This article kicks off a series of posts describing how to use aws-vault, a third party tool that helps engineers store and use AWS credentials securely in their local development and operational environments. The series will cover:
- installing aws-vault and using it to manage credentials for an AWS account and using aws-vault to execute commands with those credentials safely
- assuming a role in an AWS account using short-term credentials
- assuming a role across AWS accounts by authenticating to one account and using those credentials to assume a role in another
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Ok, let’s go!
This how-to describes installation and use of aws-vault, a third party tool that manages credentials for an AWS account.
Step-by-step guide
- Download the latest release.
- You may need to change the file’s permissions so that it is executable.
- Rename the executable file to “aws-vault” and ensure that it is in your path.
- To display the usage format, list of flags, and list of commands, enter either of the following commands:
$ aws-vault $ aws-vault --help
- To store AWS credentials for use, enter:
$ aws-vault add <profile>
- Multiple profiles can be created by using this command repeatedly.
- Three prompts will appear:
- The Access Key ID and Secret Key are those associated with your AWS account.
- The passphrase is one that you create. You will need to enter this passphrase each time you execute a command using temporary credentials. This example shows a Linux variation of the workflow (OS X will use the macOS Keychain).
Enter Access Key ID: <AWS_Access_Key> Enter Secret Access Key: <AWS_Secret_Key> Enter passphrase to unlock /path/to/.awsvault/keys/: <passphrase> Added credentials to profile "<profile>" in vault
- To execute an aws command using temporary credentials, enter a command like this one:
$ aws-vault exec <profile> -- aws s3 ls Enter passphrase to unlock /path/to/.awsvault/keys/: <passphrase> <s3 buckets>
- To list all profiles and credentials added to your vault, enter:
$ aws-vault list Profile Credentials Sessions ======= =========== ======== <profile_1> <profile_1> 1234567890 <profile_2> <profile_2>
- To remove the credentials associated with a profile, enter:
$ aws-vault remove <profile>
- To remove sessions managed by aws-vault, use the –session-only flag.
$ aws-vault remove <profile> --sessions-only
Note: Removing a profile only removes the credentials associated with a profile, you will still see the profile name listed after removing the credentials.
- To remove sessions managed by aws-vault, use the –session-only flag.
Further Reading
This article is the first in a series of instructional posts for using the aws-vault tool. In Part 2, you will learn how to use aws-vault to assume a role in an AWS account safely.