The console, the CLI and the SDKs, in eleven slides — one signed API request behind all three, the AWS account, signing in to the console as the root user or an IAM user, the console's top bar, CloudShell, installing the CLI, aws login, profiles and the config files, the shape of a CLI command, the SDKs, and one request sent three ways and recorded by CloudTrail.
The slides
The tool is eleven slides, one picture each:
- Three ways into AWS: the console, the CLI and the SDKs send the same signed request.
- The AWS account: what it holds, its 12-digit ID, signing up, the bill.
- Signing in to the console: the root user and an IAM user.
- The console's top bar: the Services menu, search, CloudShell, the Region and the account.
- CloudShell: a shell in the console: the CLI, already signed in.
- Installing the AWS CLI: three commands on Linux.
- Credentials for the CLI: aws login: the browser sign-in AWS now recommends.
- Profiles and the two config files:
~/.aws/config and ~/.aws/credentials. - The shape of a CLI command: service, operation, options.
- The SDKs: one per language; the same
ListBuckets from Python (boto3) and JavaScript. - One request, three ways:
ListBuckets from each tool, recorded by CloudTrail.
The buttons on the left and right edges move between slides. So do the arrow keys and a swipe.
The hands-on guide
Getting Started with AWS does all of this on a real account: the console,
CloudShell, and the CLI on your own computer. The session's notes and the boto3 examples are in the course repository:
01-cloud-and-account.
Sources
We checked every command and setting on the slides against AWS's documentation on 2026-11-12.