Recently, I’ve found myself spending more time exploring AWS and cloud computing—through documentation, blogs, architecture diagrams, and discussions in the developer community. Naturally, I wanted to understand AWS better, not just theoretically, but in a way that actually sticks.
Like many beginners, my first instinct was to dive straight into the official AWS documentation.
That’s where I struggled.
AWS documentation is extremely detailed and accurate, but it’s also verbose and sometimes hard to digest when you’re still building foundational mental models. Reading page after page felt overwhelming, and progress felt slow.
Instead of pushing harder in the same direction, I decided to change my approach.
Building as a Way to Learn AWS
I’ve always learned better by building things, even small projects. So rather than trying to understand EC2 purely by reading documentation, I asked myself:
What if I could interact with the documentation instead of just reading it?
That idea led me to build a small RAG-based chatbot focused on a very specific use case:
AWS EC2 instance types — using only official AWS documentation.
Not all AWS services.
Not even all of EC2.
Just instance types.
Why Focus on EC2 Instance Types?
EC2 instance types are:
- Fundamental to working with AWS
- Often confusing at first glance
- Spread across multiple documentation pages
- Frequently referenced in real-world use cases
They felt like the right balance between important and manageable.
I intentionally did not use all available AWS documentation. The documentation set is massive, and trying to ingest everything would have defeated the purpose. Instead, I limited the scope to specific EC2 instance type documentation pages, including:
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ec2/latest/instancetypes/
What This Bot Does
At a high level, the bot:
- Reads selected official AWS EC2 documentation pages
- Extracts relevant information
- Answers questions strictly within that scope
It’s not meant to replace the documentation.
It’s meant to make navigating it less intimidating while learning.
What I Gained from This
Building this project helped me:
- Get more comfortable navigating AWS documentation
- Break large learning goals into smaller, focused problems
- Learn by doing instead of passively reading
- Develop a clearer understanding of how AWS concepts are structured
Most importantly, it helped reduce the intimidation factor that often comes with learning cloud technologies.
Part of a Bigger Learning Goal
I’m genuinely interested in:
- AWS and cloud-native systems
- Learning in public
- Sharing knowledge with the community
This project is part of my ongoing effort to deepen my understanding of AWS, and it aligns with my interest in engaging with the AWS Community Builder program.
It’s not meant to showcase expertise, but rather intent, curiosity, and consistency.
Open Source & Contributions Welcome
I’ve open-sourced this project so others can explore it, learn from it, or extend it further.
If you:
- Spot improvements
- Want to expand documentation coverage
- Have ideas for new features or use cases
- Or simply want to learn by contributing
…you’re more than welcome to contribute.
👉 GitHub repository: AWS EC2 RAG Chatbot
Closing Thoughts
If you’re learning AWS and feeling overwhelmed by the documentation, you’re definitely not alone.
One thing I’ve learned so far is this:
You don’t need to understand all of AWS at once.
Start small, stay focused, and build your way forward.
This approach has made my AWS learning journey far more engaging, and I’m excited to continue exploring EC2 and other AWS services step by step.
Top comments (1)
This is just the way to go. I learn more when I build as well