19 Important AWS CLI commands with Examples and Outputs for different AWS services

• Typically, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation are used to provision and configure AWS services.
• In this post, we highlight some popular AWS CLI (Command Line Interface) commands that are commonly used for debugging, monitoring, troubleshooting, listing resources, and testing.
• AWS CLI Command Reference:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/

AWS Configure

• Configure with AWS Access Key ID and Secret Access Key to enable connection between your AWS CLI tool and your AWS Account.
• AWS Access Key ID => like username
• Secret Access Key => like password
• Create them in your AWS Management Console IAM.

user@aws:$  aws configure                                                
# interactive setup
AWS Access Key ID [None]: AKIAEXAMPLE
Secret Access Key [None]: wJalrXUtnFEMI
Default region name [None]: eu-central-1
Default output format [None]: json
user@aws:$  aws configure --profile myprofile
# to set up multiple AWS configurations within the same environment
user@aws:$ aws configure list-profiles   # list all profiles
user@aws:$  aws configure list --profile myprofile
# view profile configuration

EC2: Elastic Compute Cloud

• Virtual servers/machines in the cloud
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/concepts.html

user@aws:$  aws ec2 describe-instances         
# list all EC2 VM instances
user@aws:$  aws ec2 describe-instances --debug       
# add --debug to enable debug mode
user@aws:$ aws ec2 start-instances --instance-ids i-0123456789
# start an Instance
user@aws:$  aws ec2 stop-instances --instance-ids i-0123456789
# stop an Instance
user@aws:$  aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids i-0123456789
# terminate an Instance
user@aws:$  aws ec2 describe-instance-status --include-all-instances
# check the health and reachability of instances
user@aws:$  aws ec2 get-console-output --instance-id i-0123456789
# retrieve the system logs, which can help diagnose boot issues.

S3: Simple Storage Service

• Scalable storage in the cloud
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/userguide/Welcome.html

user@aws:$ aws s3 ls                                                                   
# list all buckets
user@aws:$ aws s3 mb s3://my-new-bucket            
# create a new bucket
user@aws:$ aws s3 rb s3://my-new-bucket --force
# delete a bucket
user@aws:$ aws s3 cp myfile.txt s3://my-bucket/           
# copy a file to S3
user@aws:$ aws s3 cp s3://my-bucket/myfile.txt ./
# copy a file from S3 to local
user@aws:$ aws s3 cp s3://my-bucket/myfile.txt ./
# sync a local directory to S3
user@aws:$ aws s3 ls s3://my-bucket    # list objects in a bucket

IAM: Identity and Access Management

• Securely manage access to services and resources.
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/introduction.html

user@aws:$ aws iam list-users                                                           # list users
user@aws:$ aws iam create-user --user-name new-user
user@aws:$ aws iam list-roles                                                            # list roles
user@aws:$ aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name new-user --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonS3ReadOnlyAccess
# attach a policy to a user
user@aws:$ aws iam create-group --group-name MyUserGroup
# create a user group
user@aws:$  aws iam attach-group-policy --group-name MyUserGroup --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonS3ReadOnlyAccess
# attach a policy to the group
user@aws:$  aws iam add-user-to-group --user-name MyUser --group-name MyUserGroup     # add a user to the group

CloudWatch

• Monitor resources and applications
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudWatch/latest/monitoring/WhatIsCloudWatch.html

user@aws:$ aws cloudwatch describe-alarms
#  list CloudWatch alarms
user@aws:$ aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm --alarm-name MyAlarm --metric-name CPUUtilization --namespace AWS/EC2 --statistic Average --period 300 --threshold 80 --comparison-operator GreaterThanThreshold --dimensions Name=InstanceId,Value=i-0123456789 --evaluation-periods 2 --alarm-actions arn:aws:sns:eu-central-1:123456789012:my-sns-topic                                                                   
# create a CloudWatch alarm
user@aws:$  aws cloudwatch get-metric-data --metric-data-queries file://queries.json --start-time 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z --end-time 2023-01-02T00:00:00Z 
# get CloudWatch metrics data

DynamoDB

• Managed NoSQL database
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/amazondynamodb/latest/developerguide/Introduction.html

user@aws:$ aws dynamodb list-tables
#  list DynamoDB tables
user@aws:$ aws dynamodb describe-table --table-name MyTable
# describe a DynamoDB table
user@aws:$  aws dynamodb put-item --table-name MyTable --item '{"Id": {"S": "123"}, "Name": {"S": "AWS"}}'
# put an item into a table
user@aws:$  aws dynamodb query --table-name MyTable --key-condition-expression "Id = :id" --expression-attribute-values '{":id": {"S": "123"}}'                                                                                                
# query a table

ECS: Elastic Container Service

• Highly secure, reliable, and scalable way to run containers
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECS/latest/developerguide/Welcome.html

user@aws:$ aws ecs list-clusters                                          # list ECS clusters
user@aws:$ aws ecs list-tasks --cluster MyCluster
# list tasks in a cluster
user@aws:$ aws ecs describe-services --cluster MyCluster --services MyService
# describe ECS services in a cluster
user@aws:$ aws ecs create-cluster --cluster-name MyCluster
# create an ECS cluster
user@aws:$ aws ecs create-service --cluster MyCluster --service-name my-service --task-definition my-task --desired-count 2 --launch-type FARGATE --network-configuration "awsvpcConfiguration={subnets=[subnet-12345],securityGroups=[sg-12345],assignPublicIp=ENABLED}"
# if task defined, create an ECS service

ECR: Elastic Container Registry

• Easily store, manage, and deploy container images
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonECR/latest/userguide/what-is-ecr.html

user@aws:$ aws ecr describe-repositories             
# list of all repositories
user@aws:$ aws ecr list-images --repository-name my-repo
# view all images in a repository
user@aws:$ aws ecr describe-images --repository-name my-repo --image-ids imageTag=latest
# get details about a specific image, including the image size, push date
user@aws:$ aws ecr create-repository --repository-name my-repo
# create an ECR Repository
user@aws:$ aws ecr get-login-password --region eu-central-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com
# get ECR login password

Lambda

• Run code without thinking about servers
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/lambda/latest/dg/welcome.html

user@aws:$ aws lambda create-function --function-name MyFunction --runtime python3.12 --role arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/MyRole --handler my_function.handler --zip-file fileb://function.zip
# create a Lambda function
user@aws:$ aws lambda update-function-code --function-name MyFunction --zip-file fileb://new-function.zip
# update a Lambda function code
user@aws:$ aws lambda list-functions                    # list Lambda functions
user@aws:$ aws logs tail /aws/lambda/my-function --follow
# retrieve recent logs for a Lambda function
user@aws:$ aws lambda invoke --function-name my-function output.json
# run a test event to see if the function executes correctly

SNS: Simple Notification Service

• Pub/sub, SMS, email, and mobile push notifications
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sns/latest/dg/welcome.html

user@aws:$ aws sns list-topics                                                 # list SNS topics
user@aws:$ aws sns list-subscriptions-by-topic --topic-arn arn:aws:sns:eu-central-1:123456789012:my-topic
# view all subscribers of a specific topic
user@aws:$ aws sns create-topic --name my-topic
# create an SNS topic
user@aws:$ aws sns subscribe --topic-arn arn:aws:sns:eu-dentral-1:123456789012:my-topic --protocol email --notification-endpoint [e-mail]
# subscribe to an SNS topic
user@aws:$  aws sns publish --topic-arn arn:aws:sns:us-west-2:123456789012:my-topic --message "Test message"
# send a test message to an SNS topic

SQS: Simple Queue Service

• Managed message queues
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSSimpleQueueService/latest/SQSDeveloperGuide/welcome.html

user@aws:$ aws sqs list-queues
# list queues
user@aws:$ aws sqs create-queue --queue-name my-queue
# create a queue
user@aws:$ aws sqs send-message --queue-url https://sqs.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue --message-body "Hello World"                                                                   
# send a message to a queue
user@aws:$ aws sqs receive-message --queue-url https://sqs.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/123456789012/my-queue
# receive messages from a queue

Secrets Manager

• Rotate, manage, and retrieve secrets
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/secretsmanager/latest/userguide/intro.html

user@aws:$ aws secretsmanager list-secrets
# get a list of all secrets to confirm existence
user@aws:$ aws secretsmanager get-secret-value --secret-id my-secret
# access the actual value of a secret to troubleshoot access issues
user@aws:$ aws secretsmanager create-secret --name my-secret --secret-string '{"username":"admin","password":"password"}'
# create a Secret

CloudTrail

• Track user activity and API usage
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/awscloudtrail/latest/userguide/cloudtrail-user-guide.html

user@aws:$ aws cloudtrail describe-trails
# list all CloudTrail trails
user@aws:$ aws cloudtrail start-logging --name my-trail
# start logging on a Trail
user@aws:$ aws cloudtrail stop-logging --name my-trail
# stop logging on a Trail

VPC: Virtual Private Cloud

• Isolated cloud resource network, includes network:

  • Subnet - Public, Private
  • Internet Gateway
  • Route Tables
  • NAT Gateway

• AWS Document:

  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/userguide/what-is-amazon-vpc.html

user@aws:$ aws ec2 describe-vpcs                         
# list VPCs
user@aws:$ aws ec2 describe-subnets
# get details of subnets, including available IP addresses and AZs
user@aws:$ aws ec2 describe-network-interfaces
# view all ENIs, including their status and attachments

EBS: Elastic Block Store

• EC2 block storage volumes, e.g. SSD, HDD
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ebs/latest/userguide/what-is-ebs.html

user@aws:$ aws ec2 describe-volumes --query "Volumes[*].[VolumeId,Size,State,AvailabilityZone]"
# get a list of all EBS volumes, including their sizes, states, and AZ
user@aws:$ aws ec2 describe-volume-status
# describe volume status
user@aws:$ aws ec2 describe-snapshots --owner-ids self
# get details of EBS snapshots for backup verification

CloudFront

• Global content delivery network, CDN=> Content Delivery Network
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/Introduction.html

user@aws:$ aws cloudfront list-distributions
# view all CloudFront distributions, including their status,domain names
user@aws:$ aws cloudfront get-distribution --id E1234567890
# check configuration details of a specific CloudFront distribution
user@aws:$ aws cloudfront create-invalidation --distribution-id E1234567890 --paths "/*"
# clear cached objects in a CloudFront distribution to troubleshoot        # outdated content.

ELB: Elastic Load Balancing

• Distribute incoming traffic across multiple targets
• Elastic Load Balancing Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/latest/userguide/what-is-load-balancing.html

user@aws:$ aws elb describe-load-balancers
# view all load balancers and their configurations to verify status
user@aws:$ aws elb describe-instance-health --load-balancer-name my-load-balancer
# check the health status of registered instances in a load balancer
user@aws:$ aws elbv2 describe-target-groups
# list Target Groups (for ALB/NLB)

CloudFormation

• Create and manage resources with templates
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/Welcome.html

user@aws:$ aws cloudformation describe-stacks
# check all CloudFormation stacks and their status
user@aws:$ aws cloudformation describe-stack-events --stack-name MyStack
# recent events for a stack, useful for identifying stack creation issues
user@aws:$ aws cloudformation validate-template --template-body file://template.json
# validate the syntax of CloudFormation template before deploying it

RDS: Relational Database Service

• Managed relational database service for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle, and Db2
• AWS Document:
  • https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Welcome.html

user@aws:$ aws rds describe-db-instances
# view all RDS instances and their status
user@aws:$ aws rds download-db-log-file-portion --db-instance-identifier my-db-instance --log-file-name error/mysql-error.log --starting-token 0
# retrieve logs for an RDS instance to help troubleshoot issues

Conclusion

Some popular AWS CLI commands that are commonly used for debugging, monitoring, troubleshooting, listing resources, and testing are listed.
They will help you in debugging.

If you found the tutorial interesting, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the blog post comments. Feel free to share your reactions or leave a comment. I truly value your input and engagement 😉

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