• The AWS Systems Manager CloudWatch Dashboard will no longer be available after April 30, 2026. Customers can continue to use Amazon CloudWatch console to view, create, and manage their Amazon CloudWatch dashboards, just as they do today. For more information, see [Amazon CloudWatch Dashboard documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/CloudWatch_Dashboards.html). # Creating a Parameter Store parameter using the console You can use the AWS Systems Manager console to create and run `String`, `StringList`, and `SecureString` parameter types. After deleting a parameter, wait for at least 30 seconds to create a parameter with the same name. **Note** Parameters are only available in the AWS Region where they were created. The following procedure walks you through the process of creating a parameter in the Parameter Store console. You can create `String`, `StringList`, and `SecureString` parameter types from the console. **To create a parameter** 1. Open the AWS Systems Manager console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/](https://console.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Parameter Store**. 1. Choose **Create parameter**. 1. In the **Name** box, enter a hierarchy and a name. For example, enter **/Test/helloWorld**. For more information about parameter hierarchies, see [Working with parameter hierarchies in Parameter Store](sysman-paramstore-hierarchies.md). 1. In the **Description** box, type a description that identifies this parameter as a test parameter. 1. For **Parameter tier** choose either **Standard** or **Advanced**. For more information about advanced parameters, see [Managing parameter tiers](parameter-store-advanced-parameters.md). 1. For **Type**, choose **String**, **StringList**, or **SecureString**. + If you choose **String**, the **Data type** field is displayed. If you're creating a parameter to hold the resource ID for an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), select `aws:ec2:image`. Otherwise, keep the default `text` selected. + If you choose **SecureString,** the **KMS Key ID** field is displayed. If you don't provide an AWS Key Management Service AWS KMS key ID, an AWS KMS key Amazon Resource Name (ARN), an alias name, or an alias ARN, then the system uses `alias/aws/ssm`, which is the AWS managed key for Systems Manager. If you don't want to use this key, then you can use a customer managed key. For more information about AWS managed keys and customer managed keys, see [AWS Key Management Service Concepts](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/concepts.html) in the *AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide*. For more information about Parameter Store and AWS KMS encryption, see [How AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store Uses AWS KMS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/services-parameter-store.html). **Important** Parameter Store only supports [symmetric encryption KMS keys](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/symm-asymm-choose-key-spec.html#symmetric-cmks). You can't use an [asymmetric encryption KMS key](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/symmetric-asymmetric.html) to encrypt your parameters. For help determining whether a KMS key is symmetric or asymmetric, see [Identifying symmetric and asymmetric KMS keys](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/find-symm-asymm.html) in the *AWS Key Management Service Developer Guide* + When creating a `SecureString` parameter in the console by using the `key-id` parameter with either a customer managed key alias name or an alias ARN, specify the prefix `alias/` before the alias. Following is an ARN example. ``` arn:aws:kms:us-east-2:123456789012:alias/abcd1234-ab12-cd34-ef56-abcdeEXAMPLE ``` Following is an alias name example. ``` alias/MyAliasName ``` 1. In the **Value** box, type a value. For example, type **This is my first parameter** or **ami-0dbf5ea29aEXAMPLE**. **Note** Parameters can't be referenced or nested in the values of other parameters. You can't include `{{}}` or `{{ssm:parameter-name}}` in a parameter value. If you chose **SecureString**, the value of the parameter is masked by default ("\$1\$1\$1\$1\$1\$1") when you view it later on the parameter **Overview** tab, as shown in the following illlustration. Choose **Show** to display the parameter value. ![\[A SecureString parameter's value is masked with the option to display the value.\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/images/ps-overview-show-secstring.png) 1. (Optional) In the **Tags** area, apply one or more tag key-value pairs to the parameter. Tags are optional metadata that you assign to a resource. Tags allow you to categorize a resource in different ways, such as by purpose, owner, or environment. For example, you might want to tag a Systems Manager parameter to identify the type of resource to which it applies, the environment, or the type of configuration data referenced by the parameter. In this case, you could specify the following key-value pairs: + `Key=Resource,Value=S3bucket` + `Key=OS,Value=Windows` + `Key=ParameterType,Value=LicenseKey` 1. Choose **Create parameter**. 1. In the parameters list, choose the name of the parameter you just created. Verify the details on the **Overview** tab. If you created a `SecureString` parameter, choose **Show** to view the unencrypted value. **Note** You can’t change an advanced parameter to a standard parameter. If you no longer need an advanced parameter, or if you no longer want to incur charges for an advanced parameter, delete it and recreate it as a new standard parameter. **Note** You can't change the type of an existing parameter (for example, from `String` to `SecureString`) using the console. To change a parameter's type, you must use the AWS CLI or s with the `--overwrite` option. For more information, see [Creating a Parameter Store parameter using the AWS CLI](param-create-cli.md).