How to fix Error creating EC2 Instance: VcpuLimitExceeded in Terraform

Navigate to the AWS Service Quotas console to see your current limits:

1. Log into your AWS account
2. Go to Service Quotas (search in AWS Console)
3. Select Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2)
4. Search for quotas like "Running On-Demand Standard" or your instance type
5. Note the "Quota value" (current limit) and "Usage" (vCPUs in use)

The instance type in your Terraform config belongs to an instance family. For example:
- t2.micro (1 vCPU) → Standard family
- t3.large (2 vCPUs) → Standard family
- m5.xlarge (4 vCPUs) → Standard family
- c5.2xlarge (8 vCPUs) → Standard family

Verify the family quota has enough capacity: Quota Value > Usage + Required vCPUs

To increase your quota, go to AWS Service Quotas console:

1. Open Service Quotas console
2. Select Amazon EC2
3. Find the quota matching your instance type (e.g., "Running On-Demand Standard (A, C, D, H, I, M, R, T, Z) instances")
4. Click the quota name
5. Click Request quota increase
6. Enter the new desired value
7. Click Request

AWS typically approves vCPU increases within hours. You can also request via AWS Support Center for expedited processing.

Quota codes for CLI:
- Standard instances: L-1216C47A
- All Standard instances: L-34B43A08

Using AWS CLI:

aws service-quotas request-service-quota-increase \
  --service-code ec2 \
  --quota-code L-1216C47A \
  --desired-value 20

While waiting for quota increase approval, use a smaller instance type that fits within your current quota:

# Current failing configuration (requires 4 vCPUs)
resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  instance_type = "m5.xlarge"  # 4 vCPUs
}

# Workaround: use smaller type (requires 1 vCPU)
resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  instance_type = "t3.micro"   # 1 vCPU
}

This lets you continue development. Once your quota increase is approved, change back to the desired instance type.

AWS quotas are regional. If you need the instance immediately, try launching in a different region:

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-east-1"  # Try different region
}

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  instance_type = "m5.xlarge"
  # ... rest of config
}

Check your quota in the target region first via Service Quotas console.

If Spot instances meet your needs, they have a separate quota that may be higher:

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  instance_type = "m5.xlarge"
  instance_market_options {
    market_type = "spot"
  }
  spot_type = "one-time"
}

Note: Spot instances can be interrupted by AWS and are cheaper but less reliable. They're ideal for fault-tolerant, non-critical workloads.

Once AWS approves your quota increase:

1. Verify the new quota value in Service Quotas console
2. Check that your Terraform configuration is correct:

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  instance_type = "m5.xlarge"
  # ... other configuration
}

3. Run Terraform again:

terraform plan
terraform apply

If the instance launches successfully, confirm with AWS CLI:

aws ec2 describe-instances --filters "Name=instance-state-name,Values=running"