/aws-observability

Enable AWS Application Signals for Node.js on EC2

Your task is to modify Infrastructure as Code (IaC) files to enable AWS Application Signals for a Node.js application running on EC2 instances. You will update IAM permissions, install monitoring agents, and configure OpenTelemetry instrumentation through UserData scripts.

What You Will Accomplish

After completing this task:

• The EC2 instance will have permissions to send telemetry data to CloudWatch
• The CloudWatch Agent will be installed and configured for Application Signals
• The Node.js application will be automatically instrumented with AWS Distro for OpenTelemetry (ADOT)
• Traces, metrics, and performance data will appear in the CloudWatch Application Signals console
• The user will be able to see service maps, SLOs, and application performance metrics without manual code instrumentation

Critical Requirements

Error Handling:

• If you cannot determine required values from the IaC, STOP and ask the user
• For multiple EC2 instances, ask which one(s) to modify
• Preserve all existing UserData commands; add new ones in sequence

Do NOT:

• Run deployment commands automatically (cdk deploy, terraform apply, etc.)
• Remove existing application startup logic
• Skip the user approval step before deployment

IaC Tool Support

Code examples use CDK TypeScript syntax. If you are working with Terraform or CloudFormation, translate the CDK syntax to the appropriate format while keeping all bash commands identical. The UserData bash commands (CloudWatch Agent installation, ADOT installation, environment variables) are universal across all IaC tools - only the wrapper syntax differs.

Before You Start: Gather Required Information

Execute these steps to collect the information needed for configuration:

Step 1: Determine Deployment Type

Read the UserData script and look for the application startup command. This is typically one of the last commands in UserData.

If you see:

• docker run or docker start → Docker deployment
• node, npm start, yarn start, or similar → Non-Docker deployment

If unclear:

• Ask the user: "Is your Node.js application running in a Docker container or directly on the EC2 instance?" DO NOT GUESS

Critical distinction: Where does the Node.js process run?

• Docker: Node.js runs inside a container → Modify Dockerfile
• Non-Docker: Node.js runs directly on EC2 → Modify UserData

Step 2: Extract Placeholder Values

Analyze the existing IaC to determine these values for Application Signals enablement:

• {{SERVICE_NAME}}
  • Why It Matters: Sets the service name displayed in Application Signals console via OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=service.name={{SERVICE_NAME}}
  • How to Find It: Use the application name, stack name, or construct ID. Look for service/app names in the IaC.
  • Example Value: my-nodejs-app
  • Required For: Both Docker and non-Docker
• {{ENTRY_POINT}}
  • Why It Matters: Used to start the application with OpenTelemetry instrumentation: node --require ... {{ENTRY_POINT}}
  • How to Find It: Find the JavaScript file that starts the application (look for node commands in UserData)
  • Example Value: server.js, index.js, or app.js
  • Required For: Non-Docker
• {{APP_DIR}}
  • Why It Matters: Node.js needs to run from the correct directory to find application files and dependencies
  • How to Find It: Find where the application code is deployed (look for cd, git clone, or file copy commands in UserData)
  • Example Value: /opt/myapp
  • Required For: Non-Docker

For Docker-based deployments you will also need to find these additional values:

• {{APP_NAME}}
  • Why It Matters: Used to reference the container for operations like docker logs {{APP_NAME}}, docker exec, health checks, etc.
  • How to Find It: Find container name in docker run --name or use {{SERVICE_NAME}}-container
  • Example Value: nodejs-express-app
  • Required For: Docker
• {{IMAGE_URI}}
  • Why It Matters: This is the identifier for the application that Docker will run
  • How to Find It: Find the Docker image in docker run or docker pull commands
  • Example Value: 123456789012.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/my-app:latest
  • Required For: Docker

If you cannot determine a value: Ask the user for clarification before proceeding. Do not guess or make up values.

Step 3: Identify Instance OS

Determine the operating system to use the correct package manager and installation commands.

Amazon Linux:

• Amazon Linux 2: Use yum package manager
• Amazon Linux 2023: Use dnf package manager
• How to detect: Look for existing package install commands in UserData (check for yum or dnf), or look for AMI references containing al2 or al2023

Other Linux distributions:

• Ubuntu/Debian: Use apt package manager
• Fedora/RHEL/CentOS: Use dnf or yum package manager

If unclear: Look for AMI name/ID in the IaC or ask the user which OS the EC2 instance is running. Do not guess or make up values.

Step 4: Determine Module Format

Determine if the Node.js application uses CommonJS or ESM module format. This affects which ADOT dependencies to install and which node flags to use.

Check the application's package.json file:

• Look for "type": "module" → ESM format
• Look for "type": "commonjs" or no type field → CommonJS format (default)

Alternative checks:

• If the main application file has .mjs extension → ESM format
• If the main application file has .cjs extension → CommonJS format
• If .js extension → Depends on package.json type field

If unclear:

• Ask the user: "Does your Node.js application use ESM module format (type: module in package.json)?" DO NOT GUESS
• Default to CommonJS if package.json doesn't specify type

Instructions

Follow these steps in sequence:

Step 1: Locate the IaC Files

Search for EC2 instance definitions using these patterns:

CDK:

new ec2.Instance(
ec2.Instance(
CfnInstance(

Terraform:

resource "aws_instance"

CloudFormation:

AWS::EC2::Instance

Read the file(s) containing the EC2 instance definition. You need to identify:

1. The instance resource/construct
2. The IAM role attached to the instance
3. The UserData script or property

Step 2: Locate the IAM Role

Find the IAM role attached to the EC2 instance

CDK:

role: someRole
new iam.Role(this, 'RoleName'

Step 3: Update the IAM Role

What this policy is for, and its scope. CloudWatchAgentServerPolicy goes on the instance role for the CloudWatch agent, which receives telemetry locally and forwards it to CloudWatch and X-Ray — so these permissions are what let the agent reach those destinations, not something the instrumentation itself needs. On EC2, ECS, and EKS, an ADOT-SDK-only setup adds no IAM to the workload at all (see the setting-up-cloudwatch-observability skill's references/cloudwatch-omni/instrumentation/instrumentation.md, which forbids attaching this policy on that path). Lambda is the exception — that path does grant its execution role X-Ray write permissions.

The policy is broader than this configuration needs: it grants 14 actions, all on Resource: "*", including ec2:DescribeVolumes and logs:PutRetentionPolicy, which an Application-Signals-only agent config does not use. If the customer wants to trim it, resource scoping is the more valuable axis than pruning actions — dropping actions still leaves logs:PutLogEvents and logs:CreateLogGroup on every log group in the account and cloudwatch:PutMetricData on every namespace, so the instance role can still write over unrelated services' logs. Scope the resources and add an aws:ResourceAccount condition, the way CloudWatchLambdaApplicationSignalsExecutionRolePolicy does for the Lambda path.

Read the live document before changing anything — it takes two calls, since the version id is required and is not knowable up front: aws iam get-policy --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/CloudWatchAgentServerPolicy --query Policy.DefaultVersionId then aws iam get-policy-version --policy-arn <same> --version-id <that>. Do not hand-roll an action list from this page: the agent still creates the Application Signals log group (/aws/application-signals/data), so logs:CreateLogGroup and logs:CreateLogStream must survive any trim. A denial does not surface in the console — the agent records AccessDenied in its own log (/opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/logs/amazon-cloudwatch-agent.log on Linux), and the symptom is that telemetry never starts arriving. Check that file first.

Add the CloudWatch Agent Server Policy to the IAM role's managed policies.

CDK:

const role = new iam.Role(this, 'AppRole', {
  assumedBy: new iam.ServicePrincipal('ec2.amazonaws.com'),
  managedPolicies: [
    iam.ManagedPolicy.fromAwsManagedPolicyName('CloudWatchAgentServerPolicy'),
    // ... keep existing policies
  ],
});

Step 4: Modify UserData - Add Prerequisites

Add a CloudWatch Agent installation command to the UserData script.

CRITICAL for Terraform Users: When modifying Terraform user_data heredocs, you MUST preserve the EXACT indentation of existing lines. Terraform's <<-EOF syntax strips leading whitespace, but only if indentation is consistent. When adding new bash commands:

• Count the leading spaces/tabs on existing lines in the heredoc
• Apply the SAME amount of leading whitespace to all new lines you add
• Do NOT modify the indentation of any existing lines

If indentation is inconsistent, Terraform will NOT strip the whitespace, causing the deployed script to have leading spaces before #!/bin/bash, which will cause cloud-init to fail.

CDK TypeScript example:

instance.userData.addCommands(
  'dnf install -y amazon-cloudwatch-agent',  // Use dnf for AL2023, yum for AL2
  // ... rest of UserData follows
);

Placement: Add this command early in the UserData script:

• If system update commands exist (like dnf update -y, apt-get update), add it immediately after those
• If no system update commands exist, add it at the very beginning of UserData
• This should come before any application dependency installations or application setup commands

For other Linux distributions: CloudWatch Agent may not be available via the OS package manager. Refer to AWS CloudWatch Agent installation docs for distribution-specific instructions.

Step 5: Modify UserData - Configure CloudWatch Agent

The CloudWatch Agent was installed in Step 4. Now configure it for Application Signals:

CDK TypeScript example:

instance.userData.addCommands(
  '# Create CloudWatch Agent configuration for Application Signals',
  "cat > /opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/etc/amazon-cloudwatch-agent.json << 'EOF'",
  '{',
  '  "traces": {',
  '    "traces_collected": {',
  '      "application_signals": {}',
  '    }',
  '  },',
  '  "logs": {',
  '    "metrics_collected": {',
  '      "application_signals": {}',
  '    }',
  '  }',
  '}',
  'EOF',
  '',
  '# Start CloudWatch Agent with Application Signals configuration',
  '/opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/bin/amazon-cloudwatch-agent-ctl \\',
  '  -a fetch-config \\',
  '  -m ec2 \\',
  '  -s \\',
  '  -c file:/opt/aws/amazon-cloudwatch-agent/etc/amazon-cloudwatch-agent.json',
);

Step 6: Install ADOT Node.js Auto-Instrumentation SDK

Choose based on deployment type AND module format identified in "Before You Start".

Option A: Docker Deployment - Modify Dockerfile

For Docker deployments, modify the Dockerfile in the application directory.

Add the ADOT Node.js SDK installation AFTER any existing npm install or dependency installation commands:

For CommonJS applications:

# Install ADOT Node.js auto-instrumentation (use latest; ServiceEvents requires >=0.12.0)
RUN npm install @aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation

For ESM applications:

# Install ADOT Node.js auto-instrumentation with ESM support (use latest; ServiceEvents requires >=0.12.0)
RUN npm install @aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation @opentelemetry/instrumentation

Why modify Dockerfile, not UserData: The ADOT package must be installed inside the container image, not on the EC2 host. UserData commands run on the host and won't affect the containerized application.

Option B: Non-Docker Deployment - Modify UserData

For non-Docker deployments, add to UserData AFTER CloudWatch Agent configuration:

For CommonJS applications:

instance.userData.addCommands(
  '# Install ADOT Node.js auto-instrumentation (must run in the app directory so the',
  '# package lands in {{APP_DIR}}/node_modules where Node module resolution finds it)',
  'cd {{APP_DIR}} && npm install @aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation',
);

For ESM applications:

instance.userData.addCommands(
  '# Install ADOT Node.js auto-instrumentation with ESM support (run in the app directory)',
  'cd {{APP_DIR}} && npm install @aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation @opentelemetry/instrumentation',
);

Step 7: Modify Application Startup to Load ADOT Agent

Choose based on deployment type AND module format identified in "Before You Start".

Option A: Docker Deployment

For Docker deployments, you need to modify both the Dockerfile CMD and the UserData docker run command.

1. Modify Dockerfile CMD to load ADOT agent:

Find the CMD line in your Dockerfile and modify it based on module format:

For CommonJS applications:

# Before:
CMD ["node", "app.js"]

# After:
CMD ["node", "--require", "@aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation/register", "app.js"]

For ESM applications:

# Before:
CMD ["node", "app.js"]

# After:
CMD ["node", "--import", "@aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation/register", "--experimental-loader=@opentelemetry/instrumentation/hook.mjs", "app.js"]

2. Add environment variables to docker run command in UserData:

Container networking — match the customer's existing setup (minimal change). The example below uses --network host with localhost:4316 endpoints. That pairing is one option, not a hard requirement — the right choice depends on how the container already reaches the host-installed CloudWatch Agent. Don't change the customer's networking model just to instrument; instead pick the variant that fits theirs:

• Already using --network host (or willing to): keep it, and the localhost:4316 / localhost:2000 endpoints in the example work as-is. Trade-off: host networking shares the host's network namespace (no container isolation), though the agent's ports can stay bound to loopback, unreachable off-host. For production, it is recommended to restrict the OTLP 4316 / proxy 2000 ports via EC2 security groups / host firewall and to avoid co-locating untrusted containers; this guide does not apply those controls, so assess and configure them for your environment.
• Using a bridge/default network: don't add --network host. Point the endpoints at the host instead — host.docker.internal:4316/:2000 (add --add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway on Linux) or the bridge gateway IP. This requires the CloudWatch Agent to listen on a non-loopback address, so it is recommended to restrict those ports with security groups / host firewall.
• Option 2 — CloudWatch Agent as a sidecar container (most isolated): run the agent as another container on the same user-defined Docker network and target it by name (e.g. cwagent:4316). Nothing binds to host interfaces. This is the same model the ECS guides use; choose it if the customer prefers full container isolation over a host-installed agent.

Find the existing docker run command in UserData. Replace it with (this shows the --network host example — adapt per the networking variant you chose above):

instance.userData.addCommands(
  '# Run container with Application Signals environment variables',
  `docker run -d --name {{APP_NAME}} \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_AWS_APPLICATION_SIGNALS_ENABLED=true \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER=xray \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG=endpoint=http://localhost:2000 \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_AWS_APPLICATION_SIGNALS_EXPORTER_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4316/v1/metrics \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4316/v1/traces \\`,
  `  -e OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=service.name={{SERVICE_NAME}} \\`,
  `  --network host \\`,
  `  {{IMAGE_URI}}`,
);

Option B: Non-Docker Deployment

For non-Docker deployments, set environment variables and modify the node startup command based on module format.

Find the existing command that starts the Node.js application. Add the environment variables BEFORE it and modify the startup command:

For CommonJS applications:

instance.userData.addCommands(
  '# Set OpenTelemetry environment variables',
  'export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none',
  'export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none',
  'export OTEL_AWS_APPLICATION_SIGNALS_ENABLED=true',
  'export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf',
  'export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER=xray',
  'export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG=endpoint=http://localhost:2000',
  'export OTEL_AWS_APPLICATION_SIGNALS_EXPORTER_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4316/v1/metrics',
  'export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4316/v1/traces',
  'export OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=service.name={{SERVICE_NAME}}',
  '',
  '# Start application with ADOT agent',
  'cd {{APP_DIR}}',
  'node --require "@aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation/register" {{ENTRY_POINT}}',
);

For ESM applications:

instance.userData.addCommands(
  '# Set OpenTelemetry environment variables',
  'export OTEL_METRICS_EXPORTER=none',
  'export OTEL_LOGS_EXPORTER=none',
  'export OTEL_AWS_APPLICATION_SIGNALS_ENABLED=true',
  'export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_PROTOCOL=http/protobuf',
  'export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER=xray',
  'export OTEL_TRACES_SAMPLER_ARG=endpoint=http://localhost:2000',
  'export OTEL_AWS_APPLICATION_SIGNALS_EXPORTER_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4316/v1/metrics',
  'export OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_TRACES_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:4316/v1/traces',
  'export OTEL_RESOURCE_ATTRIBUTES=service.name={{SERVICE_NAME}}',
  '',
  '# Start application with ADOT agent (ESM)',
  'cd {{APP_DIR}}',
  'node --import "@aws/aws-distro-opentelemetry-node-autoinstrumentation/register" \\',
  '  --experimental-loader=@opentelemetry/instrumentation/hook.mjs \\',
  '  {{ENTRY_POINT}}',
);

Note for systemd services: If the application uses systemd (look for .service files or systemctl commands in UserData), translate the export statements to Environment= directives in the service file, set WorkingDirectory={{APP_DIR}}, and update ExecStart= to use the appropriate node flags. After modifying the service file, add systemctl daemon-reload and systemctl restart <service> to UserData

Completion

Tell the user:

"I've completed the Application Signals enablement for your Node.js application. Here's what I modified:

Files Changed:

• IAM role: Added CloudWatchAgentServerPolicy
• UserData: Installed and configured CloudWatch Agent
• UserData: Installed ADOT Node.js SDK
• UserData/Service file: Added OpenTelemetry environment variables and node startup flags
• Dockerfile: Installed ADOT Node.js SDK and modified CMD with node flags (if using Docker)

Next Steps:

1. Ensure that Application Signals is enabled in AWS account.
2. Review the changes I made using git diff
3. Deploy your infrastructure:
   • For CDK: cdk deploy
   • For Terraform: terraform apply
   • For CloudFormation: Deploy your stack
4. After deployment, wait 5-10 minutes for telemetry data to start flowing

Verification: Once deployed, you can verify Application Signals is working by:

• Opening the AWS CloudWatch Console
• Navigating to Application Signals → Services
• Looking for your service (named: {{SERVICE_NAME}})
• Checking that traces and metrics are being collected

Monitor Application Health: After enablement, you can monitor your application's operational health using Application Signals dashboards. For more information, see Monitor the operational health of your applications with Application Signals.

Troubleshooting If you encounter any other issues, refer to the CloudWatch APM troubleshooting guide.

Let me know if you'd like me to make any adjustments before you deploy!"