Securing AWS Access on My Laptop with AWS Vault
Since I joined Muzz, things have been moving fast. Between onboarding, understanding the platform, CI/CD pipelines, Kubernetes, and AWS infrastructure, my days have been pretty packed.
But with that pace, I’ve also picked up a few really nice practices, and one of them is AWS Vault.
Before this, like many others, I had AWS credentials sitting locally in ~/.aws/credentials. It works, but let’s be honest, it’s not ideal from a security point of view.
That’s where AWS Vault comes in.
What Is AWS Vault?
AWS Vault is an open-source tool that helps you securely store and access AWS credentials on your laptop.
Instead of keeping long-lived AWS access keys in plain text files, AWS Vault:
Stores credentials securely in your OS keychain
macOS → Keychain
Windows → Credential Manager
Linux → Secret Service
Generates temporary credentials using AWS STS
Prompts you for a password / OS unlock whenever you want to access AWS
Works seamlessly with AWS CLI, SDKs, and even the AWS Console
In simple terms:
You no longer store secrets locally instead, you unlock access only when needed.
Why This Matters (And Why We Use It)
At Muzz, security is taken seriously, and AWS Vault fits perfectly into that mindset.
Here’s why it’s a big improvement over traditional setups:
No plain-text access keys lying around
The OS encrypts credentials
Uses short-lived credentials instead of permanent ones
Works nicely with IAM roles and MFA
Forces a conscious “unlock” step before AWS access
Every time I want to access AWS resources, AWS Vault asks for my password, which is a great trade-off for better security.
Installing AWS Vault
macOS
brew install --cask aws-vault
Windows
choco install aws-vault
Linux
Download the binary from GitHub or install via Homebrew for Linux.
Verify installation:
aws-vault --version
Adding AWS Credentials Securely
To add credentials:
aws-vault add
You’ll be asked for:
AWS Access Key ID
AWS Secret Access Key
Once added:
They are encrypted
They are not stored in plain text
They’re only used to generate temporary session credentials
Using AWS Vault Day-to-Day
Run a Single AWS Command
aws-vault exec muzz -- aws s3 ls
OR
Just try to connect to EKS, or any AWS resources, and it will prompt you for the password
CONCLUSION
AWS Vault handles all of this quietly in the background, which makes it great for both security and developer experience.
What I Like Most About AWS Vault
Honestly, the best part is the mental shift it enforces:
“You don’t own AWS credentials, you borrow them temporarily.”
If you’re working with AWS regularly, especially on a laptop, AWS Vault is a must-have tool.
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