AWS CLI Usage

🚨 CRITICAL RULE

NEVER make AWS changes via CLI without explicit user approval each time. Only use for read-only debugging and information gathering.

Output Formats

• •--output table - Human readable tables
• •--output text - Plain text (good for scripts)
• •--output json - Full JSON (pipe to jq)
• •Use --query to filter fields and minimize output

JSON Parsing Tips

# Use jq for complex JSON parsing
aws <service> <command> --output json | jq '.Field.Path'

# Use --query for simple filtering
aws <service> <command> --query 'Items[].PropertyName'

Use Case References

For specific AWS service workflows, see:

• •CloudWatch Logs: cloudwatch.md - Reading application logs, log streams, time-based filtering
• •Elastic Beanstalk: elasticbeanstalk.md - Environment health, deployment failures, instance issues
• •IAM & Permissions: iam.md - Role checks, policy inspection, permission debugging