Hi, In AWS SSM Automation documents, you can't directly manipulate output in the same way as you would in a programming language. The outputs are typically structured data that you can access using predefined keys.

If you're using AWSSupport_CopyEC2Instance as another runbook within your custom runbook, the output would be in a predefined format, and you would typically access its elements using the keys defined in that specific automation document.

However, if you're certain that the output of AWSSupport_CopyEC2Instance is a list and you want to access its last element, you may need to create a custom script in your Automation document to manipulate the output accordingly.

Here's a general example of how you might achieve this using a Python script in your Automation document:

python

import json

Assuming the output is in JSON format

output_json = '{{ AWSSupport_CopyEC2Instance.Output }}'

Parse the JSON

output_data = json.loads(output_json)

Check if the output is a list and extract the last element

if isinstance(output_data, list) and len(output_data) > 0: last_element = output_data[-1] print(last_element) else: print("Output is not a list or is empty")

In this script:

output_json contains the output from AWSSupport_CopyEC2Instance.
We parse the JSON data into a Python object (output_data).
We check if the parsed data is a list and if it's not empty.
If it is a non-empty list, we extract the last element and print it.

You would then use the output of this script further in your Automation document. Note that you need to adjust this script according to the actual format of the output and the environment where it's executed.

EDIT: my bad, i just found out i can use inputs for scripts. i am now trying to go based on your approach. hopefully it will work this time.

there is a problem with your approach. when I add a script to the steps in my custom runbook, it gives me error whenever I try to access any parameters (including outputs). so i cannot use a script to work with the output. also, would you please guide me more on the keys of output? would you please take a look at the document and let me know about the keys? I tried looking but i couldnt understand what you mean. should i place the key in the selector? i tired many selectors such as: $.DestinationInstanceId $.destinationRegionLaunchInstance.DestinationInstanceId $.Output[2] $.Output.DestinationInstanceId all of these selectors return the actual name instead of the value. so the value would be something like "{{ AWSSupport_CopyEC2Instance.Output2 }}" (its name instead of its value). the only thing that works is that i select AWSSupport_CopyEC2Instance.Output but this returns a list and the is is the last element.