aws-shell - The interactive productivity booster for the AWS CLI
Installation
The aws-shell requires python and pip to install. You can install the aws-shell using pip:
$ pip install aws-shell
If you are not installing into a virtualenv you can run:
$ sudo pip install aws-shell
Mac OS X (10.11 El Capitan) users: There is a known issue with Apple and
its included python package dependencies (more info at
pypa/pip#3165).
We are investigating ways to fix this issue but in the meantime,
to install the aws-shell, you can run:
sudo pip install aws-shell --upgrade --ignore-installed six
Once you've installed the aws-shell, you can now run:
$ aws-shell
To exit the shell, press Ctrl-D.
Upgrading the aws-shell
If you want to upgrade to the latest version of the aws-shell, you can run:
$ pip install --upgrade aws-shell
You can also use this upgrade command whenever a new version of the AWS CLI is released that includes new services and API updates. You will then be able to use these new services and API updates in the aws-shell.
Supported Python Versions
The aws-shell works on the same python versions supported by the AWS CLI:
- 2.6.5 and greater
- 2.7.x and greater
- 3.3.x and greater
- 3.4.x and greater
Configuration
The aws-shell uses the same configuration settings as the AWS CLI.
If you've never used the AWS CLI before, the easiest way to get
started is to run the configure command:
$ aws-shell aws> configure AWS Access Key ID [None]: your-access-key-id AWS Secret Access Key [None]: your-secret-access-key Default region name [None]: region-to-use (e.g us-west-2, us-west-1, etc). Default output format [None]: aws>
For more information about configure settings, see the AWS CLI Getting Started Guide.
Basic Usage
The aws-shell accepts the same commands as the AWS CLI, except you don't
need to provide the aws prefix. For example, here are a few commands
you can try:
$ aws-shell
aws> ec2 describe-regions
{
"Regions": [
{
"Endpoint": "ec2.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com",
"RegionName": "eu-west-1"
},
...
aws> s3 ls
2015-12-07 15:03:34 bucket1
2015-12-07 15:03:34 bucket2
aws> dynamodb list-tables --output text
TABLENAMES First
TABLENAMES Second
TABLENAMES Third
Profiles
The aws-shell supports AWS CLI profiles. You have two options to use profiles. First, you can provide a profile when you start the aws-shell:
$ aws-shell --profile prod aws>
When you do this all the server side completion as well as CLI commands
you run will automatically use the prod profile.
You can also change the current profile while you're in the aws-shell:
$ aws-shell aws> .profile demo Current shell profile changed to: demo
You can also check what profile you've configured in the aws-shell using:
aws> .profile Current shell profile: demo
After changing your profile using the .profile dot command, all
server side completion as well as CLI commands will automatically use
the new profile you've configured.
Features
Auto Completion of Commands and Options
The aws-shell provides auto completion of commands and options as you type.
Shorthand Auto Completion
The aws-shell can also fill in an example of the shorthand syntax used for various AWS CLI options:
Server Side Auto Completion
The aws-shell also leverages boto3, the AWS SDK for Python, to auto complete server side resources such as Amazon EC2 instance Ids, Amazon Dynamodb table names, AWS IAM user names, Amazon S3 bucket names, etc.
This feature is under active development. The list of supported resources continues to grow.
Fuzzy Searching
Every auto completion value supports fuzzy searching. This enables you to specify the commands, options, and values you want to run with even less typing. You can try typing:
- The first letter of each sub word:
ec2 describe-reserved-instances-offerings->ec2 drio - A little bit of each word:
ec2 describe-instances->ec2 descinst - Any part of the command:
dynamodb table-> Offers all commands that contain the subsequencetable.
Inline Documentation
The aws-shell will automatically pull up documentation as you type commands. It will show inline documentation for CLI options. There is also a separate documentation panel that will show documentation for the current command or option you are typing. Pressing F9 will toggle focus to the documentation panel allowing you to navigate it using your selected keybindings.
Fish-Style Auto Suggestions
The aws-shell supports Fish-style auto-suggestions. Use the right arrow key to complete a suggestion.
Command History
The aws-shell records the commands you run and writes them to
~/.aws/shell/history. You can use the up and down arrow keys to scroll
through your history.
Toolbar Options
The aws-shell has a bottom toolbar that provides several options:
F2toggles between fuzzy and substring matchingF3toggles between VI and Emacs key bindingsF4toggles between single and multi column auto completionsF5shows and hides the help documentation paneF9toggles focus between the cli and documentation paneF10orCtrl-Dexits the aws-shell
As you toggle options in the toolbar, your preferences are persisted
to the ~/.aws/shell/awsshellrc file so that the next time you run
the aws-shell, your preferences will be restored.
Dot Commands
The aws-shell provides additional commands specific to the aws-shell.
The commands are available by adding the . prefix before a command.
Exiting the Shell
You can run the .exit or .quit commands to exit the shell.
Creating Shell Scripts with .edit
There are times when you may want to take a sequence of commands you've run in the aws-shell and combine them into a shell script. In addition to the command history that's persisted to the history file, the aws-shell also keeps track of all the commands you've run since you first started your aws-shell session.
You can run the .edit command to open all these commands in
an editor. The aws-shell will use the EDITOR environment
variable before defaulting to notepad on Windows and
vi on other platforms.
aws> ec2 describe-instances aws> dynamodb list-tables aws> .edit
Changing Profiles with .profile
You can change the current AWS CLI profile used by the aws-shell
by using the .profile dot command. If you run the .profile
command with no arguments, the currently configured shell profile
will be printed.
aws> .profile demo Current shell profile changed to: demo aws> .profile Current shell profile: demo
.cd
You can change the current working directory of the aws-shell by using
the .cd command:
aws> !pwd /usr aws> .cd /tmp aws> !pwd /tmp
Executing Shell Commands
The aws-shell integrates with other commands in several ways. First, you can pipe AWS CLI commands to other processes as well as redirect output to a file:
aws> dynamodb list-tables --output text | head -n 1 TABLENAMES First aws> dynamodb list-tables --output text > /tmp/foo.txt
Second, if you want to run a shell command rather than an AWS CLI
command, you can add the ! prefix to your command:
aws> !ls /tmp/ foo.txt bar.txt
Developer Preview Status
The aws-shell is currently in developer preview. We welcome feedback, feature requests, and bug reports. There may be backwards incompatible changes made in order to respond to customer feedback as we continue to iterate on the aws-shell.
More Information
Below are miscellaneous links for more information: