# Commands action reference
The Commands action allows you to run shell commands in a virtual compute instance. When you run the action, commands specified in the action configuration are run in a separate container. All artifacts that are specified as input artifacts to a CodeBuild action are available inside of the container running the commands. This action allows you to specify commands without first creating a CodeBuild project. For more information, see [ActionDeclaration](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codepipeline/latest/APIReference/API_ActionDeclaration.html) and [OutputArtifact](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codepipeline/latest/APIReference/API_OutputArtifact.html) in the *AWS CodePipeline API Reference*.
**Important**
This action uses CodePipeline managed CodeBuild compute to run commands in a build environment. Running the commands action will incur separate charges in AWS CodeBuild.
**Note**
The Commands action is only available for V2 type pipelines.
**Topics**
+ [Considerations for the Commands action](#action-reference-Commands-considerations)
+ [Service role policy permissions](#action-reference-Commands-policy)
+ [Action type](#action-reference-Commands-type)
+ [Configuration parameters](#action-reference-Commands-config)
+ [Input artifacts](#action-reference-Commands-input)
+ [Output artifacts](#action-reference-Commands-output)
+ [Environment variables](#action-reference-Commands-envvars)
+ [Service role permissions: Commands action](#edit-role-Commands)
+ [Action declaration (example)](#action-reference-Commands-example)
+ [See also](#action-reference-Commands-links)
## Considerations for the Commands action
The following considerations apply for the Commands action.
+ The commands action uses CodeBuild resources similar to the CodeBuild action, while allowing shell environment commands in a virtual compute instance without the need to associate or create a build project.
**Note**
Running the commands action will incur separate charges in AWS CodeBuild.
+ Because the Commands action in CodePipeline uses CodeBuild resources, the builds run by the action will be attributed to the build limits for your account in CodeBuild. Builds run by the Commands action will count toward the concurrent build limits as configured for that account.
+ The timeout for builds with the Commands action is 55 minutes, as based on CodeBuild builds.
+ The compute instance uses an isolated build environment in CodeBuild.
**Note**
Because the isolated build environment is used at the account level, an instance might be reused for another pipeline execution.
+ All formats are supported except multi-line formats. You must use single-line format when entering commands.
+ The commands action is supported for cross-account actions. To add a cross-account commands action, add `actionRoleArn` from your target account in the action declaration.
+ For this action, CodePipeline will assume the pipeline service role and use that role to allow access to resources at runtime. It is recommended to configure the service role so that the permissions are scoped down to the action level.
+ The permissions added to the CodePipeline service role are detailed in [Add permissions to the CodePipeline service role](how-to-custom-role.md#how-to-update-role-new-services) .
+ The permission needed to view logs in the console is detailed in [Permissions required to view compute logs in the console](security-iam-permissions-console-logs.md) .
+ Unlike other actions in CodePipeline, you do not set fields in the action configuration; you set the action configuration fields outside of the action configuration.
## Service role policy permissions
When CodePipeline runs the action, CodePipeline creates a log group using the name of the pipeline as follows. This enables you to scope down permissions to log resources using the pipeline name.
```
/aws/codepipeline/MyPipelineName
```
If you are using an existing service role, to use the Commands action, you will need to add the following permissions for the service role.
+ logs:CreateLogGroup
+ logs:CreateLogStream
+ logs:PutLogEvents
In the service role policy statement, scope down the permissions to the pipeline level as shown in the following example.
```
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"logs:CreateLogGroup",
"logs:CreateLogStream",
"logs:PutLogEvents"
],
"Resource": [
"arn:aws:logs:*:YOUR_AWS_ACCOUNT_ID:log-group:/aws/codepipeline/YOUR_PIPELINE_NAME",
"arn:aws:logs:*:YOUR_AWS_ACCOUNT_ID:log-group:/aws/codepipeline/YOUR_PIPELINE_NAME:*"
]
}
```
To view logs in the console using the action details dialog page, the permission to view logs must be added to the console role. For more information, see the console permissions policy example in [Permissions required to view compute logs in the console](security-iam-permissions-console-logs.md).
## Action type
+ Category: `Compute`
+ Owner: `AWS`
+ Provider: `Commands`
+ Version: `1`
## Configuration parameters
**Commands**
Required: Yes
You can provide shell commands for the `Commands` action to run. In the console, commands are entered on separate lines. In the CLI, commands are entered as separate strings.
Multi-line formats are not supported and will result in an error message. Single-line format must be used for entering commands in the **Commands** field.
The EnvironmentType and ComputeType values match those in CodeBuild. We support a subset of the available types. For more information, see [Build Environment Compute Types](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codebuild/latest/userguide/build-env-ref-compute-types.html).
**EnvironmentType**
Required: No
The OS image for the build environment that supports the Commands action. The following are valid values for build environments:
+ LINUX\$1CONTAINER
+ WINDOWS\$1SERVER\$12022\$1CONTAINER
The selection for **EnvironmentType** will then allow the compute type for that OS in the **ComputeType** field. For more information about the CodeBuild compute types available for this action, see the [Build environment compute modes and types](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codebuild/latest/userguide/build-env-ref-compute-types.html) reference in the CodeBuild User Guide.
If not specified, the compute defaults to the following for the build environment:
+ **Compute type: **BUILD\$1GENERAL1\$1SMALL
+ **Environment type:** LINUX\$1CONTAINER
**ComputeType**
Required: No
Based on the selection for EnvironmentType, the compute type can be provided. The following are available values for compute; however, note that the options available can vary by OS.
+ BUILD\$1GENERAL1\$1SMALL
+ BUILD\$1GENERAL1\$1MEDIUM
+ BUILD\$1GENERAL1\$1LARGE
Some compute types are not compatible with certain environment types. For example, WINDOWS\$1SERVER\$12022\$1CONTAINER is not compatible with BUILD\$1GENERAL1\$1SMALL. Using incompatible combinations causes the action to fail and generates a runtime error.
**outputVariables**
Required: No
Specify the names of the variables in your environment that you want to export. For a reference of CodeBuild environment variables, see [Environment variables in build environments](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codebuild/latest/userguide/build-env-ref-env-vars.html) in the *CodeBuild User Guide*.
**Files**
Required: No
You can provide files that you want to export as output artifacts for the action.
The supported format for files is the same as for CodeBuild file patterns. For example, enter `**/` for all files. For more information, see [Build specification reference for CodeBuild](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codebuild/latest/userguide/build-spec-ref.html#build-spec.artifacts.files) in the *CodeBuild User Guide*.
![\[The Edit action page for a new pipeline with the Commands action\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/codepipeline/latest/userguide/images/commands-edit-screen.png)
**VpcId**
Required: No
The VPC ID for your resources.
**Subnets**
Required: No
The subnets for the VPC. This field is needed when your commands need to connect to resources in a VPC.
**SecurityGroupIds**
Required: No
The security groups for the VPC. This field is needed when your commands need to connect to resources in a VPC.
The following is a JSON example of the action with configuration fields shown for environment and compute type, along with example environment variable.
```
{
"name": "Commands1",
"actionTypeId": {
"category": "Compute",
"owner": "AWS",
"provider": "Commands",
"version": "1"
},
"inputArtifacts": [
{
"name": "SourceArtifact"
}
],
"commands": [
"ls",
"echo hello",
"echo $BEDROCK_TOKEN",
],
"configuration": {
"EnvironmentType": "LINUX_CONTAINER",
"ComputeType": "BUILD_GENERAL1_MEDIUM"
},
"environmentVariables": [
{
"name": "BEDROCK_TOKEN",
"value": "apiTokens:bedrockToken",
"type": "SECRETS_MANAGER"
}
],
"runOrder": 1
}
```
## Input artifacts
+ **Number of artifacts:** `1 to 10`
## Output artifacts
+ **Number of artifacts:** `0 to 1`
## Environment variables
**Key**
The key in a key-value environment variable pair, such as `BEDROCK_TOKEN`.
**Value**
The value for the key-value pair, such as `apiTokens:bedrockToken`. The value can be parameterized with output variables from pipeline actions or pipeline variables.
When using the `SECRETS_MANAGER` type, this value must be the name of a secret you have already stored in AWS Secrets Manager.
**Type**
Specifies the type of use for the environment variable value. The value can be either `PLAINTEXT` or `SECRETS_MANAGER`. If the value is `SECRETS_MANAGER`, provide the Secrets reference in the `EnvironmentVariable` value. When not specified, this defaults to `PLAINTEXT`.
We strongly discourage the use of *plaintext* environment variables to store sensitive values, especially AWS credentials. When you use the CodeBuild console or AWS CLI, *plaintext* environment variables are displayed in plain text. For sensitive values, we recommend that you use the `SECRETS_MANAGER` type instead.
**Note**
When you enter the `name`, `value`, and `type` for your environment variables configuration, especially if the environment variable contains CodePipeline output variable syntax, do not exceed the 1000-character limit for the configuration’s value field. A validation error is returned when this limit is exceeded.
For an example action declaration showing an environment variable, see [Configuration parameters](#action-reference-Commands-config).
**Note**
The `SECRETS_MANAGER` type is only supported for the Commands action.
Secrets referenced in the Commands action will be redacted in the build logs similar to CodeBuild. But pipeline users who have **Edit** access to the pipeline can still potentially access these secret values by modifying the commands.
To use the SecretsManager, you must add the following permissions to your pipeline service role:
```
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"secretsmanager:GetSecretValue"
],
"Resource": [
"SECRET_ARN"
]
}
```
## Service role permissions: Commands action
For Commands support, add the following to your policy statement:
------
#### [ JSON ]
****
```
{
"Version":"2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"logs:CreateLogGroup",
"logs:CreateLogStream",
"logs:PutLogEvents"
],
"Resource": [
"arn:aws:iam::*:role/Service*",
"arn:aws:iam::*:role/Service*"
]
}
]
}
```
------
## Action declaration (example)
------
#### [ YAML ]
```
name: Commands_action
actionTypeId:
category: Compute
owner: AWS
provider: Commands
version: '1'
runOrder: 1
configuration: {}
commands:
- ls
- echo hello
- 'echo pipeline Execution Id is #{codepipeline.PipelineExecutionId}'
outputArtifacts:
- name: BuildArtifact
files:
- **/
inputArtifacts:
- name: SourceArtifact
outputVariables:
- AWS_DEFAULT_REGION
region: us-east-1
namespace: compute
```
------
#### [ JSON ]
```
{
"name": "Commands_action",
"actionTypeId": {
"category": "Compute",
"owner": "AWS",
"provider": "Commands",
"version": "1"
},
"runOrder": 1,
"configuration": {},
"commands": [
"ls",
"echo hello",
"echo pipeline Execution Id is #{codepipeline.PipelineExecutionId}"
],
"outputArtifacts": [
{
"name": "BuildArtifact",
"files": [
"**/"
]
}
],
"inputArtifacts": [
{
"name": "SourceArtifact"
}
],
"outputVariables": [
"AWS_DEFAULT_REGION"
],
"region": "us-east-1",
"namespace": "compute"
}
```
------
## See also
The following related resources can help you as you work with this action.
+ [Tutorial: Create a pipeline that runs commands with compute (V2 type)](tutorials-commands.md) – This tutorial provides a sample pipeline with the Commands action.