Configuring credentials in AWS - Try It Yourself

Configuring AWS Credentials for CLI Access

📖 Scenario: You are setting up your computer to securely access AWS services using the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI). This requires configuring your AWS credentials so the CLI knows who you are and what permissions you have.

🎯 Goal: Configure AWS credentials by creating the necessary files and adding your access keys so you can use AWS CLI commands securely.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create the AWS credentials file with the correct profile and keys

Create the AWS config file with the default region

Use the exact file paths and file names for AWS CLI to recognize

Use the exact profile name default

Use the exact access key ID AKIAEXAMPLE123456

Use the exact secret access key wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY

Set the default region to us-east-1

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Setting up AWS credentials is essential for developers and administrators to securely access AWS services from their local machines or servers.

💼 Career

Knowing how to configure AWS credentials is a fundamental skill for cloud engineers, DevOps specialists, and anyone working with AWS infrastructure.

1

Create AWS credentials file

Create a file named credentials inside the ~/.aws/ directory. Add a profile named default with the exact access key ID AKIAEXAMPLE123456 and secret access key wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY. Use the exact format shown below:

AWS

# Your code here to create ~/.aws/credentials with the default profile and keys

Need a hint?

Remember the credentials file must have the profile name in square brackets, then the keys on separate lines.

2

Create AWS config file with default region

Create a file named config inside the ~/.aws/ directory. Add a profile named default and set the region to us-east-1 exactly as shown:

AWS

# Your code here to create ~/.aws/config with default region

Need a hint?

The config file uses the profile name in square brackets and the region setting below it.

3

Verify AWS CLI can use the credentials

Write the exact AWS CLI command to check your configured identity using the default profile. Use the command aws sts get-caller-identity --profile default.

AWS

# Your code here to write the AWS CLI command to verify identity

Need a hint?

This command shows your AWS user identity to confirm credentials are working.

4

Set environment variable for AWS profile

Add the exact environment variable AWS_PROFILE and set it to default so AWS CLI uses this profile by default. Use the syntax export AWS_PROFILE=default for Linux/macOS or setx AWS_PROFILE default for Windows.

AWS

# Your code here to set AWS_PROFILE environment variable to default

Need a hint?

Setting this environment variable saves you from typing --profile default every time.