# mastering-aws-cli

A skill that hands your agent a working AWS CLI v2 reference: Lambda, ECS, EKS, S3, DynamoDB, IAM and SSM tunneling. Useful when it has to write aws commands or debug access.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 2400 installs · ★ 9
- Author: Spillwave
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli/tree/HEAD/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2025-12-29
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/mastering-aws-cli

## What it does

The skill loads a structured AWS CLI v2 reference into the agent's context. It opens with quick-start commands (`aws --version`, `aws configure`, `aws configure sso`), a table of global flags such as `--profile`, `--region`, `--query`, `--dry-run` and `--no-cli-pager`, then decision trees for picking a service: serverless, containers, object storage, Kafka-compatible streaming, access management.

Most of the content lives under `references/`. Separate files cover Lambda, ECS, EKS, ECR, S3, DynamoDB, Aurora/RDS, Glue, MSK, Kinesis, VPC, Secrets Manager and Parameter Store, plus GitHub Actions with OIDC and advanced patterns like JMESPath, waiters and `--generate-cli-skeleton`. The agent pulls the file that matches your trigger words, so the whole reference does not sit in context at once.

It assumes AWS CLI v2 is installed and a profile or SSO session exists. Without working credentials, `aws sts get-caller-identity` and any assume-role flow fail before they reach the interesting part, so check `~/.aws/credentials` and `AWS_PROFILE` first. The skill itself is limited to Read, Bash and WebFetch — it will not touch your infrastructure on its own.

## Requirements
- Works with: AWS

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli --skill mastering-aws-cli -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/mastering-aws-cli/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/mastering-aws-cli/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli --skill mastering-aws-cli -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/mastering-aws-cli/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli --skill mastering-aws-cli -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/mastering-aws-cli/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli mastering-aws-cli
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/mastering-aws-cli/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli --skill mastering-aws-cli -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/mastering-aws-cli/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli --skill mastering-aws-cli -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli/tree/HEAD/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- build a command to deploy a container to ECS
- figure out why `aws s3` returns Access Denied
- set up a cross-account role and assume it
- open a tunnel to a database through SSM Session Manager
- write a GitHub Actions workflow that uses OIDC instead of keys

## Example prompts
- write aws commands to upload a folder to S3 filtered by extension
- help me set up an assume role for another account
- generate a GitHub Actions workflow with OIDC to deploy to ECS

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: b033a6448bcf4174.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE b033a6448bcf4174
````text
---
name: mastering-aws-cli
description: |
  AWS CLI v2 quick-reference for experienced developers. Covers compute (Lambda, ECS, EKS), storage (S3, DynamoDB, Aurora), networking (VPC, SSM tunneling), security (IAM, Secrets Manager), and GitHub Actions CI/CD. Use when asked to "write aws commands", "debug aws access", "set up cross-account roles", "configure aws cli", "assume role", "S3 bucket operations", or "deploy to ECS".
triggers:
  - aws cli
  - aws command line
  - aws commands
  - ec2
  - s3
  - lambda
  - iam
  - eks
  - ecs
  - ecr
  - dynamodb
  - rds
  - aurora
  - glue
  - msk
  - kinesis
  - ssm
  - secrets manager
  - parameter store
  - vpc
  - cloudwatch
  - sts
  - assume role
  - aws configure
  - aws sso
  - github actions aws
  - oidc aws
  - bastion
  - ssm tunnel
  - kubectl eks
category: cloud-infrastructure
license: MIT
allowed-tools:
  - Read
  - Bash
  - WebFetch
metadata:
  version: 2.1.0
  author: Spillwave
---

# AWS CLI v2 Quick Reference

A unified tool to manage AWS services from the terminal. This guide focuses on CLI v2 features, practical examples, and advanced patterns for experienced developers.

## Quick Start

```bash
# Verify installation and version
aws --version

# Interactive configuration
aws configure                    # Access keys + region + output format
aws configure sso               # IAM Identity Center (SSO) - recommended

# Verify identity
aws sts get-caller-identity     # Shows Account, UserId, ARN

# Enable auto-prompt for command discovery
aws dynamodb --cli-auto-prompt
```

## Power User Tips

```bash
# See all waiter commands for a service
aws ec2 wait help

# Generate command skeleton (fill in the blanks)
aws lambda create-function --generate-cli-skeleton > create-fn.json

# Create CLI alias for common commands
aws configure set cli_alias.whoami "sts get-caller-identity"
aws whoami  # Now works!

# Disable pager for scripting
export AWS_PAGER=""
```

See [Advanced Patterns](references/advanced-patterns.md) for JMESPath mastery and automation tricks.

## Global Options

| Flag | Description |
|:-----|:------------|
| `--profile NAME` | Use named profile from `~/.aws/credentials` |
| `--region REGION` | Override default region (e.g., `us-east-1`) |
| `--output FORMAT` | Output: `json` (default), `text`, `table`, `yaml`, `yaml-stream` |
| `--query EXPR` | Filter output using JMESPath expressions |
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE b033a6448bcf4174

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the b033a6448bcf4174 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

First 2396 of 12700 bytes. © Spillwave · MIT · https://github.com/SpillwaveSolutions/mastering-aws-cli/tree/HEAD/SKILL.md

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---
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