How do I rename a Lightsail instance

I can't agree with Nurudeen Kamilu's answer.

I think this process will work but actually, it will launch a new instance from the snapshot with the new name.

I need to rename the existing instance directly.

Thanks

The correct answer to this question is that it is impossible to rename an existing Lightsail instance.

This feature has been requested many times, but Amazon has not provided any indication that they plan to implement such a feature.

The current workaround for this is to create a second instance with the desired name and copy the content. This can either be done by creating the new instance from a snapshot of the original one, or by creating a new instance and then restoring content from some sort of backup, but there is no way to change the name of an existing instance in-place.

To rename existing Amazon Lightsail instance follow these steps:

1. Go to Instances and click your instance name
2. Click Stop button and confirm that you want to stop your instance
3. Go to Snapshots tab and Create a snapshot.
4. Go back to home and to the Snapshots tab
5. Click snapshot instance, select action and select Create image from the snapshot
6. Now go to AMI tab under images
7. Select the newly created AMI and launch a new instance from the AMI
8. Review region and instance plan just as you would do when creating a new instance.
9. Scroll down to Identify your instance section
10. Give your new instance a correct name (i.e. the one you want to rename your existing instance to)
11. Go back to Instances tab again and wait until your instance is up and running
12. Go to Networking tab and reattach the existing IP address to your newly created instance
13. Open the main screen of your instance again (Connect tab) and click Start

Thanks for providing helpful steps @Nurudeen Kamilu

Below are edited steps with a few corrections.

1. Go to Instances and click your instance name
2. Click Stop button and confirm that you want to stop your instance
3. Go to Snapshots tab and Create a snapshot.
4. Go back to home and to the Snapshots tab
5. Click snapshot instance, select action and select ** Create new instance**
6. Provide a new name for your instance before clicking the create button.
   • No other selection is necessary as the source snapshot configuration will be used.
7. Go back to Instances tab again and wait until your instance is up and running
8. Go to Networking tab and reattach the existing IP address to your newly created instance.
9. Once you have confirmed your instance is working as expected feel free to delete the original instance with the undesired name.

After completing the renaming process, you might also need to update the /.ssh/known_hosts file on your client machine (if you connect to the Lightsail instance through a local SSH client).