AWS CLI for Beginners | Automating AWS without using the Console
Introduction
Until now, we have been creating resources such as:
VPCs
EC2 Instances
S3 Buckets
using AWS Console.
While the AWS Console is easy for beginners, it becomes difficult when we need to create many resources repeatedly.
Imagine manually creating:
20 VPCs
20 S3 buckets
15 EC2 Instances
Doing this from the UI every time would be slow and inefficient.
This is where AWS CLI becomes useful.
What we will Learn
In this article, we will learn:
What AWS CLI is
Why AWS CLI is useful
How AWS CLI communicates with AWS
Installing AWS CLI
Configuring AWS CLI
Running our first AWS CLI command.
Finding AWS CLI documentation
Why Do We Need AWS CLI?
AWS provides APIs(Application Programming Interfaces) for all its services.
These APIs allow us to:
Create resources
Update resources
Delete resources
Manage infrastructure programmatically
Instead of clicking on buttons in AWS Console, we can send commands directly to AWS.
Think of it like this:
AWS Console
↓
Manual Operations
AWS CLI
↓
Command Based Operations
Real Life Example
Suppose your company asks you to create:
50 S3 buckets
20 EC2 Instances
Multiple VPCs
Doing this manually from the AWS Console would take time.
Using AWS CLI we can automate these operations through commands and scripts.
What is AWS CLI?
AWS CLI stands for:
AWS Command Line Interface
It is tool that allows us to manage AWS services directly from terminal.
AWS CLI acts as a bridge between users and AWS APIs.
User
↓
AWS CLI
↓
AWS API
↓
AWS Services
The AWS CLI itself is developed by AWS and internally sends API requests to AWS services.
The good part is:
We don't need programming knowledge to start using AWS CLI
We only need to understand commands and documentation.
AWS CLI vs AWS Console
| AWS Console | AWS CLI |
|---|---|
| Manual | Command Line Interface |
| Beginner fridenly | Automation friendly |
| Slower for repetitive tasks | Faster |
| Requires clicking | Requires commands |
| Suitable for learning | Suitable for automation |
AWS CLI vs Terraform vs Cloud Formation
Many beginners ask:
If AWS CLI can create resources, why do we need Terraform or CloudFormation?
The answer is simple.
AWS CLI is best for:
Quick actions
testing
Small automation tasks
Learning AWS services
CloudFormation is best for:
Reusable infrastructure
AWs native infrastructure as a Code
Terraform is best for:
Large production environments
Multi-cloud infrastructure
Infrastructure as Code
AWS CDK is best for:
- Developers who prefer programming languages.
Hands-On: Installing AWS CLI
Method 1: Install AWS CLI using Git Bash (Personal Laptop)
Step 1: Install Git Bash
Open your browser and search:
Git Bash Download
Download and install Git Bash.
After installation, open:
Step 2: Install AWS CLI
In your browser search for:
AWS CLI
Open the official AWS Documentation.
Navigate to:
User Guide → Get Started → Install/Update
Select the Linux CLI installer and copy the path and paste it in the Git Bash terminal.
Then you will see AWS CLI is installing:
After installation, verify:
aws --version
You will see something like this in the terminal:
aws-cli/2.x Python/3.x Windows
Step 3: Configure AWS CLI
Why Does AWS CLI Need Configuration?
AWS CLI needs to know:
Which AWS account to use
Which region to use
Which credentials belong to us
This is done using:
aws configure
Provide:
AWS Access Key ID
AWS Secret Access Key
Default Region
Output Format (json)
You will get the access Key Id from AWS account. Go to your AWS Console.
- Click on the account name on right-side corner → select Security Credentials.
- Scroll to Access Keys → Click on Create Access Key.
AWS generates:
Access Key ID
Secret Access Key
Save these credentials securely.
NEVER SHARE YOUR SECRET ACCESS KEY
AWS Access Key ID: AKIAxxxxxxxx
AWS Secret Access Key: ********
Default Region Name: ap-south-1
Default Output Format: json
Why JSON?
AWS returns responses in JSON format because it is easy for applications and scripts to process.
Method 2: Using AWS CloudShell (What I Used)
Since I was using a managed laptop where installing software was restricted, I used AWS CloudShell. CloudShell already comes with AWS CLI pre-installed, making it convenient for learning and experimentation.
Step 1: Open AWS Console
In the search bar type "Cloud Shell" and wait or the terminal to open.
Step 2: Verify AWS CLI
aws --version
You will get an output like this:
Note: CloudShell automatically uses the credentials of the currently logged-in IAM user.
Therefore, unlike local installation, there is no need to run:
aws configure
Running our First AWS CLI Command
Now let's check whether AWS CLI can access our resources.
Run:
aws s3 ls
means:
List all S3 buckets available in my AWS account
Example output will be like this:
Exploring AWS CLI Documentation
AWS provides documentation for every service.
For example, search:
AWS CLI S3 reference
Here you will see a buck of available commands and how to use them in detail.
For example:
List Buckets:
aws s3 ls
Create Bucket:
aws s3 mb s3://mydemo-s3-bucket-for-cli
One of the best ways to become comfortable with AWS CLI is by exploring the official documentation and trying commands on your own.
AWS provides CLI references for almost every services. For example, if you wan to learn EC2 commands, search:
AWS CLI EC2 Reference
Spend some time browsing the documentation and try commands in your environment.
Key Takeaways
In this article, we learned:
✅ What AWS CLI is
✅ Why AWS CLI is useful
✅ How AWS APIs work
✅ Installing AWS CLI
✅ Creating Access Keys
✅ Configuring AWS CLI
✅ Running our first commands
✅ Exploring AWS CLI documentation
Conclusion
AWS CLI makes managing AWS resources faster and easier.
Instead of repeatedly performing manual tasks through the AWS Console, we can interact with AWS services directly from the terminal.
AWS CLI is excellent for quick actions and small automation tasks.
However, as infrastructure grows larger, managing resources using individual commands becomes difficult.
This is where Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools become extremely useful.
What's Next?
In the next article, we will begin exploring Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and understand:
What is AWS CloudFormation (CFT)?
CloudFormation vs Terraform
Tips and Tricks for Writing CloudFormation Templates
Why production teams prefer Infrastructure as Code
From this point onward, we will start moving from individual commands to managing complete infrastructure using code. 🚀