AWS CLI v2 Installation

What is AWS CLI?

AWS CLI (Command Line Interface) is Amazon's official command-line tool for interacting with AWS services. It allows you to execute commands to manage your AWS resources from a terminal.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                       AWS CLI                                │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                              │
│  Terminal ──► aws <service> <action> <options>              │
│                    │         │          │                    │
│                    │         │          └── Parameters      │
│                    │         └── Command (create, list...) │
│                    └── AWS Service (ec2, s3, lambda...)     │
│                                                              │
│  Examples:                                                   │
│  $ aws s3 ls                    # List S3 buckets           │
│  $ aws ec2 describe-instances   # List EC2 instances        │
│  $ aws lambda list-functions    # List functions            │
│                                                              │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Prerequisites

Before installing AWS CLI, ensure you have:

Administrator rights on your machine
Internet connection
Functional Terminal/PowerShell

Installation on Windows

Method 1: MSI Installer (Recommended)

Step 1: Download the installer

Download AWS CLI v2 from the official site:

URL: https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.msi

Step 2: Run the installer

Double-click the AWSCLIV2.msi file
Follow the installation wizard
Accept the terms of use
Click "Install"
Wait for the installation to complete

Step 3: Verify the installation

Open a new PowerShell and run:

aws --version

Expected result:

aws-cli/2.x.x Python/3.x.x Windows/10 exe/AMD64 prompt/off

Method 2: Via PowerShell (Alternative)

# Download and install
msiexec.exe /i https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.msi /quiet

# Verify (new terminal)
aws --version

Installation on macOS

Method 1: Official Package (Recommended)

# Download the package
curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.pkg" -o "AWSCLIV2.pkg"

# Install
sudo installer -pkg AWSCLIV2.pkg -target /

# Verify
aws --version

Method 2: Via Homebrew

# Install via Homebrew
brew install awscli

# Verify
aws --version

Installation on Linux

Universal Method (all distributions)

# Download
curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"

# Unzip
unzip awscliv2.zip

# Install
sudo ./aws/install

# Verify
aws --version

# Clean up
rm -rf aws awscliv2.zip

Ubuntu/Debian

# Install dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y unzip curl

# Then follow the universal method above

AWS CLI Configuration

Configuration for LocalStack

Since we are using LocalStack (local AWS emulator), we will configure AWS CLI to point to LocalStack instead of real AWS.

Step 1: Create a LocalStack profile

aws configure --profile localstack

Enter the following values:

AWS Access Key ID [None]: test
AWS Secret Access Key [None]: test
Default region name [None]: us-east-1
Default output format [None]: json

Why "test"?

LocalStack does not require real credentials. The "test" values work perfectly.

Step 2: Create an alias (optional but recommended)

To avoid typing --endpoint-url every time:

Windows PowerShell:

# Add to PowerShell profile
notepad $PROFILE

# Add this line:
function awslocal { aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 --profile localstack $args }

macOS/Linux:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
echo 'alias awslocal="aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 --profile localstack"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Configuration Verification

# View configuration
aws configure list --profile localstack

Expected result:

      Name                    Value             Type    Location
      ----                    -----             ----    --------
   profile               localstack           manual    --profile
access_key     ****************test shared-credentials-file
secret_key     ****************test shared-credentials-file
    region                us-east-1      config-file    ~/.aws/config

Configuration File Structure

AWS CLI stores its configuration in two files:

~/.aws/
├── config          # General settings (region, output)
└── credentials     # Access keys (access key, secret key)

~/.aws/config File

[default]
region = us-east-1
output = json

[profile localstack]
region = us-east-1
output = json

~/.aws/credentials File

[default]
aws_access_key_id = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
aws_secret_access_key = YOUR_SECRET_KEY

[localstack]
aws_access_key_id = test
aws_secret_access_key = test

Basic AWS CLI Commands

Command Structure

aws <service> <action> [--options]

Useful Commands

Command	Description
`aws --version`	AWS CLI version
`aws help`	General help
`aws <service> help`	Help for a service
`aws configure list`	Display configuration
`aws sts get-caller-identity`	Verify identity

Examples by Service

S3 (Storage):

aws s3 ls                          # List buckets
aws s3 mb s3://my-bucket           # Create a bucket
aws s3 cp file.txt s3://bucket/    # Copy a file

EC2 (Compute):

aws ec2 describe-instances         # List instances
aws ec2 describe-vpcs              # List VPCs
aws ec2 describe-security-groups   # List Security Groups

Lambda (Serverless):

aws lambda list-functions          # List functions
aws lambda invoke --function-name X out.txt  # Invoke

Important Global Options

Option	Description
`--profile <name>`	Use a specific profile
`--region <region>`	Specify the region
`--output <format>`	Output format (json, text, table)
`--endpoint-url <url>`	Custom URL (for LocalStack)
`--query <jmespath>`	Filter JSON output

Examples with Options

# Use the localstack profile
aws s3 ls --profile localstack

# Change the region
aws ec2 describe-instances --region eu-west-1

# Table output
aws ec2 describe-instances --output table

# Filter with JMESPath
aws ec2 describe-instances --query 'Reservations[].Instances[].InstanceId'

Installation Test

Without LocalStack (basic verification)

# Verify version
aws --version

# Verify configuration
aws configure list --profile localstack

With LocalStack (after LocalStack installation)

# Start LocalStack first (see next section)

# Test S3
aws --endpoint-url=http://localhost:4566 s3 ls --profile localstack

# Or with the alias
awslocal s3 ls

Troubleshooting

Problem: "aws command not found"

Windows:

Close and reopen PowerShell
Check PATH: $env:PATH
Reinstall AWS CLI

macOS/Linux:

# Check location
which aws

# If empty, add to PATH
export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

Problem: "Unable to locate credentials"

# Check configuration
aws configure list

# If empty, reconfigure
aws configure --profile localstack

Problem: "Connection refused"

LocalStack is probably not started. See the next section.

Expected Screenshot

After a successful installation, you should see:

PS C:\Users\YourName> aws --version
aws-cli/2.15.0 Python/3.11.6 Windows/10 exe/AMD64 prompt/off

PS C:\Users\YourName> aws configure list --profile localstack
      Name                    Value             Type    Location
      ----                    -----             ----    --------
   profile               localstack           manual    --profile
access_key     ****************test shared-credentials-file
secret_key     ****************test shared-credentials-file
    region                us-east-1      config-file    ~/.aws/config

Validation Checklist

AWS CLI v2 installed (aws --version works)
"localstack" profile configured
~/.aws/config and ~/.aws/credentials files created
awslocal alias created (optional)

Quick Reference for AWS CLI Commands

General Syntax

aws [service] [operation] [parameters] [options]

Example:

aws iam get-policy --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789:policy/MyPolicy

EC2 Commands

Action	Command
Modify an instance	`aws ec2 modify-instance-attribute --instance-id i-123 --instance-type m5.xlarge`
Create an AMI	`aws ec2 create-image --instance-id i-123abc --name "Base_Image"`
Copy AMI to another region	`aws ec2 copy-image --source-image-id ami-123 --source-region us-east-1 --region eu-west-1 --name "prod-server"`
Register an AMI	`aws ec2 register-image --root-device-name /dev/sda1 --name "linux_ami"`

EBS Commands

Action	Command
Create a volume	`aws ec2 create-volume --size 80 --availability-zone us-east-1a --volume-type gp3`
Attach a volume	`aws ec2 attach-volume --volume-id vol-123 --instance-id i-abc --device /dev/sdf`

S3 Commands

Action	Command
Create a bucket (API)	`aws s3api create-bucket --bucket my-bucket`
Create a bucket (simple)	`aws s3 mb s3://my-bucket`
List buckets	`aws s3 ls`
Copy a file	`aws s3 cp file.txt s3://my-bucket/`
Synchronize	`aws s3 sync ./local s3://my-bucket/`

IAM Commands

Action	Command
List users	`aws iam list-users`
Get a policy	`aws iam get-policy --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::123:policy/X`
List roles	`aws iam list-roles`

Metadata and UserData (from an EC2 instance)

# Retrieve instance metadata
curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/

# Metadata examples
curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/instance-id
curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/public-ipv4
curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/ami-id

# Retrieve user-data (startup script)
curl http://169.254.169.254/latest/user-data

Useful Global Options

Option	Description	Example
`--profile`	Use a profile	`aws s3 ls --profile prod`
`--region`	Specify the region	`aws ec2 describe-instances --region eu-west-1`
`--output`	Output format	`aws ec2 describe-instances --output table`
`--query`	Filter JSON	`aws ec2 describe-instances --query 'Reservations[].Instances[].InstanceId'`
`--dry-run`	Test without executing	`aws ec2 run-instances --dry-run`

Output Formats

# JSON (default)
aws ec2 describe-instances --output json

# Readable table
aws ec2 describe-instances --output table

# Raw text
aws ec2 describe-instances --output text

Tip

Keep this reference handy! These commands are used daily by AWS administrators.

Validation Quiz

Which command checks the AWS CLI version?
Where are AWS credentials stored?
What is the format of an AWS CLI command?
Why do we use --endpoint-url with LocalStack?
Which command lists S3 buckets?

Next section: Complete AWS CLI Cheatsheet

What is AWS CLI?​

Prerequisites​

Installation on Windows​

Method 1: MSI Installer (Recommended)​

Method 2: Via PowerShell (Alternative)​

Installation on macOS​

Method 1: Official Package (Recommended)​

Method 2: Via Homebrew​

Installation on Linux​

Universal Method (all distributions)​

Ubuntu/Debian​

AWS CLI Configuration​

Configuration for LocalStack​

Configuration Verification​

Configuration File Structure​

~/.aws/config File​

~/.aws/credentials File​

Basic AWS CLI Commands​

Command Structure​

Useful Commands​

Examples by Service​

Important Global Options​

Examples with Options​

Installation Test​

Without LocalStack (basic verification)​

With LocalStack (after LocalStack installation)​

Troubleshooting​

Problem: "aws command not found"​

Problem: "Unable to locate credentials"​

Problem: "Connection refused"​

Expected Screenshot​

Validation Checklist​

Quick Reference for AWS CLI Commands​

General Syntax​

EC2 Commands​

EBS Commands​

S3 Commands​

IAM Commands​

Metadata and UserData (from an EC2 instance)​

Useful Global Options​

Output Formats​

Validation Quiz​