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AWS Documentation » AWS Command Line Interface » User Guide » Installing the AWS CLI

Installing the AWS CLI

Ways to install the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI)

Prerequisites

  • Python 2 version 2.6.5+ or Python 3 version 3.3+

  • Windows, Linux, macOS, or Unix

Note

Earlier versions of Python might not work with all AWS services. If you see InsecurePlatformWarning or deprecation notices when you install or use the AWS CLI, update to a newer version.

You can find the version number of the most recent CLI at: https://github.com/aws/aws-cli/blob/master/CHANGELOG.rst.

In this guide, the commands shown assume you have Python v3 installed and the pip commands shown use the pip3 version.

Installing the AWS CLI Using pip

The primary distribution method for the AWS CLI on Linux, Windows, and macOS is pip. This is a package manager for Python that provides an easy way to install, upgrade, and remove Python packages and their dependencies.

Current AWS CLI Version

The AWS CLI is updated frequently with support for new services and commands. To determine whether you have the latest version, see the releases page on GitHub.

If you already have pip and a supported version of Python, you can install the AWS CLI by using the following command. If you have Python version 3+ installed, we recommend that you use the pip3 command. 

$ pip3 install awscli --upgrade --user

The --upgrade option tells pip3 to upgrade any requirements that are already installed. The --user option tells pip3 to install the program to a subdirectory of your user directory to avoid modifying libraries used by your operating system.

Installing the AWS CLI in a Virtual Environment

If you encounter issues when you attempt to install the AWS CLI with pip3, you can install the AWS CLI in a virtual environment to isolate the tool and its dependencies. Or you can use a different version of Python than you normally do.

Installing the AWS CLI Using an Installer

For offline or automated installations on Linux, macOS, or Unix, try the bundled installer. The bundled installer includes the AWS CLI, its dependencies, and a shell script that performs the installation for you.

On Windows, you can also use the MSI installer. Both of these methods simplify the initial installation. However, the tradeoff is that it's more difficult to upgrade when a new version of the AWS CLI is released.

Steps to Take after Installation

After you install the AWS CLI, you might need to add the path to the executable file to your PATH variable. For platform-specific instructions, see the following topics:

Verify that the AWS CLI installed correctly by running aws --version. 

$ aws --version
aws-cli/1.16.71 Python/3.6.5 Linux/4.14.77-81.59-amzn2.x86_64 botocore/1.12.61

The AWS CLI is updated regularly to add support for new services and commands. To update to the latest version of the AWS CLI, run the installation command again. For details about the latest version of the AWS CLI, see the AWS CLI release notes. 

$ pip3 install awscli --upgrade --user

If you need to uninstall the AWS CLI, use pip uninstall. 

$ pip3 uninstall awscli

If you don't have Python and pip, use the procedure for your environment.

Detailed Instructions for Each Environment