A quick guide to installing Python version of the Amazon Web Services command line interface.
While many users of AWS’s command line interface (CLI) tool for Python work from terminal sessions on Linux computers, we can’t ignore the fact that many will also access the service from Windows. Once you’re up and running, there really is no significant difference between operating systems, so Cloud Academy’s video tutorials dealing with the CLI should make perfect sense for everyone. But getting everything installed doesn’t work quite the same way. Since we tend to only show the Linux method in our CLI videos, I’ll use this blog post to briefly outline how to install the AWS CLI on Windows (XP or later).
There are two approaches: the MSI installer and PIP – Python’s own package manager. We’ll describe the simpler MSI installer method, but you can find instructions for PIP (and for other operating systems) here.
Install the AWS CLI on Windows:
MSI installation couldn’t be simpler. Download the appropriate package for your PC, either 64-bit or 32-bit (if you’re not sure which architecture is right for your computer, it’s safe to assume that, unless your PC is at least ten years old, you’ll be fine with 64-bit).
Then run the downloaded installer and follow instructions. (OK. I’ll admit that for people like me who don’t like following instructions, that’s not so simple. I guess that’s why I chose Linux.)
You can confirm that the installation was successful by running
aws –version
from a command prompt. If you’re not sure how to open a command prompt, search for “cmd” in the START menu.
That should be it. You’re ready to go!
