Getting Started

Get up and running with ParkMyAWS in under 5 minutes. This guide walks you through account setup, connecting AWS, and creating your first schedule.

Overview

ParkMyAWS automates the scheduling of AWS resources — EC2 instances and RDS databases — so they stop running when nobody needs them and start again before the workday begins. Most non-production environments sit idle nights, weekends, and holidays. Parking them during that downtime can cut those costs by up to 65%.

1. Create an Account

Sign up with your email address or use GitHub single sign-on. During onboarding you'll create an organisation — this is the container for your AWS accounts, schedules, and team members.

No credit card required. Every account gets a 14-day free trial with full access to all features.

2. Connect Your AWS Account

ParkMyAWS uses an IAM Cross-Account Role to securely access your AWS resources. There are two ways to set this up:

Option A: CloudFormation (recommended)

Click the "Launch Stack" button in the app. This opens the AWS CloudFormation console with a pre-configured template that creates the IAM role with the exact permissions needed. Review and confirm — the role is created automatically.

Option B: Manual IAM Role

Create an IAM role manually in the AWS console using the trust policy and permission policy we provide. Copy the Role ARN back into ParkMyAWS. See the IAM Permissions documentation for the full policy breakdown.

3. Resource Discovery

Once your AWS account is connected, ParkMyAWS automatically discovers your EC2 instances and RDS databases across all enabled regions. Discovery typically completes within a few minutes depending on the number of resources and regions.

  • Resources appear on the Resources page as they're found
  • Each resource shows its current state, type, region, and tags
  • Discovery runs periodically to pick up new resources

4. Create Your First Schedule

Schedules define when your resources should be stopped and started. Head to the Schedules page and click "Create Schedule."

  • Start with a template — Business Hours (stop at 6 PM, start at 8 AM weekdays) is the most popular
  • Set your timezone so schedules execute at the right local time
  • Assign resources to the schedule from the schedule detail page

For a deeper dive into schedule configuration, see the Scheduling guide.

5. Monitor Savings

The Dashboard shows a real-time overview of your parked resources and estimated savings. As your schedules run, you'll see:

  • Total estimated savings across all scheduled resources
  • Number of resources currently parked vs. running
  • Recent schedule execution history
  • Savings trends over time on the Analytics page