AWS Marketplace Prerequisites and Requirements for Container Products

Before listing your container product on AWS Marketplace, make sure your seller account, container images, deployment resources, and product information are ready.

This guide provides a high-level overview of the prerequisites and requirements for container products. For the complete technical requirements, always refer to AWS Marketplace's Container-Based Product Requirements.

✅  Prerequisites

Before you get started, make sure you have:

1. Access to the AWS Marketplace Management Portal
   You'll use the portal to create and manage your AWS Marketplace products.
2. A registered AWS Marketplace seller account
   Your seller registration, including required tax and banking information, should be complete.
3. A production-ready container product
   Your container images and deployment resources should be ready for testing and customer deployment.
4. A plan for your Marketplace integration
   Determine your pricing model and any required metering or licensing integration before creating your product.

AWS's container product lifecycle includes creating the product, creating the initial listing, adding a product version, configuring metering or contract pricing when applicable, and eventually updating the product's visibility.

📋  Container Product Requirements

AWS Marketplace has requirements covering security, customer data, product functionality, deployment, and architecture.
 

➡️ Security Requirements

• Vulnerability-Free Images: Container images must not contain known vulnerabilities, malware, or End-of-Life software packages or operating systems.
   
• IAM Roles: Containers must not request AWS credentials to access AWS services. Use IAM roles for service accounts for Amazon EKS workloads or IAM roles for tasks for Amazon ECS workloads.
   
• Least Privilege: Container-based products must require only the permissions necessary to run.
   
• Non-Root Privileges: Container images should be configured to run with non-root privileges by default.
   
• No Hardcoded Secrets: Container images must not contain hardcoded passwords, private keys, credentials, or other secrets.

AWS scans container images for security vulnerabilities when you submit a new product version. We recommend performing your own security scan before submission to help identify potential issues and avoid delays during the ingestion and publishing process.

➡️  Customer Information Requirements

• Data Collection Transparency: Software must not collect or export customer data without the customer's knowledge and express consent, except where required by BYOL.
   
• Self-Service Data Collection: If customer data is collected, the process must be self-service, automated, and secure. Customers should not need to wait for seller approval to deploy the software.
   
• AWS Agreement Compliance: Customer data collection must comply with applicable AWS Marketplace agreements and policies.
   
• No Payment Information: Products must not collect payment information.

➡️  Product Usage Requirements

• Fully Functioning Products: Only fully functioning products can be listed. Beta or prerelease products intended for trial or evaluation are not allowed.
   
• Comprehensive Usage Instructions: Provide complete deployment instructions, including all steps and commands required to deploy and use the container images on AWS Marketplace.
   
• Complete Container Images: Include all container images that customers need to use the product. Customers must not be required to pull images from third-party repositories.
   
• Self-Service Deployment: Containers and their software must be deployable through a self-service process without requiring additional payment methods or costs.
   
• External Dependencies: Any required external dependencies must be disclosed in the product description or usage instructions. Sellers are responsible for the availability and security of those resources.
   
• No External Redirection: Product software and metadata must not redirect customers to other cloud platforms, additional products, or upsell services that are not available on AWS Marketplace.

➡️ Architecture Requirements

• Amazon ECR Repository: Source container images must be pushed to Amazon ECR repositories managed by AWS Marketplace.
   
• Linux-Based Images: Container images must be based on Linux.
   
• AWS Deployment Support: Paid container products must support deployment on Amazon ECS, Amazon EKS, or AWS Fargate. Products with contract pricing and AWS License Manager integration have additional supported deployment environments.
   
• Helm Chart Structure: Helm-based products must follow AWS Marketplace's required Helm chart structure, including the required configuration for container image references.
   
• Cross-Region Deployment: Helm chart image references must be structured so AWS Marketplace can support deployment across AWS Regions.
   

➡️ Helm Chart Requirements

If you're listing a product using a Helm chart, AWS has additional requirements for how your chart references container images.

• Image References in values.yaml: Container image references must be defined in values.yaml rather than hardcoded in other files.
   
• Variable-Based References: The values.yaml file must use variables for container image references.
   
• Template References: Helm templates must reference the image variables using standard Helm templating syntax.
   
• No Hardcoded Images: Avoid hardcoding container image references directly in deployment templates.
   
• Chart Validation: AWS validates Helm charts during product submission. Charts that don't meet the requirements may be rejected.

🗃️  Before You Submit

Use this quick checklist to make sure you're ready:

✅  Seller registration is complete.

✅  Container images are production-ready and have been security scanned.

✅  Images don't contain hardcoded secrets or credentials.

✅  Deployment resources have been tested.

✅  Helm charts follow AWS requirements, if applicable.

✅  Complete deployment and usage instructions are available.

✅  External dependencies are clearly documented.

✅  Pricing and licensing requirements are defined.

✅  Product information, EULA, and refund policy are ready.

What Happens Next?

New container products are initially created with Limited visibility, allowing you and your allowlisted accounts to access and test the product. Once testing is complete, you can request that AWS move the product to Public visibility so customers can find and subscribe to it. The move from Limited to Public requires AWS Marketplace Seller Operations review.