DEV Community: James Kipsoi

Deploying Your First Server with Terraform: A Beginner's Guide

James Kipsoi — Tue, 12 May 2026 04:34:55 +0000

Deploying Your First Server with Terraform: A Beginner's Guide

Hi there,

There is nothing quite as satisfying as deploying your first server… and somehow it feels even better when using Terraform as your Infrastructure as Code platform.

There is this strange surge of dopamine that hits you the moment you press Enter and watch your creation come to life.

Especially when exploring a completely new concept.

For me, one of those moments was experimenting with AWS S3 Presigned URLs while running everything from an EC2 instance.

And honestly? Seeing it work felt slightly illegal.

AWS S3 Presigned URL Demo

This project demonstrates how to securely generate Presigned URLs for Amazon S3 uploads using an EC2 instance.

Key Concepts Learned

Security

Instead of hardcoding AWS Access Keys like a future security incident waiting to happen, the project uses AWS IAM Roles (Instance Profiles).

Regional Compliance

AWS regions can become surprisingly annoying if configured incorrectly.
This project correctly handles regions such as eu-north-1 using boto3 configuration with Signature Version 4 enforcement.

Presigned URLs

Presigned URLs allow clients to upload files directly to S3 without needing permanent AWS credentials.

Which is honestly one of those “wait… this is actually genius” cloud moments.

Prerequisites

Before running the project, I needed:

An active AWS account
An S3 bucket
An EC2 instance running Amazon Linux 2023
Mild patience and stable internet

Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/jameskipngetich/s3-uploader-demo.git
cd s3-uploader-demo

2. Install Dependencies

pip3 install boto3 requests

3. Run the Upload Demo

# Syntax:
python3 main.py <BUCKET_NAME> <FILE_TO_UPLOAD> <ACTION>

# Example:
echo "Hello S3" > test.txt
python3 main.py my-demo-bucket-123 test.txt put

Final Thoughts

One thing I am slowly learning is that cloud engineering becomes much less scary once you stop avoiding documentation.

Most debugging sessions are honestly just:

misunderstanding regions,
permissions,
or forgetting one tiny configuration somewhere.

Reading the docs makes debugging almost obsolete.

Almost.

Peace.

— lelkiramkeel

Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Terraform, AWS CLI, and Your AWS Environment

James Kipsoi — Mon, 11 May 2026 05:29:26 +0000

Hi there,

Today I am going to take you through the process of setting up Terraform, AWS CLI, and your AWS environment for your DevOps journey.

But honestly… don’t you think there are already way too many tutorials, blogs, and videos about this? Just search “Terraform setup” and watch your screen become instantly messy with suggestions.

It is honestly surprising you clicked this one.
A glass of milk for both you and me

Now, I will not pretend that this guide is magically different from the others. I am just a student DevOps engineer trying to complete a challenge assignment, so forgive me if I sound slightly dramatic along the way.

Still, this is the exact process I followed.

Step 1 — Create an AWS Account

I started by creating an AWS Free Tier account.

A few important things I quickly learned:

Always enable billing alerts or budgets early.
Never casually leave EC2 instances running.
Avoid using the root account for daily activities.

AWS gives enough free resources to learn comfortably, but cloud bills can become dangerous surprisingly fast.

I also decided to use a separate IAM user instead of the root account for better security practices.

Step 2 — Install Terraform

For Terraform, I followed the official HashiCorp installation guide:

Terraform Install Guide

Since I use Ubuntu/Linux, I used the Linux installation method.

After installation, I verified Terraform using:

terraform version

Output:

Terraform v1.14.5
on linux_amd64

provider registry.terraform.io/hashicorp/aws v6.44.0

Terraform also informed me that a newer version was available, but the installed version worked perfectly fine for the labs.

Step 3 — Install AWS CLI

Next, I installed AWS CLI using the official AWS documentation:

AWS CLI Quickstart Guide

After installation, I configured my credentials using:

aws configure

I entered:

Access Key
Secret Access Key
Default region
Output format

For my region, I chose one close to me and commonly used for learning labs.

To confirm everything was working correctly, I ran:

aws sts get-caller-identity

Output:

{
"UserId": "AIDAZ24IS2U2RF5HSEXOK",
"Account": "676206925109",
"Arn": "arn:aws:iam::676206925109:user/demo-user"
}

This confirmed that my AWS CLI authentication was properly configured.

Common Errors and Quick Fixes

Even though setup is usually straightforward, people still find creative ways to break things. Here are some common problems and fixes:

Terraform Command Not Found

Problem:

terraform: command not found

Fix:
Terraform is either not installed correctly or not added to your PATH.

AWS Credentials Not Working

Problem:

Unable to locate credentials

Fix:
Run:

aws configure

and enter valid credentials.

Access Denied Errors

Problem:
IAM user lacks permissions.

Fix:
Attach the required IAM policies or use a user with proper permissions.

Unexpected AWS Charges

Problem:
Leaving resources running accidentally.

Fix:
Always destroy unused infrastructure and set AWS Budgets alerts.

Final Thoughts

The setup process was actually smoother than I expected.

The most interesting part was seeing how Terraform and AWS CLI work together to automate infrastructure management. Once the environment was ready, I could already see how much faster Infrastructure as Code is compared to manually configuring cloud resources through the AWS console.

Read the docs before starting a 4-hour debugging side quest
Peace.
-lelkiramkeel

What is Infrastructure as Code and why it is transforming DevOps

James Kipsoi — Fri, 08 May 2026 03:29:43 +0000

In today’s tech world, success is measured by flexibility, speed, and the ability to accomplish important tasks efficiently within a short time.
That is where automation comes in.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the epitome of automation in infrastructure management. Instead of performing repetitive and cumbersome tasks manually through a GUI, IaC allows you to define infrastructure using configuration files. These configurations can then be deployed within seconds using simple commands such as terraform apply.

Declarative vs Imperative Approaches

There are two main approaches to Infrastructure as Code:

Declarative Approach

With the declarative approach, you define the desired end state and let the tool determine how to achieve it.

Example:

“I want 10 servers running.”

Tools like Terraform handle the process of creating and managing the infrastructure needed to match that desired state.

Imperative Approach

With the imperative approach, you define the exact steps required to reach the desired state.

Example:

“Create server 1, create server 2… create server 10.”

The challenge with this approach is that rerunning scripts can sometimes create duplicate infrastructure if state is not properly managed.

Why Terraform?

Terraform is one of the industry leaders in Infrastructure as Code. It allows you to manage infrastructure across both private and public cloud platforms.

Some reasons why Terraform is worth learning:

It uses a human-readable language for writing infrastructure configurations.
Terraform state helps track and manage deployed infrastructure.
It supports version control, making collaboration in infrastructure management easier.
It works across multiple cloud providers, making skills transferable.
My Terraform 30-Day Challenge

I am embarking on this 30-day journey to better understand Infrastructure as Code and Terraform in particular. My goal is to gain more hands-on experience in infrastructure management, automation, and modern DevOps practices.

Looking forward to learning, building, and sharing the journey.