Uninstalling the AWS CLI version 2

This topic describes how to uninstall the AWS Command Line Interface version 2 (AWS CLI version 2).

AWS CLI version 2 uninstallation instructions:

Linux

To uninstall, follow the same method you used to install the AWS CLI.

Command line installer

To uninstall the AWS CLI version 2, run the following commands.

1. Locate the symlink and install paths.

   • Use the which command to find the symlink. This shows the path you used with the --bin-dir parameter.

     $ which aws
     /usr/local/bin/aws

   • Use the ls command to find the directory that the symlink points to. This gives you the path you used with the --install-dir parameter.

     $ ls -l /usr/local/bin/aws
     lrwxrwxrwx 1 ec2-user ec2-user 49 Oct 22 09:49 /usr/local/bin/aws -> /usr/local/aws-cli/v2/current/bin/aws

2. Delete the two symlinks in the --bin-dir directory. If your user has write permission to these directories, you don't need to use sudo.

   $ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/aws
   $ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/aws_completer

3. Delete the --install-dir directory. If your user has write permission to this directory, you don't need to use sudo.

   $ sudo rm -rf /usr/local/aws-cli

4. (Optional) Remove the shared AWS SDK and AWS CLI settings information in the .aws folder.

   Warning

   These configuration and credentials settings are shared across all AWS SDKs and the AWS CLI. If you remove this folder, they cannot be accessed by any AWS SDKs that are still on your system.

   The default location of the .aws folder differs between platforms, by default the folder is located in ~/.aws/. If your user has write permission to this directory, you don't need to use sudo.

   $ sudo rm -rf ~/.aws/

Snap

We provide an official AWS supported version of the AWS CLI on snap. If you used snap to install the AWS CLI, use the following steps:

1. Run the following snap remove command for the AWS CLI.

   $ snap remove aws-cli --classic

   If you used sudo to install the AWS CLI, you need to add it to the command.

   $ sudo snap remove aws-cli --classic

2. You might need to restart your command prompt window or your computer to remove all files.

3. (Optional) Remove the shared AWS SDK and AWS CLI settings information in the .aws folder.

   Warning

   These configuration and credentials settings are shared across all AWS SDKs and the AWS CLI. If you remove this folder, they cannot be accessed by any AWS SDKs that are still on your system.

   The default location of the .aws folder differs between platforms, by default the folder is located in ~/.aws/. If you have write permissions to this directory, you don't need to use sudo.

   $ sudo rm -r ~/.aws/

macOS

To uninstall the AWS CLI version 2, run the following commands, substituting the paths you used to install. The example commands use the default installation paths.

1. Find the folder that contains the symlinks to the main program and the completer.

   $ which aws
   /usr/local/bin/aws

2. Using that information, run the following command to find the installation folder that the symlinks point to.

   $ ls -l /usr/local/bin/aws
   lrwxrwxrwx 1 ec2-user ec2-user 49 Oct 22 09:49 /usr/local/bin/aws -> /usr/local/aws-cli/aws

3. Delete the two symlinks in the first folder. If your user already has write permission to these folders, you don't need to use sudo.

   $ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/aws
   $ sudo rm /usr/local/bin/aws_completer

4. Delete the main installation folder. Use sudo to gain write access to the /usr/local folder.

   $ sudo rm -rf /usr/local/aws-cli

5. (Optional) Remove the shared AWS SDK and AWS CLI settings information in the .aws folder.

   Warning

   These configuration and credentials settings are shared across all AWS SDKs and the AWS CLI. If you remove this folder, they cannot be accessed by any AWS SDKs that are still on your system.

   The default location of the .aws folder differs between platforms, by default the folder is located in ~/.aws/. If your user has write permission to this directory, you don't need to use sudo.

   $ sudo rm -rf ~/.aws/

Windows

1. Open Programs and Features by doing one of the following:

   • Open the Control Panel, and then choose Programs and Features.

   • Open a command prompt, and then enter the following command.

     C:\> appwiz.cpl

2. Select the entry named AWS Command Line Interface, and then choose Uninstall to launch the uninstaller.

3. Confirm that you want to uninstall the AWS CLI.

4. (Optional) Remove the shared AWS SDK and AWS CLI settings information in the .aws folder.

   Warning

   These configuration and credentials settings are shared across all AWS SDKs and the AWS CLI. If you remove this folder, they cannot be accessed by any AWS SDKs that are still on your system.

   The default location of the .aws folder differs between platforms, by default the folder is located in %UserProfile%\.aws.

   $ rmdir %UserProfile%\.aws

Troubleshooting AWS CLI install and uninstall errors

If you come across issues after installing or uninstalling the AWS CLI, see Troubleshooting errors for the AWS CLI for troubleshooting steps. For the most relevant troubleshooting steps, see Command not found errors, The "aws --version" command returns a different version than you installed, and The "aws --version" command returns a version after uninstalling the AWS CLI.