What credentials and region settings are required?

Use a least-privilege RAM user or role. Credentials can come from Alibaba Cloud environment variables or `~/.alibabacloud/credentials`; requests such as `DescribeInstances` must also include `RegionId` and use the appropriate public or VPC endpoint.

Can it inventory ECS instances across multiple regions?

Yes. The provided workflow discovers regions with `DescribeRegions`, lists instances per region, and supports TSV/JSON output plus summaries by region, status, instance type, VPC, or security group.

Can it execute commands and collect monitoring data from an instance?

Yes. Included scripts query CPU, memory, and network metrics through CMS, or submit a Cloud Assistant `RunCommand`, poll for completion, decode stdout, and save normalized JSON evidence. Remote commands require a running instance with the Cloud Assistant agent online.

Coding

Alibaba Cloud Compute ECS

Manage and inspect Alibaba Cloud ECS resources through OpenAPI and Python SDK workflows.

What it does

Manage Alibaba Cloud ECS resources through RPC OpenAPI calls using the Python SDK or OpenAPI Explorer. List and summarize instances across regions, control instance lifecycle, and work with disks, snapshots, images, security groups, key pairs, ENIs, and tags. Included scripts query CPU, memory, and network usage or run Cloud Assistant commands, with evidence saved under the designated output directory.

When to use it

Cross-region ECS inventory
Instance lifecycle automation
CPU, memory, and network usage checks
Cloud Assistant remote command execution

The skill document

Category: service

Elastic Compute Service (ECS)

Validation

mkdir -p output/alicloud-compute-ecs
python -m py_compile skills/compute/ecs/alicloud-compute-ecs/scripts/list_instances_all_regions.py
python -m py_compile skills/compute/ecs/alicloud-compute-ecs/scripts/query_instance_usage.py
python -m py_compile skills/compute/ecs/alicloud-compute-ecs/scripts/run_remote_command.py
echo "py_compile_ok" > output/alicloud-compute-ecs/validate.txt

Pass criteria: command exits 0 and output/alicloud-compute-ecs/validate.txt is generated.

Output And Evidence

Save list/summarize outputs under output/alicloud-compute-ecs/.
Keep command arguments and region scope in each evidence file.

Use Alibaba Cloud OpenAPI (RPC) with official SDKs or OpenAPI Explorer to manage ECS resources. Prefer the Python SDK for all examples and execution.

Prerequisites

Prepare AccessKey (RAM user/role with least privilege).
Choose the correct region and endpoint (public/VPC).
ECS OpenAPI is RPC style; prefer SDK or OpenAPI Explorer to avoid manual signing.

API behavior notes (from ECS docs)

Most list/describe APIs support pagination via PageNumber + PageSize or NextToken + MaxResults.
DescribeInstances returns an empty list if the RAM user/role lacks permissions; use DryRun to validate permissions.
For DescribeInstances, NextToken + MaxResults is the recommended paged query pattern; use the returned NextToken to fetch subsequent pages.
DescribeInstances requires RegionId in the request even if the client has a region set.
Filters are ANDed; set only the filters you need.

Workflow

Confirm region, resource identifiers, and desired action.
Find API group and exact operation name in references/api_overview.md.
Call API with Python SDK (preferred) or OpenAPI Explorer.
Verify results with describe/list APIs.
If you need repeatable inventory or summaries, use scripts/ and write outputs under output/alicloud-compute-ecs/.

SDK priority

Python SDK (preferred)
OpenAPI Explorer
Other SDKs (only if Python is not feasible)

Python SDK quickstart (list instances)

Virtual environment is recommended (avoid PEP 668 system install restrictions).

python3 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install alibabacloud_ecs20140526 alibabacloud_tea_openapi alibabacloud_credentials

from alibabacloud_ecs20140526.client import Client as Ecs20140526Client
from alibabacloud_ecs20140526 import models as ecs_models
from alibabacloud_tea_openapi import models as open_api_models


def create_client(region_id: str) -> Ecs20140526Client:
    config = open_api_models.Config(
        # Use env vars or shared config files per AccessKey priority.
        region_id=region_id,
        endpoint=f"ecs.{region_id}.aliyuncs.com",
    )
    return Ecs20140526Client(config)


def list_instances(region_id: str):
    client = create_client(region_id)
    resp = client.describe_instances(ecs_models.DescribeInstancesRequest(
        region_id=region_id,
        page_number=1,
        page_size=50,
    ))
    for inst in resp.body.instances.instance:
        print(inst.instance_id, inst.instance_name, inst.instance_type, inst.status)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    list_instances("cn-hangzhou")

Python SDK scripts (recommended for inventory)

List all instances across regions (TSV/JSON): scripts/list_instances_all_regions.py
Query resource usage (CPU/Memory/Network) for one instance: scripts/query_instance_usage.py
Run remote commands via Cloud Assistant (RunCommand): scripts/run_remote_command.py
Summarize instance specs across regions: scripts/summary_instance_specs.py
Summarize instance counts by region (optional status breakdown): scripts/summary_instances_by_region.py
Summarize instance counts by status: scripts/summary_instances_by_status.py
Summarize instance counts by instance type: scripts/summary_instances_by_instance_type.py
Summarize instance counts by VPC: scripts/summary_instances_by_vpc.py
Summarize instance counts by security group: scripts/summary_instances_by_security_group.py

Python SDK: query one instance resource usage

Install dependencies (add CMS SDK):

python -m pip install alibabacloud_ecs20140526 alibabacloud_cms20190101 alibabacloud_tea_openapi alibabacloud_credentials

Example (last 1 hour, 5-minute period):

python skills/compute/ecs/alicloud-compute-ecs/scripts/query_instance_usage.py \
  --instance-id i-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --region-id cn-shanghai \
  --hours 1 \
  --period 300 \
  --summary-only \
  --output output/alicloud-compute-ecs/ecs-usage-i-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-1h.json

Recommended default metrics:

CPUUtilization
memory_usedutilization
InternetInRate, InternetOutRate
IntranetInRate, IntranetOutRate

Python SDK: run remote command on one ECS instance

Example (ps -ef):

python skills/compute/ecs/alicloud-compute-ecs/scripts/run_remote_command.py \
  --instance-id i-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx \
  --region-id cn-shanghai \
  --command 'ps -ef' \
  --output output/alicloud-compute-ecs/runcommand-i-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-ps-ef.json

Behavior:

Submit RunCommand with RunShellScript.
Poll DescribeInvocationResults until final status.
Decode base64 stdout and save normalized JSON evidence.

Python SDK: list instances for all regions

from alibabacloud_ecs20140526.client import Client as Ecs20140526Client
from alibabacloud_ecs20140526 import models as ecs_models
from alibabacloud_tea_openapi import models as open_api_models


def create_client(region_id: str) -> Ecs20140526Client:
    config = open_api_models.Config(
        region_id=region_id,
        endpoint=f"ecs.{region_id}.aliyuncs.com",
    )
    return Ecs20140526Client(config)


def list_regions() -> list[str]:
    client = create_client("cn-hangzhou")
    resp = client.describe_regions(ecs_models.DescribeRegionsRequest())
    return [r.region_id for r in resp.body.regions.region]


def list_instances_all_regions():
    for region_id in list_regions():
        client = create_client(region_id)
        req = ecs_models.DescribeInstancesRequest(
            region_id=region_id,
            page_number=1,
            page_size=100,
        )
        resp = client.describe_instances(req)
        print(f"== {region_id} ({resp.body.total_count}) ==")
        for inst in resp.body.instances.instance:
            print(inst.instance_id, inst.instance_name, inst.instance_type, inst.status)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    list_instances_all_regions()

Python SDK: paginated instance listing

from alibabacloud_ecs20140526.client import Client as Ecs20140526Client
from alibabacloud_ecs20140526 import models as ecs_models
from alibabacloud_tea_openapi import models as open_api_models


def create_client(region_id: str) -> Ecs20140526Client:
    config = open_api_models.Config(
        region_id=region_id,
        endpoint=f"ecs.{region_id}.aliyuncs.com",
    )
    return Ecs20140526Client(config)


def list_instances_paged(region_id: str):
    client = create_client(region_id)
    page_number = 1
    page_size = 100
    while True:
        resp = client.describe_instances(ecs_models.DescribeInstancesRequest(
            region_id=region_id,
            page_number=page_number,
            page_size=page_size,
        ))
        for inst in resp.body.instances.instance:
            print(inst.instance_id, inst.instance_name, inst.instance_type, inst.status)
        total = resp.body.total_count
        if page_number * page_size >= total:
            break
        page_number += 1


if __name__ == "__main__":
    list_instances_paged("cn-hangzhou")

Python SDK: list instance types and pricing inputs

from alibabacloud_ecs20140526.client import Client as Ecs20140526Client
from alibabacloud_ecs20140526 import models as ecs_models
from alibabacloud_tea_openapi import models as open_api_models


def create_client(region_id: str) -> Ecs20140526Client:
    config = open_api_models.Config(
        region_id=region_id,
        endpoint=f"ecs.{region_id}.aliyuncs.com",
    )
    return Ecs20140526Client(config)


def list_types(region_id: str, zone_id: str | None = None, instance_type_family: str | None = None):
    client = create_client(region_id)
    req = ecs_models.DescribeInstanceTypesRequest(
        zone_id=zone_id,
        instance_type_family=instance_type_family,
    )
    resp = client.describe_instance_types(req)
    for t in resp.body.instance_types.instance_type:
        print(t.instance_type_id, t.cpu_core_count, t.memory_size)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    list_types("cn-hangzhou", "cn-hangzhou-k")

Common operation mapping

Instance lifecycle: RunInstances, CreateInstance, StartInstance(s), StopInstance(s), RebootInstance(s), DeleteInstance(s)
Instance details: DescribeInstances, DescribeInstanceStatus, DescribeInstanceAttribute
Spec changes: ModifyInstanceSpec, ModifyPrepayInstanceSpec, DescribeResourcesModification
System disk changes: ReplaceSystemDisk, ResetDisk
Data disks: CreateDisk, AttachDisk, DetachDisk, ResizeDisk, DescribeDisks
Snapshots: CreateSnapshot, CopySnapshot, DescribeSnapshots, DeleteSnapshot
Images: CreateImage, CopyImage, DescribeImages, DeleteImage, ModifyImageAttribute
Security groups: CreateSecurityGroup, AuthorizeSecurityGroup, RevokeSecurityGroup, DescribeSecurityGroupAttribute
Key pairs: CreateKeyPair, ImportKeyPair, DescribeKeyPairs, DeleteKeyPairs
ENI: CreateNetworkInterface, AttachNetworkInterface, DetachNetworkInterface, DescribeNetworkInterfaces
Tags: TagResources, UntagResources, ListTagResources
Monitoring/events: DescribeInstancesFullStatus, DescribeInstanceHistoryEvents, DescribeInstanceMonitorData

Query patterns

List instances: DescribeInstances (supports filters such as VpcId, VSwitchId, ZoneId, SecurityGroupId, InstanceIds)
Count instances: DescribeInstances with PageSize=1 and read TotalCount
Region discovery: DescribeRegions then loop all regions for inventory

Cloud Assistant (RunCommand) tips

Instances must be in Running state.
Ensure the Cloud Assistant agent is installed and online.
Use shell for Linux, PowerShell for Windows.
Poll results via DescribeInvocations and DescribeInvocationResults.

See references/command-assistant.md.

AccessKey priority (must follow, align with README)

Environment variables: ALICLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_ID / ALICLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET / ALICLOUD_REGION_ID Region policy: ALICLOUD_REGION_ID is an optional default. If unset, decide the most reasonable region for the task; if unclear, ask the user.
Shared config file: ~/.alibabacloud/credentials (region still from env)

Auth setup (README-aligned)

Environment variables:

export ALICLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-ak"
export ALICLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET="your-sk"
export ALICLOUD_REGION_ID="cn-hangzhou"

Also supported by the Alibaba Cloud SDKs:

export ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_ID="your-ak"
export ALIBABA_CLOUD_ACCESS_KEY_SECRET="your-sk"

Shared config file:

~/.alibabacloud/credentials

[default]
type = access_key
access_key_id = your-ak
access_key_secret = your-sk

API discovery

Product code: Ecs
Default API version: 2014-05-26
Use OpenAPI metadata endpoints to list APIs and get schemas (see references).

Output policy

If you need to save responses or generated artifacts, write them under: output/alicloud-compute-ecs/

Resource usage query evidence example: output/alicloud-compute-ecs/ecs-usage--.json

Remote command evidence example: output/alicloud-compute-ecs/runcommand--.json

References

API overview: references/api_overview.md
Endpoints: references/endpoints.md
Cloud Assistant: references/command-assistant.md
DescribeInstances: references/describe-instances.md
Instances: references/instances.md
Disks: references/disks.md
Snapshots: references/snapshots.md
Images: references/images.md
Security groups: references/security-groups.md
Network interfaces: references/network-interfaces.md
Key pairs: references/keypairs.md
Tags: references/tags.md
Monitoring/events: references/monitoring-events.md
Sources: references/sources.md

Questions people ask

What credentials and region settings are required?: Use a least-privilege RAM user or role. Credentials can come from Alibaba Cloud environment variables or `~/.alibabacloud/credentials`; requests such as `DescribeInstances` must also include `RegionId` and use the appropriate public or VPC endpoint.
Can it inventory ECS instances across multiple regions?: Yes. The provided workflow discovers regions with `DescribeRegions`, lists instances per region, and supports TSV/JSON output plus summaries by region, status, instance type, VPC, or security group.
Can it execute commands and collect monitoring data from an instance?: Yes. Included scripts query CPU, memory, and network metrics through CMS, or submit a Cloud Assistant `RunCommand`, poll for completion, decode stdout, and save normalized JSON evidence. Remote commands require a running instance with the Cloud Assistant agent online.