How to install and configure AWS CLI on ubuntu
AWS is an excellent cloud service provider. One of the reasons for its popularity is the easy to use web interface and the wide range of services offered.
AWS also provides a rich set command line based tool to access different services. These handy tools enable developers to automate, configure and manage AWS cloud resources from a Linux terminal.
In this post, we’ll walk through the process of installing and configuring the AWS CLI and see an example of how easy it use to create and manage AWS resources.
What is the AWS CLI
AWS CLI is a tool that pulls all the AWS services together in one central console, enabling developers to easily control and configure multiple AWS services using a command line interface.
It reduces and in some cases eliminates the dependency of navigating & interacting with
How to install AWS CLI on ubuntu
To install AWS CLI you will need an AWS account, in order to get an access key ID and secret access key and Python installed on your ubuntu development desktop
To Install the AWS ClI simply open a terminal window and execute the following command:
Once the command has completed you can then ensure the $PATH to AWS CLI is configured which enables you to globally use the commandaws
ensure you refresh your bash profile by either closing the terminal window and reopening it or by using
We can configure our credentials to use for all our AWS configuration workflows. To do this simply use the command below and ensure you answer the questions on screen.
The AWS CLI has now been configured on your machine and ready for use.
Detailed information of the aws configure
check out the Configuring the AWS CLI
Quick example to test AWS CLI
In order to illustrate how easy it is to use the AWS CLI to manage and configure AWS resources we will run through the process of creating and deleting an Amazon Simple Storage (S3) container.
The first step to check out what is available is simply to call up the help file for the aws s3 commands
We can use the AWS CLI to list all the S3 buckets we have access too with our account
all your S3 bucket names will be displayed in your terminal window.

We can create a bucket using the following command and optionally set the region if you would like to create a bucket in a region other than the default region you configured.
We can also delete the bucket by issuing a similar command but changing it slightly to use rb
Benefits of the AWS CLI
The main benefits of the AWS CLI, that it saves developers time and frustration from having to the AWS Management Console. Thus enabling easier installs, support of all services, automating processes and commands from a familiar terminal command environment.
- Easier to install. Smooth, quick, simple, and standardized.
- Supports all Amazon Web Services. you control all the services from one simple tool.
- Saves time. Developers find it faster and easier to use the AWS CLI once they reach a certain level of proficiency.
- Scripting. The ability to automate control of all Amazon’s web services with scripts. Shell scripts make it easy to fully automate cloud infrastructure.
Gary Woodfine
A unique background as business owner, marketing, software development and business development ensures that he can offer the optimum business consultancy services across a wide spectrum of business challenges.
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