AWS Utilities

Two workflows let you execute commands on AWS EC2 instances — one via AWS Systems Manager (SSM) without opening any ports, and one via traditional SSH.

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aws-ssm-send-command

Execute bash commands on EC2 instances via AWS Systems Manager (SSM) — no SSH keys or open ports required. The instance needs the SSM agent installed (pre-installed on most Amazon Linux and Ubuntu AMIs).

View workflow →

When to use: Running deployment scripts, restarting services, or any automation on EC2 instances without exposing SSH.

jobs:
  deploy:
    uses: clouddrove/github-shared-workflows/.github/workflows/aws-ssm-send-command.yml@master
    with:
      command: |
        cd /opt/myapp
        git pull origin main
        systemctl restart myapp
      working-directory: /opt/myapp
      slack-notification: true
    secrets:
      AWS_REGION: ${{ secrets.AWS_REGION }}
      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
      INSTANCE_ID: ${{ secrets.EC2_INSTANCE_ID }}
      SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}

Input	Required	Description
command	Yes	Bash commands to run on the instance
working-directory	No	Working directory for the command
slack-notification	No	Send Slack notification on completion

IAM requirements: The IAM role used needs ssm:SendCommand and ssm:GetCommandInvocation permissions on the target instance.

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aws-remote-ssh-command

Execute commands on servers via SSH — connects to a server using a private SSH key and runs the specified script, with optional Slack notification on success or failure.

View workflow →

When to use: Deployments or maintenance tasks on servers where SSM is not available, or for non-EC2 servers (e.g., bare-metal, other cloud VMs).

jobs:
  deploy:
    uses: clouddrove/github-shared-workflows/.github/workflows/aws-remote-ssh-command.yml@master
    with:
      port: 22
      command_timeout: 10m
      slack_notification: true
      slack_username: deployment-bot
      script: |
        cd /var/www/myapp
        git pull
        npm install --production
        pm2 restart myapp
    secrets:
      PRIVATE_SSH_KEY: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_SSH_KEY }}
      HOST: ${{ secrets.SERVER_HOST }}
      USERNAME: ${{ secrets.SERVER_USER }}
      SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL }}

Input	Required	Default	Description
port	No	22	SSH port
command_timeout	No	10m	Timeout for the script
script	No	—	Shell commands to run
slack_notification	No	false	Send Slack notification
slack_username	No	—	Username shown in Slack

SSM vs SSH

Prefer aws-ssm-send-command when your instances are on AWS — it requires no open ports and provides a full audit trail in AWS CloudTrail. Use aws-remote-ssh-command for non-AWS servers or instances without the SSM agent.