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Elastic Compute Service:DescribeInvocations

Last Updated:Jun 26, 2026

Queries the execution list and status of Cloud Assistant commands.

Operation description

  • After you run a command, the command does not necessarily run successfully or produce the expected results. You must check the actual execution results based on the return values of this operation. The actual output takes precedence.

  • You can query execution information from the last 30 days. A maximum of 10,000 execution records are retained.

  • You can subscribe to Cloud Assistant task status events to obtain task results through events, which avoids frequent polling and improves efficiency.

  • When paged query the first page, set only MaxResults to limit the number of entries to return. The NextToken value in the response serves as the token for querying subsequent pages. When paged query subsequent pages, set NextToken to the NextToken value obtained from the previous response and set MaxResults to limit the number of entries to return.

  • Differences between DescribeInvocations and DescribeInvocationResults:

    • When a single RunCommand/InvokeCommand call specifies multiple instances:
      • DescribeInvocations returns the execution status on each instance and the aggregated status across all instances.

      • DescribeInvocationResults returns only the individual execution status on each instance, without the aggregated status.

    • When a single RunCommand/InvokeCommand call specifies one instance:
      • DescribeInvocations and DescribeInvocationResults are largely interchangeable.

    • To view the execution details of each run for scheduled (periodic) or boot-triggered tasks (RepeatMode=Period, EveryReboot), only DescribeInvocationResults can return historical execution records (with IncludeHistory=true specified). DescribeInvocations returns only the latest task status.

    • To view the command content and parameters, only DescribeInvocations returns CommandContent.

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Test

RAM authorization

The table below describes the authorization required to call this API. You can define it in a Resource Access Management (RAM) policy. The table's columns are detailed below:

  • Action: The actions can be used in the Action element of RAM permission policy statements to grant permissions to perform the operation.

  • API: The API that you can call to perform the action.

  • Access level: The predefined level of access granted for each API. Valid values: create, list, get, update, and delete.

  • Resource type: The type of the resource that supports authorization to perform the action. It indicates if the action supports resource-level permission. The specified resource must be compatible with the action. Otherwise, the policy will be ineffective.

    • For APIs with resource-level permissions, required resource types are marked with an asterisk (*). Specify the corresponding Alibaba Cloud Resource Name (ARN) in the Resource element of the policy.

    • For APIs without resource-level permissions, it is shown as All Resources. Use an asterisk (*) in the Resource element of the policy.

  • Condition key: The condition keys defined by the service. The key allows for granular control, applying to either actions alone or actions associated with specific resources. In addition to service-specific condition keys, Alibaba Cloud provides a set of common condition keys applicable across all RAM-supported services.

  • Dependent action: The dependent actions required to run the action. To complete the action, the RAM user or the RAM role must have the permissions to perform all dependent actions.

Action

Access level

Resource type

Condition key

Dependent action

ecs:DescribeInvocations

get

Instance

acs:ecs:{#regionId}:{#accountId}:instance/{#instanceId}

Command

acs:ecs:{#regionId}:{#accountId}:command/{#commandId}

None None

Request parameters

Parameter

Type

Required

Description

Example

RegionId

string

Yes

The region ID. You can call DescribeRegions to query the most recent region list.

cn-hangzhou

ResourceGroupId

string

No

The resource group ID for command execution. After you specify this parameter, the resource group ID must also be specified when you run the command. This parameter filters the corresponding command execution results.

rg-bp67acfmxazb4p****

RegionId

string

Yes

The region ID. You can call DescribeRegions to query the most recent region list.

cn-hangzhou

InvokeId

string

No

The command execution ID.

t-hz0jdfwd9f****

CommandId

string

No

The command ID. You can call DescribeCommands to query all available command IDs.

c-hz0jdfwcsr****

CommandName

string

No

The command name. This parameter does not take effect if you also specify InstanceId.

CommandTestName

CommandType

string

No

The command type. Valid values:

  • RunBatScript: Bat script that runs on Windows instances.

  • RunPowerShellScript: PowerShell script that runs on Windows instances.

  • RunShellScript: Shell script that runs on Linux instances.

RunShellScript

Timed

boolean

No

Specifies whether the queried commands will be automatically run in the future. Valid values:

  • true: queries commands whose RepeatMode parameter is set to Period, NextRebootOnly, or EveryReboot when RunCommand or InvokeCommand is called.

  • false: queries commands in the following states:
    • Commands whose RepeatMode parameter is set to Once when RunCommand or InvokeCommand is called.

    • Commands that have been canceled, stopped, or completed.

Default value: false.

true

InvokeStatus

string

No

The overall execution status of the command. The overall execution status is determined by the combined execution status across one or more instances. Valid values:

  • Running:
    • Scheduled execution: The execution status remains Running until you manually stop the scheduled command.

    • One-time execution: The overall status is Running if any command process is in progress.

  • Finished:
    • Scheduled execution: The status can never be Finished.

    • One-time execution: All instances have completed execution, or you manually stopped the command process on some instances while the remaining instances completed execution.

  • Success: The command execution status on each instance is Stopped or Success, and at least one instance has a status of Success. The overall status is then Success.
    • Immediate task: The command execution is complete and the exit code is 0.

    • Scheduled task: The most recent execution succeeded with an exit code of 0, and all specified execution times have elapsed.

  • Failed:
    • Scheduled execution: The status can never be Failed.

    • One-time execution: All instances failed to run the command.

  • Stopped: The command has been stopped.

  • Stopping: The command is being stopped.

  • PartialFailed: Some instances succeeded while others failed. This value does not take effect if you also specify InstanceId.

  • Pending: The system is validating or sending the command. The overall status is Pending if at least one instance has a status of Pending.

  • Scheduled: The scheduled command has been sent and is waiting to run. The overall status is Scheduled if at least one instance has a status of Scheduled.

Finished

InstanceId

string

No

The instance ID. If you specify this parameter, all command execution records for the instance are queried.

i-bp1i7gg30r52z2em****

ContentEncoding

string

No

The encoding mode of the CommandContent and Output fields in the response. Valid values:

  • PlainText: Returns the original command content and output.

  • Base64: Returns Base64-encoded command content and output.

Default value: Base64.

PlainText

IncludeOutput

boolean

No

Specifies whether to return the command output in the results.

  • true: The command output is returned. You must specify at least InvokeId or InstanceId.

  • false: The command output is not returned.

Default value: false.

false

PageNumber

integer

No

Note

This parameter is about to be deprecated. Use NextToken and MaxResults to complete paging operations.

1

PageSize

integer

No

Note

This parameter is about to be deprecated. Use NextToken and MaxResults to complete paging operations.

10

MaxResults

integer

No

The maximum number of entries per page for paging.

Maximum value: 50.

Default value: 10.

10

NextToken

string

No

The pagination token. Set this parameter to the NextToken value returned in the previous API call.

AAAAAdDWBF2

RepeatMode

string

No

The execution mode of the command. This parameter does not take effect if you also specify InstanceId. Valid values:

  • Once: immediately runs the command.

  • Period: runs the command on a schedule.

  • NextRebootOnly: automatically runs the command the next time the instance starts.

  • EveryReboot: automatically runs the command every time the instance starts.

Default value: empty, which indicates that all execution modes are queried.

Once

Tag

array<object>

No

The tags.

object

No

The tags.

Value

string

No

The tag value of the command execution. Valid values of N: 1 to 20. The tag value can be an empty string. The tag value can be up to 128 characters in length and cannot contain http:// or https://.

TestValue

Key

string

No

The tag key of the command execution. Valid values of N: 1 to 20. The tag key cannot be an empty string.

If you use a single tag to filter resources, the resource count with the specified tag cannot exceed 1,000. If you use multiple tags to filter resources, the resource count with all specified tags attached cannot exceed 1,000. If the resource count exceeds 1,000, call ListTagResources to execute the query.

The tag key can be up to 64 characters in length and cannot start with aliyun or acs:. It cannot contain http:// or https://.

TestKey

Response elements

Element

Type

Description

Example

object

PageSize

integer

The number of entries per page.

10

RequestId

string

The request ID.

473469C7-AA6F-4DC5-B3DB-A3DC0DE3****

PageNumber

integer

The page number of the query results.

1

TotalCount

integer

The total number of commands.

1

NextToken

string

The pagination token returned in this call.

AAAAAdDWBF2

Invocations

object

Invocation

array<object>

The command execution records.

array<object>

The time when the task was created.

OssOutputDelivery

string

The OSS delivery configuration for the command execution output.

oss://testBucket/testPrefix

InvocationStatus

string

The overall execution status of the command. The overall execution status depends on the common execution status across all instances in this call. Valid values:

  • Pending: The system is verifying or sending the command. The overall execution status is Pending if the command execution status on at least one instance is Pending.

  • Scheduled: The scheduled command has been sent and is waiting to run. The overall execution status is Scheduled if the command execution status on at least one instance is Scheduled.

  • Running: The command is running on the instances. The overall execution status is Running if the command execution status on at least one instance is Running.

  • Success: The command execution status on each instance is Stopped or Success, and the command execution status on at least one instance is Success.
    • Immediate task: The command execution is complete and the exit code is 0.

    • Scheduled task: The last execution was successful with an exit code of 0, and all specified execution times have elapsed.

  • Failed: The command execution status on each instance is Stopped or Failed. The overall execution status is Failed when the command execution status on one or more instances is one of the following:
    • Command validation failed (Invalid).

    • Command delivery failed (Aborted).

    • Command execution completed with a non-zero exit code (Failed).

    • Command execution timed out (Timeout).

    • Command execution encountered an exception (Error).

  • Stopping: The task is being stopped. The overall execution status is Stopping if the command execution status on at least one instance is Stopping.

  • Stopped: The task has been stopped. The overall execution status is Stopped when the command execution status on all instances is Stopped. The following statuses are returned as Stopped:
    • Task was canceled (Cancelled).

    • Task was terminated (Terminated).

  • PartialFailed: Some instances succeeded and some instances failed. The overall execution status is PartialFailed when the command execution status on each instance is Success, Failed, or Stopped.

Note

The InvokeStatus response parameter has a similar meaning, but we recommend that you check this parameter instead.

Running

Parameters

string

The custom parameters in the command.

{}

Timed

boolean

Indicates whether the command will be automatically run in the future.

false

CommandDescription

string

The command description.

testDescription

Timeout

integer

The maximum timeout period for the command execution on ECS instances. Unit: seconds.

If the command cannot be run for any reason, a timeout occurs. When a timeout occurs, the command process is forcefully terminated by canceling the PID of the command.

60

InvokeInstances

object

InvokeInstance

array<object>

The target instance set type.

object

The execution status list.

Dropped

integer

The length of the truncated and discarded text after the text in the Output field exceeds 24 KB.

0

InvocationStatus

string

The command execution status on a single instance. Valid values:

  • Pending: The system is verifying or sending the command.

  • Invalid: The specified command type or parameters are invalid.

  • Aborted: Failed to send the command to the instance. The instance must be in the Running state and the command must be delivered within 1 minute.

  • Running: The command is running on the instance.

  • Success:
    • One-time execution: The command execution is complete and the exit code is 0.

    • Scheduled execution: The last execution was successful with an exit code of 0, and the specified schedule has ended.

  • Failed:
    • One-time execution: The command execution is complete and the exit code is non-zero.

    • Scheduled execution: The last execution was successful with an exit code of non-zero, and the specified schedule will be terminated.

  • Error: An exception occurred during command execution and the command cannot continue.

  • Timeout: The command execution timed out.

  • Cancelled: The execution action has been canceled and the command was never started.

  • Stopping: The task is being stopped.

  • Terminated: The command was terminated during execution.

  • Scheduled:
    • One-time execution: Not applicable.

    • Scheduled execution: Waiting to run.

Success

InstanceId

string

The instance ID.

i-bp1i7gg30r52z2em****

Timed

boolean

Indicates whether the command will be automatically run in the future.

false

InstanceInvokeStatus

string

The command execution status on a single instance.

Note

We recommend that you check the InvocationStatus parameter instead of this parameter.

Finished

ExitCode

integer

The exit code of the command process. Valid values:

  • For Linux instances: the exit code of the Shell process.

  • For Windows instances: the exit code of the Bat or PowerShell process.

0

ErrorInfo

string

The details of the command delivery failure or execution failure. Valid values:

  • Empty: The command ran normally.

  • The security group rules denied access to the aliyun service: The security group rules denied access to the Cloud Assistant service.

  • The specified instance does not exist: The specified instance does not exist or has been released.

  • The specified instance was released during task execution: The instance was released during command execution.

  • The specified instance was not running during task execution: The instance was not in the Running state when the command started to run.

  • The OS type of the instance does not support the specified command type: The command is not applicable to the specified instance.

  • The specified account does not exist: The specified account does not exist.

  • The specified directory does not exist: The specified directory does not exist.

  • The cron expression is invalid: The specified cron expression is invalid.

  • The aliyun service is not running on the instance: Cloud Assistant Agent is not running.

  • The aliyun service in the instance does not response: Cloud Assistant Agent is not responding.

  • The aliyun service in the instance is upgrading during task execution: Cloud Assistant Agent is being upgraded.

  • The aliyun service in the instance need to be upgraded to at least version to support the feature: Cloud Assistant Agent needs to be upgraded. is the minimum version that supports the feature, and is the specific feature.

  • The command delivery has been timeout: Command delivery timed out.

  • The command execution has been timeout: Command execution timed out.

  • The command execution got an exception: An exception occurred during command execution.

  • The command execution exit code is not zero: Command execution completed with a non-zero exit code.

  • The specified instance was released during task execution: The instance was released during file delivery.

the specified instance does not exists

StartTime

string

The time when the command started to run on the instance.

2019-12-20T06:15:55Z

Repeats

integer

The number of times the command was run on the instance.

  • If the execution mode is one-time execution, the value is 0 or 1.

  • If the execution mode is scheduled execution, the value is the number of times the command has been run.

0

OssOutputUri

string

The OSS file URI to which the command execution output is delivered. This field is an empty string when delivery fails or is in progress.

oss://testBucket/testPrefix/output.txt

OssOutputStatus

string

The delivery status of the command execution output. Valid values:

  • InProgress: Delivery is in progress.

  • Finished: Delivery is complete.

  • Failed: Delivery failed.

Finished

OssOutputErrorCode

string

The error code when delivery fails. This field is returned only when OssOutputStatus is Failed. Valid values:

  • CloudAssistant.UnsupportedInvocationStatus: The task status does not support delivery.

  • CloudAssistant.ClientNeedUpgrade: The Cloud Assistant Agent version does not support delivery. The Cloud Assistant Agent version on Linux instances must be later than 2.2.4.1007, and the version on Windows instances must be later than 2.1.4.1007.

  • OSS.AccessDenied: The user does not have access permissions on the specified bucket.

  • OSS.NoSuchBucket: The specified bucket does not exist.

  • OSS.FileImmutable: The data in the bucket is in a protected state.

  • OSS.InvalidObjectName: The object name is invalid, including unspecified object name, object name exceeding the length limit, or invalid object name.

CloudAssistant.UnsupportedInvocationStatus

OssOutputErrorInfo

string

The error details when delivery fails. This field is returned only when OssOutputStatus is Failed.

The invocation status does not support output delivery.

FinishTime

string

The end time of the command process.

2019-12-20T06:15:56Z

Output

string

The command output.

  • If ContentEncoding is set to PlainText, the original output is returned.

  • If ContentEncoding is set to Base64, the Base64-encoded output is returned.

OutPutTestmsg

CreationTime

string

The start time of the command execution.

2019-12-20T06:15:54Z

UpdateTime

string

The time when the command status was updated.

2020-01-19T09:15:47Z

ErrorCode

string

The error code for command delivery failure or execution failure. Valid values:

  • Empty: The command ran normally.

  • InstanceNotExists: The specified instance does not exist or has been released.

  • InstanceReleased: The instance was released during concurrent execution.

  • InstanceNotRunning: The instance was not in the Running state when the command started to run.

  • CommandNotApplicable: The command is not applicable to the specified instance.

  • AccountNotExists: The specified username for running the command does not exist.

  • DirectoryNotExists: The specified directory does not exist.

  • BadCronExpression: The specified cron expression is invalid.

  • ClientNotRunning: Cloud Assistant Agent is not running.

  • ClientNotResponse: Cloud Assistant Agent is not responding.

  • ClientIsUpgrading: Cloud Assistant Agent is being upgraded.

  • ClientNeedUpgrade: Cloud Assistant Agent needs to be upgraded.

  • DeliveryTimeout: Command delivery timed out.

  • ExecutionTimeout: Concurrent execution timed out.

  • ExecutionException: An exception occurred during concurrent execution.

  • ExecutionInterrupted: The concurrent execution task was interrupted.

  • ExitCodeNonzero: Concurrent execution completed with a non-zero exit code.

  • SecurityGroupRuleDenied: The security group rules denied access to the Cloud Assistant service.

  • TaskConcurrencyLimit: The number of concurrent task executions exceeded the maximum quota.

InstanceNotExists

StopTime

string

The time when StopInvocation was called to stop the command execution.

2020-01-19T09:15:47Z

CommandContent

string

The command content.

  • If ContentEncoding is set to PlainText, the original script content is returned.

  • If ContentEncoding is set to Base64, the Base64-encoded script content is returned.

cnBtIC1xYSB8IGdyZXAgdnNm****

WorkingDir

string

The working directory of the command execution.

/home/

RepeatMode

string

The execution mode of the command. Valid values:

  • Once: The command is immediately run.

  • Period: The command is run on a schedule.

  • NextRebootOnly: The command is automatically run the next time the instance starts.

  • EveryReboot: The command is automatically run every time the instance starts.

  • DryRun: Only a dry run of the request is performed. The command is not actually run. The system checks the request parameters, instance execution environment, and Cloud Assistant Agent status.

Once

InvokeStatus

string

The overall execution status of the command.

Note

We recommend that you check the InvocationStatus parameter instead of this parameter.

Finished

CommandType

string

The command type.

RunShellScript

Username

string

The username used to run the command on the ECS instance.

test

ContainerId

string

The container ID.

ab141ddfbacfe02d9dbc25966ed971536124527097398d419a6746873fea****

ContainerName

string

The container name.

test-container

CreationTime

string

The time when the task was created.

2020-01-19T09:15:46Z

Frequency

string

The schedule for the scheduled command execution.

0 */20 * * * *

Launcher

string

The launcher for script execution. The launcher cannot exceed 1 KB in length.

python3 -u {{ACS::ScriptFileName|Ext(".py")}}

CommandId

string

The command ID.

c-hz0jdfwcsr****

CommandName

string

The command name.

CommandTestName

InvokeId

string

The command execution ID.

t-hz0jdfwd9f****

TerminationMode

string

The mode for stopping the task (manual stop or timeout interruption). Valid values:

  • Process: Stops the current script process.

  • ProcessTree: Stops the current process tree (the script process and all child processes it created).

ProcessTree

Tags

object

Tag

array<object>

The tag information of the command execution.

object

The tag information of the command execution.

TagKey

string

The tag key of the command execution.

owner

TagValue

string

The tag value of the command execution.

zhangsan

Examples

Success response

JSON format

{
  "PageSize": 10,
  "RequestId": "473469C7-AA6F-4DC5-B3DB-A3DC0DE3****",
  "PageNumber": 1,
  "TotalCount": 1,
  "NextToken": "AAAAAdDWBF2",
  "Invocations": {
    "Invocation": [
      {
        "OssOutputDelivery": "oss://testBucket/testPrefix",
        "InvocationStatus": "Running",
        "Parameters": "{}",
        "Timed": false,
        "CommandDescription": "testDescription",
        "Timeout": 60,
        "InvokeInstances": {
          "InvokeInstance": [
            {
              "Dropped": 0,
              "InvocationStatus": "Success",
              "InstanceId": "i-bp1i7gg30r52z2em****",
              "Timed": false,
              "InstanceInvokeStatus": "Finished",
              "ExitCode": 0,
              "ErrorInfo": "the specified instance does not exists",
              "StartTime": "2019-12-20T06:15:55Z",
              "Repeats": 0,
              "OssOutputUri": "oss://testBucket/testPrefix/output.txt",
              "OssOutputStatus": "Finished",
              "OssOutputErrorCode": "CloudAssistant.UnsupportedInvocationStatus",
              "OssOutputErrorInfo": "The invocation status does not support output delivery.",
              "FinishTime": "2019-12-20T06:15:56Z",
              "Output": "OutPutTestmsg",
              "CreationTime": "2019-12-20T06:15:54Z",
              "UpdateTime": "2020-01-19T09:15:47Z",
              "ErrorCode": "InstanceNotExists",
              "StopTime": "2020-01-19T09:15:47Z"
            }
          ]
        },
        "CommandContent": "cnBtIC1xYSB8IGdyZXAgdnNm****",
        "WorkingDir": "/home/",
        "RepeatMode": "Once",
        "InvokeStatus": "Finished",
        "CommandType": "RunShellScript",
        "Username": "test",
        "ContainerId": "ab141ddfbacfe02d9dbc25966ed971536124527097398d419a6746873fea****",
        "ContainerName": "test-container",
        "CreationTime": "2020-01-19T09:15:46Z",
        "Frequency": "0 */20 * * * *",
        "Launcher": "python3 -u {{ACS::ScriptFileName|Ext(\".py\")}}",
        "CommandId": "c-hz0jdfwcsr****",
        "CommandName": "CommandTestName",
        "InvokeId": "t-hz0jdfwd9f****",
        "TerminationMode": "ProcessTree",
        "Tags": {
          "Tag": [
            {
              "TagKey": "owner",
              "TagValue": "zhangsan"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Error codes

HTTP status code

Error code

Error message

Description

400 RegionId.ApiNotSupported The api is not supported in this region. The API operation cannot be called in the specified region. Check whether the specified RegionId parameter is valid.
400 NumberExceed.Tags The Tags parameter number is exceed. The number of tags exceeds the maximum limit.
400 Duplicate.TagKey The Tag.N.Key contain duplicate key. The specified tag key already exists. Tag keys must be unique.
400 InvalidTagKey.Malformed The specified Tag.n.Key is not valid. The specified Tag.N.Key parameter is invalid.
400 InvalidTagValue.Malformed The specified Tag.n.Value is not valid. The specified tag value is invalid.
400 MissingParameter.TagKey You must specify Tag.N.Key. The tag key is not specified.
400 InvalidParam.PageNumber The specified parameter is invalid.
400 InvalidParam.PageSize The specified parameter is invalid.
400 InvalidParameter.NextToken The specified parameter NextToken is not valid. The specified parameter NextToken is illegal.
400 InvalidParameter.MaxResults The specified parameter MaxResults is not valid. The specified parameter MaxResults is illegal.
500 InternalError.Dispatch An error occurred when you dispatched the request. An error occurred while the request is being sent. Try again later.
403 Operation.Forbidden The operation is not permitted. The operation is not supported.
404 InvalidRegionId.NotFound The RegionId provided does not exist in our records. Region information error

See Error Codes for a complete list.

Release notes

See Release Notes for a complete list.