Hey cloud adventurers!
Welcome to Week 1 of my new weekly series:
“From Terminal to Cloud: My Linux + AWS Project Journey”
Each week, I’ll share a hands-on AWS project (powered by Linux + the AWS Free Tier) to help cement my knowledge and build toward passing the AWS Solutions Architect Associate exam — and maybe help you do the same!
But before we launch EC2s, wrangle S3 buckets, or ride CloudFront like a cowboy — we need to gear up with our most powerful tool:
The AWS Command Line Interface (CLI)
AKA the magic wand that lets you talk to AWS like a developer-ninja-architect hybrid.
📚 Table of Contents
- Why the AWS CLI?
- Step-by-Step: Installing the AWS CLI on Windows
- Step 4: Configure the CLI
- Test Your Setup
- Want This on Linux Too?
- What’s Next?
Why the AWS CLI?
If the AWS Console is the shiny showroom, the CLI is the garage with all the tools.
Deploy stuff in seconds
Automate backups
Control every AWS service from the command line
Look like a total legend in screenshots
Step-by-Step: Installing the AWS CLI on Windows
Step 1: Download the installer
Go to the official AWS CLI v2 download page and grab the Windows installer. Link here
Step 2: Run the installer
Double-click the .msi file and click through the wizard like a seasoned wizard
Step 3: Verify the install
Pop open Command Prompt (cmd) or PowerShell and type aws --version
Step 4: Configure the CLI
You’ll need your AWS credentials. If you don’t have them yet:
Log into your AWS Console
Go to IAM > Users
Create a new user (if needed) with Programmatic access
Attach the policy AmazonS3FullAccess or AdministratorAccess (if you're just testing in the Free Tier)
Download the access keys safely
Then in your terminal, run aws configure
It’ll ask for:
AWS Access Key ID [None]:
AWS Secret Access Key [None]:
Default region name [None]: eu-west-1 (closest to me in Northern Ireland, and totally Free Tier supported!)
Default output format [None]: json
Once completed it will look like this when you next run the command
Test Your Setup
If you see your account info, you're ready to roll! I've redacted mine - just in case!
Want This on Linux Too?
I did this setup on Windows, but if you’d like a Linux walkthrough (especially from my Red Hat environment), just let me know in the comments or messages and I’ll happily whip one up!
What’s Next?
Next week in Project 1, we’ll:
Use the CLI to create an S3 bucket
Upload files to it
And even host a static website on it — with CloudFront swagger
Stay tuned, and if you’re following along, tag me and let’s build this AWS + Linux skill stack together!
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