☁️ 50 Most-Used AWS CLI Commands and Parameters
AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) lets you manage Amazon Web Services from the terminal. This guide combines a practical reference table with an interactive emulator so readers can practice commands, visualize simulated resources, and reinforce learning without connecting to a real account.
Learning note: emulator output is simulated for training. Real output can vary by region, permissions, AWS CLI version, IAM policies, and existing resources.
🚀 Responsive AWS CLI Emulator
Type a command, choose a suggestion, or click “Use in Emulator” from the table. The emulator will show simulated output, guided feedback, and visual resource movement.
Challenge: run
aws configure to start your session.AWS WORKSPACE
RESOURCE SCOPE 0
aws-runbook.md0/10
AWS CLI
Free challenges are available now. Lite, Pro, and Pro Plus are prepared for future expansion.
Expected runbook commands
aws configureRun the next command to receive guided feedback.
Run the next command to receive guided feedback.
AWS Resource VisualizerNo changes yet: run a command to move simulated resources.
WORKSPACE OUTPUT
waiting$ Waiting for an AWS CLI command... Run a command to see simulated AWS output here.
$ AWS CLI Emulator Ready Tip: choose a command from the table and click "Use in Emulator".
On small screens, the table automatically becomes cards so content is not cut off.
| # | Command / Parameter | Description | Example | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | aws configure | Configure credentials, default region, and default output format. | aws configure | |
| 2 | aws sts get-caller-identity | Show the active identity, AWS account, and ARN. | aws sts get-caller-identity | |
| 3 | aws iam list-users | List IAM users in the account. | aws iam list-users | |
| 4 | aws iam create-user | Create an IAM user. | aws iam create-user --user-name Juan | |
| 5 | aws iam attach-user-policy | Attach a managed policy to an IAM user. | aws iam attach-user-policy --user-name Juan --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/ReadOnlyAccess | |
| 6 | aws iam list-roles | List available IAM roles. | aws iam list-roles --output table | |
| 7 | aws s3 ls | List S3 buckets or objects under an S3 path. | aws s3 ls | |
| 8 | aws s3 mb | Create a new S3 bucket. | aws s3 mb s3://mi-bucket | |
| 9 | aws s3 rb | Remove an S3 bucket; –force also removes its content. | aws s3 rb s3://mi-bucket --force | |
| 10 | aws s3 cp | Copy files between local storage and S3, or between S3 paths. | aws s3 cp archivo.txt s3://mi-bucket/ | |
| 11 | aws s3 sync | Synchronize local folders with S3, or S3 with local storage. | aws s3 sync ./ s3://mi-bucket/ | |
| 12 | aws s3api list-buckets | List buckets using the low-level S3 API. | aws s3api list-buckets --query "Buckets[].Name" --output table | |
| 13 | aws ec2 describe-instances | List and describe EC2 instances. | aws ec2 describe-instances --output table | |
| 14 | aws ec2 run-instances | Launch a new EC2 instance. | aws ec2 run-instances --image-id ami-12345 --count 1 --instance-type t3.micro --key-name MiLlave --security-groups default | |
| 15 | aws ec2 stop-instances | Stop an EC2 instance. | aws ec2 stop-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0 | |
| 16 | aws ec2 start-instances | Start a stopped EC2 instance. | aws ec2 start-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0 | |
| 17 | aws ec2 terminate-instances | Terminate or delete an EC2 instance. | aws ec2 terminate-instances --instance-ids i-1234567890abcdef0 | |
| 18 | aws ec2 describe-volumes | List EBS volumes. | aws ec2 describe-volumes --output table | |
| 19 | aws ec2 create-volume | Create an EBS volume. | aws ec2 create-volume --size 10 --region us-east-1 --availability-zone us-east-1a --volume-type gp3 | |
| 20 | aws ec2 attach-volume | Attach an EBS volume to an EC2 instance. | aws ec2 attach-volume --volume-id vol-123456 --instance-id i-123456 --device /dev/sdf | |
| 21 | aws ec2 delete-volume | Delete an available EBS volume. | aws ec2 delete-volume --volume-id vol-123456 | |
| 22 | aws ec2 describe-vpcs | List available VPCs. | aws ec2 describe-vpcs --output table | |
| 23 | aws ec2 create-vpc | Create a VPC. | aws ec2 create-vpc --cidr-block 10.0.0.0/16 | |
| 24 | aws ec2 describe-security-groups | List security groups. | aws ec2 describe-security-groups --output table | |
| 25 | aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress | Add an inbound rule to a security group. | aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress --group-id sg-012345 --protocol tcp --port 80 --cidr 0.0.0.0/0 | |
| 26 | aws rds describe-db-instances | List RDS database instances. | aws rds describe-db-instances --output table | |
| 27 | aws rds create-db-instance | Create an RDS database instance. | aws rds create-db-instance --db-instance-identifier mi-db --db-instance-class db.t3.micro --engine mysql --allocated-storage 20 --master-username admin --master-user-password clave123 | |
| 28 | aws rds delete-db-instance | Delete an RDS database instance. | aws rds delete-db-instance --db-instance-identifier mi-db --skip-final-snapshot | |
| 29 | aws lambda list-functions | List Lambda functions. | aws lambda list-functions --output table | |
| 30 | aws lambda create-function | Create a Lambda function. | aws lambda create-function --function-name MiFuncion --runtime python3.12 --role arn:aws:iam::123:role/lambda-role --handler index.handler --zip-file fileb://function.zip | |
| 31 | aws lambda invoke | Invoke a Lambda function. | aws lambda invoke --function-name MiFuncion output.json | |
| 32 | aws logs describe-log-groups | List CloudWatch log groups. | aws logs describe-log-groups --log-group-name-prefix /aws/lambda | |
| 33 | aws cloudformation deploy | Deploy a CloudFormation template. | aws cloudformation deploy --template-file template.yml --stack-name MiStack | |
| 34 | aws cloudformation describe-stacks | Describe CloudFormation stacks. | aws cloudformation describe-stacks --stack-name MiStack | |
| 35 | aws cloudformation delete-stack | Delete a CloudFormation stack. | aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name MiStack | |
| 36 | aws cloudwatch list-metrics | List available CloudWatch metrics. | aws cloudwatch list-metrics --namespace AWS/EC2 | |
| 37 | aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics | Get statistics for a metric. | aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics --metric-name CPUUtilization --start-time 2026-06-01T00:00:00Z --end-time 2026-06-02T00:00:00Z --period 3600 --namespace AWS/EC2 --statistics Average --dimensions Name=InstanceId,Value=i-123456 | |
| 38 | aws dynamodb list-tables | List DynamoDB tables. | aws dynamodb list-tables | |
| 39 | aws dynamodb create-table | Create a DynamoDB table. | aws dynamodb create-table --table-name MiTabla --attribute-definitions AttributeName=ID,AttributeType=S --key-schema AttributeName=ID,KeyType=HASH --provisioned-throughput ReadCapacityUnits=5,WriteCapacityUnits=5 | |
| 40 | aws dynamodb put-item | Insert an item into DynamoDB. | aws dynamodb put-item --table-name MiTabla --item '{"ID": {"S": "123"}, "Nombre": {"S": "Juan"}}' | |
| 41 | aws eks list-clusters | List EKS clusters. | aws eks list-clusters | |
| 42 | aws eks update-kubeconfig | Update kubeconfig to connect to an EKS cluster. | aws eks update-kubeconfig --region us-east-1 --name eks-demo | |
| 43 | aws ecr get-login-password | Get a login token for Amazon ECR. | aws ecr get-login-password --region us-east-1 | |
| 44 | aws ecr describe-repositories | List ECR repositories. | aws ecr describe-repositories --output table | |
| 45 | aws ecs list-clusters | List ECS clusters. | aws ecs list-clusters | |
| 46 | aws ecs list-services | List services inside an ECS cluster. | aws ecs list-services --cluster ecs-demo | |
| 47 | aws ecs update-service | Update an ECS service and optionally force a new deployment. | aws ecs update-service --cluster ecs-demo --service web --force-new-deployment | |
| 48 | --region | Specify the AWS region for a command. | aws s3 ls --region us-east-1 | |
| 49 | --profile | Use a locally configured credential profile. | aws s3 ls --profile dev | |
| 50 | --query / --output / --filters | Filter results with JMESPath, change output format, and apply filters. | aws ec2 describe-instances --filters "Name=instance-type,Values=t3.micro" --query "Reservations[*].Instances[*].InstanceId" --output table |
🧠 Conclusion
This version helps readers practice AWS CLI from WordPress without connecting to a real account. It works well for blogs, pages, free WooCommerce products, Moodle content, and micro-courses because it combines explanation, a searchable command table, quick copy buttons, guided challenges, and infrastructure-flow visualization.