AWS CLI & Utility Functions

Overview

The Portico AWS Utility Functions is a comprehensive bash script that simplifies common AWS operations for Portico development team. It provides an intuitive command-line interface for AWS profile management, EC2 operations, S3 file operations, and SSM session management.

Core Functions

• awsutils - Interactive menu launcher

• aws-switch - Select and activate AWS profile

• aws-login - Login to AWS SSO

• awswho - Show current identity

• ec2list - List EC2 instances

• ssm - Connect to EC2 via SSM

• s3ls - List S3 buckets/objects

• s3cp - Copy files to/from S3

• aws-utils-help - Comprehensive help reference

AWS Vault Setup: Portico AWS CLI Utility | AWS Vault and Local Credential Access Programmatically:

Key Features

• 🔐 Easy AWS profile switching and SSO authentication

• 🖥️ EC2 instance management and SSH-less connectivity via SSM

• 📦 S3 bucket browsing and file operations

• 🎨 Color-coded output for better readability

• 📖 Interactive menu and comprehensive help system

• ⚡ Quick shortcuts for common AWS tasks

Installation & Setup

1. AWS CLI Installation

• Install AWS CLI v2 using PowerShell.

irm https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/install.ps1 | iex

• Verify installation:

aws --version

• Check installation path:

where.exe aws

2. Config Setup

Create the .aws directory and config file:

mkdir ~/.aws
cd ~/.aws
vi config

Paste the provided team-specific config (e.g., Apex team):

[profile portico-setup]
sso_start_url=https://ithaka-sso.awsapps.com/start
sso_region=us-east-1
sso_account_id=875219073553
sso_role_name=PorticoApexV1
region=us-east-1
cli_auto_prompt=off

[profile portico-apex]
sso_start_url=https://ithaka-sso.awsapps.com/start
sso_region=us-east-1
sso_account_id=720294270740
sso_role_name=PorticoApexV1
region=us-east-1
cli_auto_prompt=off

• Paste the contents of the provided .txt file into config.

• Save and exit (:wq in vi).

3. What is a Profile?

• A profile is like a workspace or environment.

• It tells AWS CLI which account, region, and role to use.

• Example:

  • portico-setup → used when working in setup environment.

  • portico-apex → used when working in Apex environment.

• You switch profiles depending on where you’re working.

4. What is SSO?

SSO (Single Sign-On) means you log in once and gain access to multiple AWS accounts without re‑entering credentials each time.

• It uses your organization’s identity provider (like Okta or AWS SSO) to authenticate you securely.

• In our config file:

  • sso_start_url → the login page where authentication begins.

  • Example: https://ithaka-sso.awsapps.com/start is the starting point for login.

5. Explaining Config File Contents

Each line in the config has meaning:

• profile name → portico-setup or portico-apex (environment identifier)

• sso_start_url → where login starts

• sso_region → region for authentication

• sso_account_id → AWS account you’re logging into

• sso_role_name → IAM role assigned to you

• region → default AWS region for commands

• cli_auto_prompt → whether CLI prompts interactively

6. Working with Multiple Profiles

• If you’re working in setup environment, use portico-setup.

• If you’re working in apex environment, use portico-apex.

Switch profiles using:

aws-switch

Then log in with:

aws-login

Installation Steps

1. Download the Script

You created the utility script file using vi:

vi portico-aws-utils.sh

• vi opens a text editor in the terminal.

• Here you paste the script content and save it.

• This file contains all the custom AWS utility functions.

2. Check Current Shell

echo $SHELL

• This command shows which shell you’re currently using.

• Output: /usr/bin/bash confirms you’re already in Bash.

• If not Bash, you would switch using:

chsh -s /bin/bash

3. Make Script Executable

chmod +x portico-aws-utils.sh

• chmod +x gives execute permission to the script.

• Without this, you can’t run it as a program.

4. Download Session Manager Plugin with Curl

curl -L -o ~/Downloads/SessionManagerPlugin.zip "https://s3.amazonaws.com/session-manager-downloads/plugin/latest/windows/SessionManagerPlugin.zip"

unzip ~/Downloads/SessionManagerPlugin.zip -d ~/Downloads/SessionManagerPlugin

• curl -L -o → downloads the file and saves it as SessionManagerPlugin.zip.

• unzip → extracts the contents into a folder.

Session Manager Plugin Installation Explained

1. ls

ls

• Lists the files in the current directory.

• Useful to confirm that package.zip is present before extracting.

2. unzip -l package.zip

unzip -l package.zip

• Shows the contents of the zip file without extracting.

• You saw files like LICENSE, README.md, and bin/session-manager-plugin.exe.

• This confirms the plugin executable is inside.

3. unzip package.zip

unzip package.zip

• Extracts all files from the archive into the current directory.

• After this, the plugin files become available for use.

4. pwd

pwd

• Prints the current working directory.

• Helps you confirm where the files were extracted (e.g., ~/Downloads/SessionManagerPlugin)

5. ls -l

ls -l

• Lists files with detailed information (permissions, owner, size, modification date).

• You saw bin/session-manager-plugin.exe with executable permissions.

• This confirms the plugin is ready to run.

6. Running the Plugin

~/session-manager-plugin/bin/session-manager-plugin.exe

• Executes the plugin directly.

• Output:
  “The Session Manager plugin was installed successfully. Use the AWS CLI to start a session.”

• This means installation worked correctly.

6. Add Plugin to PATH

export PATH="$HOME/session-manager-plugin/bin:$PATH"
which session-manager-plugin

• Adds plugin location to your PATH so it can be run globally.

• which confirms the location.

• Running session-manager-plugin shows:
  “The Session Manager plugin was installed successfully. Use the AWS CLI to start a session.”

7. Make PATH Permanent

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/session-manager-plugin/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
which session-manager-plugin

• Adds the PATH setting to .bashrc so it persists after reboot.

• Reloads .bashrc with source.

• Confirms plugin location again.

8. Source Utility Script

Finally, source the utility script and start the menu:

source ~/portico-aws-utils.sh
source ~/.bash_profile
awsutils

• source loads the script into your shell.

• awsutils launches the interactive menu with all AWS utility functions.