Choose an Amazon Lightsail instance image - Amazon Lightsail

Choose an Amazon Lightsail instance image

Lightsail provides several options for you to create your virtual private server. This topic helps you decide which operating system (OS), application, or development stack is right for your project. We organized the applications by functional area (such as CMS and ecommerce).

Compare platforms

Lightsail has two platforms to choose from: Linux/Unix-based or Windows-based platforms. If you already have an application in mind, you probably already have an OS platform picked out. You can choose one of the following options to get started:

Compare operating systems

Lightsail has several operating systems to choose from.

Windows Server 2022

Lightsail running Windows Server is a fast and dependable environment for deploying applications using the Microsoft Web Platform. With Lightsail, you can run any compatible Windows-based solution on the high-performance, reliable, cost-effective AWS Cloud computing platform. Common Windows use cases include Enterprise Windows-based application hosting, website and web service hosting, data processing, distributed testing, ASP.NET application hosting, and any other application requiring Windows software. For end of support information, see the Microsoft website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the Windows Server 2022 image

Windows Server 2019

Lightsail running Windows Server is a fast and dependable environment for deploying applications using the Microsoft Web Platform. Lightsail enables you to run any compatible Windows-based solution on the high-performance, reliable, cost-effective AWS cloud computing platform. Common Windows use cases include Enterprise Windows-based application hosting, website and web service hosting, data processing, distributed testing, ASP.NET application hosting, and any other application requiring Windows software. For end of support information, see the Microsoft website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about Windows Server 2019 image

Windows Server 2016

Lightsail running Windows Server is a fast and dependable environment for deploying applications using the Microsoft Web Platform. Lightsail enables you to run any compatible Windows-based solution on the high-performance, reliable, cost-effective AWS cloud computing platform. Common Windows use cases include Enterprise Windows-based application hosting, website and web service hosting, data processing, distributed testing, ASP.NET application hosting, and any other application requiring Windows software. For end of support information, see the Microsoft website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the Windows Server 2016 image

Amazon Linux 2023

Amazon Linux 2023 (AL2023) is the next generation of Amazon Linux, ideal for general purpose workloads on AWS. AL2023 will be supported for five years after it is generally available. AL2023 locks to a specific version of the Amazon Linux package repository, giving you control over how and when you absorb updates. AL2023 also provides the ability to get frequent updates and comes with features to help you meet your compliance needs.

Important

Lightsail instances launched from AL2023 will have Instance Metadata Service Version 2 (IMDSv2) enforced by default. For more information, see How Instance Metadata Service Version 2 works.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about Amazon Linux 2023.

Amazon Linux 2

Amazon Linux 2 is the previous generation of Amazon Linux, a Linux server operating system from AWS. It provides a secure, stable, and high performance execution environment to develop and run cloud and enterprise applications. With Amazon Linux 2, you get an application environment that offers long term support with access to the latest innovations in Linux. Amazon Linux 2 is provided at no additional charge. For end of support information, see Amazon Linux 2 FAQs.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about Amazon Linux 2.

CentOS 7
Important

CentOS 7 will reach End of Lifetime (EOL) on June 30, 2024. You will not be able to create new Lightsail instances with this blueprint on or after June 30, 2024. For more information, see the CentOS website.

CentOS is a Linux distribution that provides a free, enterprise-class, community-supported computing platform functionally compatible with its upstream source, Red Hat Enterprise Linux. For end of support information, see the Red Hat website.

Learn more about CentOS 7.

CentOS Stream 9

CentOS Stream 9 is the next major release of the CentOS Stream distribution. CentOS Stream 9 is a continuously delivered distribution that tracks just ahead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) development, positioned as a midstream between Fedora Linux and RHEL. It's designed to be functionally compatible with RHEL and provides a stable, predictable, manageable and reproducible Linux environment. For end of support information, see the CentOS website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about CentOS Stream.

Debian 10, 11 and 12
Important

Debian 10 will reach end of long term support on June 30, 2024. You will not be able to create new Lightsail instances with this blueprint on or after June 30, 2024.

Debian is a free operating system, developed by thousands of volunteers from all over the world who collaborate over the internet. The Debian project's key strengths are its volunteer base, its dedication to the Debian Social Contract and Free Software, and its commitment to provide the best operating system possible. This new release is another important step in that direction. For end of support information, see the Debian website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about Debian.

FreeBSD 13

FreeBSD is an operating system used to power servers, desktops, and embedded systems. Derived from BSD, the version of UNIX developed at the University of California, Berkeley, FreeBSD has been continually developed by a large community for more than 30 years. FreeBSD's networking, security, storage, and monitoring features, including the pf firewall, the Capsicum and CloudABI capability frameworks, the ZFS file system, and the DTrace dynamic tracing framework, make FreeBSD the platform of choice for many of the busiest websites and most pervasive embedded networking and storage systems. For end of support information, see the FreeBSD website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about FreeBSD.

openSUSE 15

The openSUSE distribution is a stable, easy to use and complete multipurpose Linux distribution. It is aimed towards users and developers working on the desktop or server. It is great for beginners, experienced users and ultra geeks alike, in short, it is perfect for everybody! For end of support information, see the openSUSE website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about openSUSE.

Ubuntu 18, and 20, and 22
Important

Ubuntu 18.04 reached End of Standard Support on May 31, 2023. You will not be able to create new Lightsail instances with this blueprint on or after May 31, 2024. For more information, see the Ubuntu website.

Ubuntu Server is a Debian-based Linux operating system used for virtual servers. A default installation of Ubuntu contains a wide range of software that includes LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, and Transmission. You can install many additional software packages, such as Evolution, GIMP, Pidgin, and Synaptic by using the APT-based package management tool (apt-get). For end of support information, see the Ubuntu website.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about Ubuntu.

Compare Database applications

The following database applications are available in Lightsail:

SQL Server 2022 Express

SQL Server Express is a relational database management system that is free to download, distribute, and use. It comprises a database specifically targeted for embedded and smaller-scale applications. This Lightsail image runs on a base OS of Windows Server 2022.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the SQL Server 2022 Express image

SQL Server 2019 Express

SQL Server Express is a relational database management system that is free to download, distribute, and use. It comprises a database specifically targeted for embedded and smaller-scale applications. This Lightsail image runs on a base OS of Windows Server 2022.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the SQL Server 2019 Express image

SQL Server 2016 Express

SQL Server Express is a relational database management system that is free to download, distribute, and use. It comprises a database specifically targeted for embedded and smaller-scale applications. This Lightsail image runs on a base OS of Windows Server 2016.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the SQL Server 2016 Express image

Compare CMS applications

The following content management system (CMS) applications are available in Lightsail:

WordPress certified by Bitnami

Bitnami WordPress is a preconfigured, ready-to-use image for running WordPress on Lightsail. WordPress is a popular web publishing platform for building blogs and websites. You can customize it by using a wide selection of themes, extensions, plugins, and widgets.

WordPress features a full theme system, which enables you to change the look and feel of your site with a few clicks. You can also use existing free or commercial WordPress themes. WordPress is in full compliance with the standards of the W3C.

Learn more about the Bitnami WordPress application.

WordPress Multisite certified by Bitnami

WordPress Multisite enables administrators to host and manage multiple websites from the same WordPress instance. These websites can all have unique domain names and can be customized by their owners, while sharing assets such as themes and plugins that are made available by the server admin. Updates to all sites can be pushed at once, ensuring that they are always kept safe and secure.

WordPress Multisite is great for organizations such as universities, corporations, and agencies that need to enable many people to host their own websites while giving overall control to a central administrator.

Learn more about the Bitnami WordPress Multisite application.

cPanel & WebHost Manager (WHM)

cPanel & WHM is a suite of tools built for Linux OS that gives you the ability to automate web hosting tasks by using a simple graphical user interface. Its goal is to make managing servers easier for you and managing websites easier for your customers.

Learn more about cPanel & WHM.

PrestaShop packaged by Bitnami

PrestaShop is one of the most prolific ecommerce solutions in the world. It is free and open source software, with a community of over 1 million active members. It is designed to get your online store up and running quickly, with a preconfigured theme so that you can start selling almost immediately along with a Live Configurator for easily customizing the look of your site. PrestaShop features multi-store support, customizable URLs, multiple payment gateway options (including PayPal and Stripe), and marketplace integration with Amazon, eBay, Facebook and more.

Learn more about PrestaShop.

Ghost packaged by Bitnami

Ghost is a publishing platform that is suitable for everything from personal blogs to major news websites. Built on Node.js, its modern technology stack makes it versatile and flexible for developers seeking to integrate with other applications and tools, while maintaining ease of use for content creators.

Learn more about the Bitnami Ghost application.

Joomla! packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami Joomla! is a preconfigured, ready-to-use image for running Joomla! on Lightsail. Joomla! is a CMS that you can use to build a variety of websites or portals. These include personal, corporate, small business, nonprofit, and other organizational websites.

Joomla! also features a registration system that enables users to configure personal options. Authentication is an important part of user management, and Joomla! supports multiple protocols, including LDAP, OpenID, and others. Joomla! supports many different languages and offers guidance for using them for the website and the administration panel. Also, the Banner Manager makes it easy to set up and manage banners on your site. You can track metrics, including setting impression numbers, special URLs, and more.

Learn more about the Bitnami Joomla! application.

Drupal packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami Drupal is a preconfigured, ready-to-use image for running Drupal on Lightsail. Drupal is a content management platform that helps users easily publish, manage, and organize content. It's used for community web portals, discussion sites, corporate websites, and more. You can easily extend Drupal by plugging in modules. Drupal is built for high performance, is scalable to many servers, and has easy integration with REST, JSON, SOAP, and other formats.

There are thousands of add-on modules and designs available for Drupal free of charge. Drupal is also available in multiple languages.

Learn more about the Bitnami Drupal application.

Compare application stacks and servers

Lightsail has five application stacks and servers for a wide variety of development projects. Each image uses Linux/Unix (Ubuntu) as the base operating system.

LAMP stack (PHP 8) packaged by Bitnami

The Bitnami LAMP stack simplifies the development and deployment of PHP applications. It includes ready-to-run versions of Apache, MySQL, PHP, and phpMyAdmin, and also the other software required to run each of those components. Bitnami LAMP stack is completely integrated and configured, so you'll be ready to start developing your application as soon as you create your instance in Lightsail. Bitnami LAMP stack is regularly updated to ensure that you always have access to the latest stable releases for each bundled component.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the Bitnami LAMP stack.

Django packaged by Bitnami

Django is a high-level Python Web framework that encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. Python is a dynamic object-oriented programming language that can be used for many kinds of software development. The Bitnami Django Stack greatly simplifies the deployment of Django and its runtime dependencies and includes ready-to-run versions of Python, Django, MySQL, and Apache.

Learn more about the Bitnami Django stack.

Node.js packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami Node.js is a preconfigured, ready-to-use image for running Node.js on Lightsail. Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily creating fast, scalable network applications. It uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model that makes it lightweight and efficient. Node.js is well suited for data-intensive, real-time applications.

Learn more about the Bitnami Node.js stack.

MEAN stack packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami MEAN stack provides a complete development environment for MongoDB and Node.js that you can deploy in one click. It includes the latest stable release of MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node.js, Git, PHP, and RockMongo.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the Bitnami MEAN stack.

GitLab CE Packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami GitLab Community Edition (CE) is a preconfigured, ready-to-use image for running GitLab on Lightsail. GitLab is self-hosted Git management software that is fast, secure, and based on Ruby on Rails. GitLab CI (also included) is an open source Continuous Integration (CI) server closely integrated with Git and GitLab.

GitLab enables you to keep your code secure on your own server, manage repositories, users, and access permissions. It's self-contained, so you can duplicate or move the installation to different servers easily.

Learn more about the Bitnami GitLab stack.

Nginx (LEMP stack) packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami NGINX Stack provides a complete PHP, MySQL, and NGINX development environment that you can launch in one click. It also bundles phpMyAdmin, SQLite, ImageMagick, FastCGI, Memcache, GD, CURL, PEAR, PECL, and other components.

NGINX is an asynchronous server and its main advantage is scalability. The NGINX stack is also known as LEMP (Linux, NGINX, MySQL, and PHP).

Learn more about the Bitnami Nginx (LEMP) stack.

Plesk Hosting Stack on Ubuntu

Build, secure, and run websites and applications on Lightsail and AWS using the Hosting Stack powered by Plesk. This includes all your web-based server management and security tools, plus WordPress automation in a graphical user interface. It simplifies the work of web professionals and provides the scalability, security, and performance that your customers need.

Set up and configure Plesk.

Learn more about the Plesk stack.

Ecommerce applications

Lightsail currently has one ecommerce application image: Magento. This Magento image uses Linux/Unix (Ubuntu) as the base operating system.

Magento packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami Magento is a preconfigured, ready-to-use image for running Magento on Lightsail. You can build engaging, responsive, and secure sites using Magento. Magento is a feature-rich, flexible ecommerce solution that includes transaction options, multistore functionality, loyalty programs, product categorization, shopper filtering, promotion rules, and more.

You can use Magento to create a highly customized ecommerce site that reflects your brand. Magento integrates with your business operations, so you can manage your ecommerce site as your business needs.

Learn more about the Bitnami Magento stack.

Project management applications

Lightsail currently has one project management application image, Redmine. This image uses Linux/Unix (Ubuntu) as the base operating system.

Redmine packaged by Bitnami

Bitnami Redmine is a preconfigured, ready-to-use image for running Redmine on Lightsail. Redmine is a flexible project management web application. It includes support for multiple projects, role-based access control, Gantt charts and calendars, management of news, documents, and files, per-project wikis and forums, SCM integration, and more.

This blueprint is compatible with a Lightsail IPv6-only instance plan.

Learn more about the Bitnami Redmine stack.