Basic CLI commands (s3, ec2) in AWS - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to list all S3 buckets using AWS CLI.

AWS

aws s3 [1]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Amv

Bcp

Crm

Dls

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'cp' instead of 'ls' will try to copy files.

Using 'rm' will attempt to delete buckets, which is dangerous.

The ls command lists all S3 buckets in your AWS account.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to start an EC2 instance with a specific instance ID.

AWS

aws ec2 [1] --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Astart-instances

Bstop-instances

Cterminate-instances

Ddescribe-instances

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'stop-instances' will stop the instance instead of starting it.

Using 'terminate-instances' will delete the instance permanently.

The start-instances command starts a stopped EC2 instance.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the command to copy a file to an S3 bucket.

AWS

aws s3 [1] myfile.txt s3://mybucket/

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Acp

Bls

Cmv

Drm

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'ls' will only list files, not copy.

Using 'mv' moves files, which deletes the source.

Using 'rm' deletes files.

The cp command copies files to or from S3 buckets.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to describe EC2 instances filtered by state 'running'.

AWS

aws ec2 [1] --filters Name=instance-state-name,Values=[2]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Adescribe-instances

Bstart-instances

Crunning

Dstopped

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'start-instances' will try to start instances, not describe them.

Filtering by 'stopped' shows inactive instances.

The describe-instances command shows details of instances. Filtering by running shows only active instances.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to copy a directory recursively to an S3 bucket with verbose output.

AWS

aws s3 [1] myfolder s3://mybucket/ --[2] --[3]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Acp

Brecursive

Cverbose

Dsync

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using 'sync' instead of 'cp' changes the command behavior.

Omitting 'recursive' copies only one file.

Omitting 'verbose' hides progress details.

The cp command copies files. The recursive option copies all files in folders. The verbose option shows details during the copy.

Practice

1. Which AWS CLI command lists all buckets in Amazon S3?

easy

A. aws s3 list-buckets

B. aws ec2 ls

C. aws ec2 describe-buckets

D. aws s3 ls

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the service for buckets

   Amazon S3 stores buckets, so the command must use aws s3.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct action to list buckets

   The ls action lists buckets in S3. So aws s3 ls lists all buckets.

3. Final Answer:

   aws s3 ls -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   List buckets = aws s3 ls [OK]

Hint: Use 'aws s3 ls' to list buckets quickly [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing EC2 commands with S3 commands
• Using 'list-buckets' which is not a valid CLI action
• Trying to list buckets with 'aws ec2' commands

2. Which command correctly starts an EC2 instance with ID i-1234567890abcdef0?

easy

A. aws ec2 start-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0

B. aws ec2 start-instance --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0

C. aws ec2 start-instances --instance-id i-1234567890abcdef0

D. aws ec2 start-instance --instance-id i-1234567890abcdef0

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct EC2 start command

   The correct command to start instances is start-instances (plural).

2. Step 2: Use the correct option name for instance IDs

   The option is --instance-ids (plural), not --instance-id.

3. Final Answer:

   aws ec2 start-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Start instances = start-instances + --instance-ids [OK]

Hint: Use plural 'start-instances' and '--instance-ids' options [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using singular 'start-instance' instead of 'start-instances'
• Using '--instance-id' instead of '--instance-ids'
• Mixing up EC2 and S3 commands

3. What is the output of this command if the bucket my-bucket contains two files file1.txt and file2.txt?

aws s3 ls s3://my-bucket/

medium

A. Lists the names and sizes of file1.txt and file2.txt

B. Shows an error: bucket not found

C. Lists only the bucket name my-bucket

D. Deletes the files in the bucket

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the command purpose

   aws s3 ls s3://my-bucket/ lists objects inside the bucket my-bucket.

2. Step 2: Predict the output for files in the bucket

   The command will show the file names and their sizes for file1.txt and file2.txt.

3. Final Answer:

   Lists the names and sizes of file1.txt and file2.txt -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   List bucket contents = file names + sizes [OK]

Hint: Use 'aws s3 ls s3://bucket/' to list files inside [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it lists buckets instead of files
• Expecting deletion or error output
• Confusing bucket name listing with object listing

4. You run this command but get an error: aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. The command should be aws s3 describe-instances

B. The instance ID is incorrect or does not exist

C. You must use start-instances instead of describe-instances

D. You forgot to add --bucket option

Solution

1. Step 1: Check command correctness

   aws ec2 describe-instances --instance-ids is a valid command to get instance details.

2. Step 2: Identify common error reasons

   An error usually means the instance ID is wrong or the instance does not exist in your account or region.

3. Final Answer:

   The instance ID is incorrect or does not exist -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Invalid instance ID causes describe-instances error [OK]

Hint: Check instance ID spelling and region for describe-instances errors [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using S3 commands for EC2 tasks
• Confusing describe with start commands
• Adding irrelevant options like --bucket

5. You want to copy a local file photo.jpg to an S3 bucket my-photos in a folder 2024/. Which command correctly does this?

hard

A. aws ec2 cp photo.jpg s3://my-photos/2024/

B. aws s3 mv photo.jpg s3://my-photos/2024/

C. aws s3 cp photo.jpg s3://my-photos/2024/

D. aws s3 sync photo.jpg s3://my-photos/2024/

Solution

1. Step 1: Choose the correct AWS service and action

   Copying files to S3 uses aws s3 cp. EC2 commands do not handle S3 files.

2. Step 2: Use the correct source and destination syntax

   Source is local file photo.jpg, destination is S3 path s3://my-photos/2024/.

3. Final Answer:

   aws s3 cp photo.jpg s3://my-photos/2024/ -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Copy local file to S3 = aws s3 cp [OK]

Hint: Use 'aws s3 cp' to copy files to S3 buckets [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using 'mv' which moves instead of copies
• Using 'sync' for single file copy
• Using EC2 commands for S3 file operations