Create an EBS volume from an imported snapshot - VM Import/Export
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Create an EBS volume from an imported snapshot

You can create EBS volumes from an EBS snapshot. You can attach an EBS volume to an EC2 instance.

Amazon CLI
To create a volume and attach it to an EC2 instance

  1. Use the describe-import-snapshot-tasks command to determine the ID of the snapshot that was created by the import task.

  2. Use the following create-volume command to create a volume from the snapshot. You must select the Availability Zone of the instance to which you'll attach the volume.

    aws ec2 create-volume \
    --availability-zone us-east-1a \
    --snapshot-id snap-1234567890abcdef0

    The following is example output.

    {
    "AvailabilityZone": "us-east-1a",
    "VolumeId": "vol-1234567890abcdef0",
    "State": "creating",
    "SnapshotId": "snap-1234567890abcdef0"
}

  3. Use the following attach-volume command to attach the EBS volume that you created in the previous step to one of your existing instances.

    aws ec2 attach-volume \
    --volume-id vol-1234567890abcdef0 \
    --instance-id i-1234567890abcdef0 \
    --device /dev/sdf

    The following is example output.

    {
    "AttachTime": "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.000Z",
    "InstanceId": "i-1234567890abcdef0",
    "VolumeId": "vol-1234567890abcdef0",
    "State": "attaching",
    "Device": "/dev/sdf"
}

  4. Mount the attached volume. For more information, see the documentation for the operating system for your instance.

PowerShell
To create a volume and attach it to an EC2 instance

  1. Use the Get-EC2ImportSnapshotTask cmdlet to determine the ID of the snapshot that was created by the import task.

  2. Use the New-EC2Volume cmdlet to create a volume from the snapshot. You must select the Availability Zone of the instance to which you'll attach the volume.

    New-EC2Volume `
    -AvailabilityZone us-east-1a `
    -SnapshotId snap-1234567890abcdef0

    The following is example output.

    Attachments        : {}
AvailabilityZone   : us-east-1a
CreateTime         : 7/15/2025 3:37:56 PM
Encrypted          : False
FastRestored       : False
Iops               : 3000
KmsKeyId           : 
MultiAttachEnabled : False
Operator           : 
OutpostArn         : 
Size               : 41
SnapshotId         : snap-1234567890abcdef0
SseType            : 
State              : creating
Tags               : {}
Throughput         : 125
VolumeId           : vol-1234567890abcdef0
VolumeType         : gp3

  3. Use the Add-EC2Volume cmdlet

    Add-EC2Volume `
    -VolumeId vol-1234567890abcdef0 `
    -InstanceId i-1234567890abcdef0 `
    -Device xvdb

    The following is example output.

    AssociatedResource    : 
AttachTime            : 7/15/2025 3:47:20 PM
DeleteOnTermination   : False
Device                : xvdb
InstanceId            : i-1234567890abcdef0
InstanceOwningService : 
State                 : attaching
VolumeId              : vol-1234567890abcdef0

  4. Mount the attached volume. For more information, see the documentation for the operating system for your instance.