What is the AWS CLI?
The AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) is for managing your AWS
services from a terminal session on your own client, allowing you to control
and configure multiple AWS services and implement a level of automation.
If you’ve been using AWS for
some time and feel comfortable clicking your way through all the services, you
may have noticed that there’s more to AWS than the default eye-catching browser
console. Using the AWS CLI can help you to unlock further potential when
managing your AWS environment. The AWS
CLI is a unified tool to manage your AWS services from a terminal session on
your own client. With just one tool to download and configure, you can control
multiple AWS services from the command line and automate them through scripts.
In this blog, I will show you how to use the AWS CLI and how
to install it on your Windows, Linux, Mac, or Unix Operating System.
Downloading and installing the AWS CLI
First, you need to download
the AWS CLI. Depending on your operating system, it will require a different
method.
Linux / macOS / Unix
Prerequisites:
You must ensure that you
have at least Python 2 version 2.6.5+ or Python 3 version 3.3+ installed. To
verify your current version, run the command:
python --version
Installation:
The recommendation for
installing the AWS CLI is to use the bundled installer provided by AWS. The
bundled installer includes all dependencies required for the installation.
1. To begin the installation
run the following command:
curl "https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-cli/awscli-bundle.zip" -o "awscli-bundle.zip"
2. Next, you must unzip the
downloaded package from step 1:
unzip awscli-bundle.zip
3. Once the package in
unzipped, you can run the installation:
sudo ./awscli-bundle/install -i /usr/local/aws -b /usr/local/bin/aws
Using the -b option allows
all users to use the AWS CLI from any directory, meaning you will not need to
specify the install directory in the user’s $PATH variable.
Windows
Prerequisites:
You must be running
Microsoft Windows XP or later.
Installation:
There are three MSI
installers to choose from:
·
A CLI Setup file that will automatically detect what you
are running and install the appropriate version (64-bit or 32-bit)
1. Select the option
required to download the MSI
2. Run the downloaded MSI
installer or the CLI setup file, as required
3. Follow the instructions
that appear
Once installed, the program
files will be stored as shown:
64-bit version
C:\Program Files\Amazon\AWSCLI
32-bit version
C:\Program Files (x86)\Amazon\AWSCLI
To confirm the installation,
use the aws –version command at a command prompt.
Simple configuration of the AWS CLI
Once you have installed the
AWS CLI, you now need to configure the application to be able to connect to
your AWS account. To do so, enter the following from your command prompt:
aws configure
Through aws
configure, the AWS CLI will prompt you for four
pieces of information. The first two are required. These are your AWS access
key ID and AWS secret access key, which serve as your account credentials. You
can generate new credentials within AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) if
you do not already have them. The other information you will need is region and
output format, which you can leave as default for the time being.
aws configure AWS Access Key ID [None]: AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE AWS Secret Access Key [None]: wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY Default region name [None]: us-west-2 Default output format [None]: json
The default region
name simply defines the Region
where you requests will be sent to. For all available regions, please see the
following: Regions and Endpoints.
The default output format specifies how
the results are formatted. Values that can be used here include:
·
json
·
text
·
table
The AWS access key ID and AWS
secret access key are used to authenticate your AWS account. This
authorizes you to carry out specific tasks and functions as defined by your
permissions level.
The AWS access key ID is made up of
20 random uppercase alphanumeric characters, such as the one displayed on
screen.
The AWS secret access key is made up
of 40 random upper and lowercase alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters
as displayed.
These access keys can be created for any IAM
user who requires authentication from a programmatic perspective, such as when
using the AWS CLI.
IMPORTANT: When the access keys are
created, you are prompted to download and save the details. The secret access
key ID will only be displayed once, and if you lose it, then you’ll have to
delete the associated access key ID and recreate new keys for the user.
It’s worth noting that it’s not possible to
retrieve lost secret access key IDs as AWS does not retain copies of these for
security reasons in case they were compromised. By associating the access keys
with the AWS CLI, it ensures that all API requests made to AWS are signed with
a digital signature.
Next steps
With the AWS CLI now
installed and configured on your client, you can take the next steps to
configuring, managing, and scripting AWS services.
For more commands relating
to the AWS CLI, take a look at the official AWS CLI documentation.
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