	"family": "windows-container"
}

Amazon ECR image and task definition IAM role

The following snippet uses an Amazon ECR image called aws-nodejs-sample with the v1 tag from the 123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com registry. The container in this task inherits IAM permissions from the arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AmazonECSTaskS3BucketRole role. For more information, see Amazon ECS task IAM role.

{
    "containerDefinitions": [
        {
            "name": "sample-app",
            "image": "123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/aws-nodejs-sample:v1",
            "memory": 200,
            "cpu": 10,
            "essential": true
        }
    ],
    "family": "example_task_3",
    "taskRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AmazonECSTaskS3BucketRole"
}

Entrypoint with command

The following snippet demonstrates the syntax for a Docker container that uses an entry point and a command argument. This container pings example.com four times and then exits.

{
    "containerDefinitions": [
        {
            "memory": 32,
            "essential": true,
            "entryPoint": ["ping"],
            "name": "alpine_ping",
            "readonlyRootFilesystem": true,
            "image": "alpine:3.4",
            "command": [
                "-c",
                "4",
                "example.com"
            ],
            "cpu": 16
        }
    ],
    "family": "example_task_2"
}

Container dependency

This snippet demonstrates the syntax for a task definition with multiple containers where container dependency is specified. In the following task definition, the envoy container must reach a healthy status, determined by the required container health check parameters, before the app container will start. For more information, see Container dependency.

{
  "family": "appmesh-gateway",
  "runtimePlatform": {
        "operatingSystemFamily": "LINUX"
  },
  "proxyConfiguration":{
      "type": "APPMESH",
      "containerName": "envoy",
      "properties": [
          {
              "name": "IgnoredUID",
              "value": "1337"
          },
          {
              "name": "ProxyIngressPort",
              "value": "15000"
          },
          {
              "name": "ProxyEgressPort",
              "value": "15001"
          },
          {
              "name": "AppPorts",
              "value": "9080"
          },
          {
              "name": "EgressIgnoredIPs",
              "value": "169.254.170.2,169.254.169.254"
          }
      ]
  },
  "containerDefinitions": [
    {
      "name": "app",
      "image": "application_image",
      "portMappings": [
        {
          "containerPort": 9080,
          "hostPort": 9080,
          "protocol": "tcp"
        }
      ],
      "essential": true,
      "dependsOn": [
        {
          "containerName": "envoy",
          "condition": "HEALTHY"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "envoy",
      "image": "840364872350.dkr.ecr.region-code.amazonaws.com/aws-appmesh-envoy:v1.15.1.0-prod",
      "essential": true,
      "environment": [
        {
          "name": "APPMESH_VIRTUAL_NODE_NAME",
          "value": "mesh/meshName/virtualNode/virtualNodeName"
        },
        {
          "name": "ENVOY_LOG_LEVEL",
          "value": "info"
        }
      ],
      "healthCheck": {
        "command": [
          "CMD-SHELL",
          "echo hello"
        ],
        "interval": 5,
        "timeout": 2,
        "retries": 3
      }    
    }
  ],
  "executionRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/ecsTaskExecutionRole",
  "networkMode": "awsvpc"
}

Volumes in task definitions

Use the following to understand how to specify volumes in tasks.

Windows sample task definitions

The following is a sample task definition to help you get started with Windows containers on Amazon ECS.

Example Amazon ECS Console Sample Application for Windows

The following task definition is the Amazon ECS console sample application that is produced in the first-run wizard for Amazon ECS; it has been ported to use the microsoft/iis Windows container image.

{
  "family": "windows-simple-iis",
  "containerDefinitions": [
    {
      "name": "windows_sample_app",
      "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis",
      "cpu": 1024,
      "entryPoint":["powershell", "-Command"],
      "command":["New-Item -Path C:\\inetpub\\wwwroot\\index.html -Type file -Value '  Amazon ECS Sample App   
 
Amazon ECS Sample App
 
Congratulations!
 
Your application is now running on a container in Amazon ECS.
'; C:\\ServiceMonitor.exe w3svc"],
      "portMappings": [
        {
          "protocol": "tcp",
          "containerPort": 80
        }
      ],
      "memory": 1024,
      "essential": true
    }
  ],
  "networkMode": "awsvpc",
  "memory": "1024",
  "cpu": "1024"
}