# awslabs/amazon-eks-ami

Packer configuration for building a custom EKS AMI

Repository: https://github.com/awslabs/amazon-eks-ami
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/amazon-eks-ami
Homepage: https://awslabs.github.io/amazon-eks-ami/
Language: Go
License: MIT-0
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-08-25T23:49:48+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 86, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3011, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 14, "gap_med": 7, "n_releases_24m": 86}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2668, forks 1193 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:09.331617+00:00)

## What it is
Packer configuration and build scripts for creating custom Amazon EKS-optimized AMIs, the same configuration AWS uses for official EKS AMIs. It supports building AMIs for specific Kubernetes versions and OS distributions like AL2023.

## Use cases
- build a custom EKS AMI with a specific Kubernetes version
- customize the EKS worker node AMI with additional packages
- reproduce the official EKS-optimized AMI build
- create AL2023 AMIs for EKS node groups
- build GPU-accelerated AMIs for EKS

## When to choose
- you need to customize the EKS node AMI beyond what the official images offer
- you want to bake in security hardening or agents before nodes join the cluster
- you need an AMI for a Kubernetes version or OS combination not published by AWS

## When to avoid
- you can use the official EKS-optimized or Bottlerocket AMIs without customization
- you are not running workloads on Amazon EKS
- you want a general-purpose Packer template unrelated to Kubernetes

## Facets
- artifact type: infra-config
- maturity: active
- function: infrastructure-as-code, deployment, container-orchestration
- domain: infrastructure-as-code, cloud-computing
- platform: cloud
- tags: eks, ami, packer, kubernetes, aws, containers, devops, linux

## Member repositories
- awslabs/amazon-eks-ami (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:09.331617+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:18:13.425451+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/awslabs/amazon-eks-ami (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:09.331617+00:00, sha 63a080d647c6)
  - homepage: https://awslabs.github.io/amazon-eks-ami/ (fetched 2026-08-29T10:00:47.134917+00:00, sha fdaf4308ee9e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.