Set up an AI coding agent for Amazon SES

Amazon SES publishes the amazon-ses skill to help AI coding agents set up and troubleshoot email sending. The AWS MCP Server can provide the current skill when your request needs it.

The current amazon-ses skill does not include Mail Manager or email receiving.

Before you begin

Prerequisites depend on the setup method that you choose.

• For the AWS Command Line Interface wizard, an aws-core plugin, or the Kiro local-proxy configuration on this page, install uv, which includes uvx. These methods use uvx to run the local proxy for the AWS MCP Server. A direct OAuth connection does not require uv.

• This step applies only when you install the skill locally for Kiro. Install Node.js, which provides the npx command.

• For a local-proxy or IAM SigV4 connection, configure AWS credentials locally before the agent calls AWS APIs. Documentation search and skill discovery do not require credentials. A direct OAuth connection uses browser sign-in and does not require local AWS credentials for the MCP connection. Local scripts that call AWS APIs still require credentials.

• For a direct OAuth connection, the IAM identity that signs in must allow signin:AuthorizeOAuth2Access and signin:CreateOAuth2Token.

Step 1: Connect your agent to AWS

Follow the instructions for your agent. When connected, your agent can access the amazon-ses skill when needed.

Claude Code

Run these commands in Claude Code:

/plugin install aws-core@claude-plugins-official
/reload-plugins

Note

If Claude Code reports that the plugin was not found, run /plugin marketplace update claude-plugins-official, and then retry the installation.

Codex

Add the Agent Toolkit marketplace from your terminal:

codex plugin marketplace add aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws

Launch Codex, run /plugins, and install aws-core. Start a new conversation before you continue to Step 2.

Cursor

In Cursor, choose Settings, Plugins, Team Marketplaces, Add Marketplace, and Import from Repo. Enter aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws. Then open the Plugins panel and install aws-core.

Kiro

Kiro uses separate MCP and local skill configurations. Add the AWS MCP Server to .kiro/settings/mcp.json. Replace us-west-2 with the default AWS Region for your operations.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-proxy-for-aws-cli@latest",
        "https://aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws/mcp",
        "--metadata", "AWS_REGION=us-west-2"
      ]
    }
  }
}

From your project root, install the local amazon-ses skill and its reference files:

npx skills add https://github.com/aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws \
    --skill amazon-ses \
    --agent kiro-cli \
    --yes

Alternative: Automatic setup with the AWS Command Line Interface

If you have AWS Command Line Interface version 2.35.0 or later, run the setup wizard:

aws configure agent-toolkit

The wizard detects supported installed agents, installs the default AWS skills, and configures the AWS MCP Server. Restart your agent after the wizard completes.

Alternative: Connect directly with OAuth 2.1

If your agent supports remote MCP servers, you can connect directly with OAuth 2.1 instead of running the local proxy. This path uses browser sign-in and does not require uv or local AWS credentials for the MCP connection. For commands for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and Kiro, see OAuth 2.1 authentication for AWS MCP Server. A direct connection does not install the local skills included with aws-core.

Another agent or custom framework

If your agent supports MCP, connect it directly to the AWS MCP Server. For client configuration and authentication options, including OAuth and IAM SigV4, see Setting up the AWS MCP Server.

If the agent supports Agent Skills, you can also install amazon-ses locally from the Agent Toolkit for AWS on GitHub. Choose the target agent when prompted.

Step 2: Use the Amazon SES skill

For Amazon SES access-control guidance, see Identity and access management in Amazon SES. For connection or authentication problems, see Setting up the AWS MCP Server.

Describe the outcome that you want. You don't need to name the skill. For example, replace example.com with your domain and use this prompt:

Set up example.com as a sending domain in Amazon SES.

Keep your setup current

The AWS MCP Server provides the current amazon-ses skill. If you installed a local copy, repeat the installation process to update it.