--- name: cephaas-aws_cli title: Using the AWS CLI description: The official command-line interface for AWS is compatible with the IBM Storage Ceph as a Service S3 API. last-updated: 2026-06-12 --- > ## Documentation Index > The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/cephaas?format=markdown > The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt > Use these files to discover more information as needed. # Using the AWS CLI {: #aws-cli} The official command-line interface for AWS is compatible with the IBM Storage Ceph as a Service S3 API. {: shortdesc} Written in Python, it can be installed from the Python Package Index by using `pip install awscli`. By default, access keys are sourced from `~/.aws/credentials`, but can also be set as environment variables. These examples were generated by using version 1.14.2 of the CLI. To check the version installed, run `aws --version`. ## Configure the CLI to connect to Object Storage {: #aws-cli-config} To configure the AWS CLI, type `aws configure` and provide your [HMAC credentials](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/cephaas?topic=cephaas-about-object-storage&format=markdown#about-hmac-creds). ```sh aws configure AWS Access Key ID [None]: {Access Key ID} AWS Secret Access Key [None]: {Secret Access Key} Default region name [None]: {Region name} Default output format [None]: json ``` This action creates two files: `~/.aws/credentials`: ```sh [default] aws_access_key_id = {Access Key ID} aws_secret_access_key = {Secret Access Key} ``` {: codeblock} `~/.aws/config`: ```sh [default] region = {Region name} output = json endpoint_url = {endpoint} ca_bundle = {CA certificate location} ``` {: codeblock} The IBM CephaaS endpoint must be sourced by using the `--endpoint-url` option, and can be set in the aws config file. Add your endpoint and CA Certificate location in this `~/.aws/config` config file instead of using it in all of your AWS requests. {: tip} You can also use environment variables to set HMAC credentials: ```sh export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="{Access Key ID}" export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="{Secret Access Key}" ``` {: codeblock} ## High-level syntax commands {: #aws-cli-high-level} Simple use cases can be accomplished by using `aws s3 `. For more information about endpoints, see [Endpoints and storage locations](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/cephaas?topic=cephaas-endpoints&format=markdown). Objects are managed by using familiar shell commands, such as `ls`, `mv`, `cp`, and `rm`. Buckets can be created by using `mb` and deleted by using `rb`. ### List all buckets within a service instance {: #aws-cli-high-level-list-buckets} ```sh aws s3 ls 2016-09-09 12:48 s3://bucket-1 2016-09-16 21:29 s3://bucket-2 ``` ### List objects within a bucket {: #aws-cli-high-level-list-objects} ```sh aws s3 ls s3://bucket-1 2016-09-28 15:36 837 s3://bucket-1/c1ca2-filename-00001 2016-09-09 12:49 533 s3://bucket-1/c9872-filename-00002 2016-09-28 15:36 14476 s3://bucket-1/98837-filename-00003 2016-09-29 16:24 20950 s3://bucket-1/abfc4-filename-00004 ``` ### Make a new bucket {: #aws-cli-high-level-new-bucket} Personally Identifiable Information (PII): When you are _naming_ buckets or objects, do not use any information that can identify any user (natural person) by name, location, or any other means. {: tip} ```sh aws s3 mb s3://bucket-1 make_bucket: s3://bucket-1/ ``` ### Add an object to a bucket {: #aws-cli-high-level-upload} ```sh aws s3 cp large-dataset.tar.gz s3://bucket-1 upload: ./large-dataset.tar.gz to s3://bucket-1/large-dataset.tar.gz ``` You can also set a new object key that is different from the file name: ```sh aws s3 cp large-dataset.tar.gz s3://bucket-1/large-dataset-for-project-x upload: ./large-dataset.tar.gz to s3://bucket-1/large-dataset-for-project-x ``` ### Copying an object from one bucket to another {: #aws-cli-high-level-copy} ```sh $ aws s3 cp s3://bucket-1/new-file s3://bucket-2/ copy: s3://bucket-1/new-file to s3://bucket-2/new-file ``` ### Delete an object from a bucket {: #aws-cli-high-level-delete-object} ```sh aws s3 rm s3://mybucket/argparse-1.2.1.tar.gz delete: s3://mybucket/argparse-1.2.1.tar.gz ``` ### Remove a bucket {: #aws-cli-high-level-delete-bucket} ```sh aws s3 rb s3://bucket-1 remove_bucket: s3://bucket-1/ ``` ## Low-level syntax commands {: #aws-cli-low-level} The AWS CLI also allows direct API calls that provide the same responses as direct HTTP requests by using the `s3api` command. ### Listing buckets {: #aws-cli-low-level-list-buckets} ```sh aws s3api list-buckets { "Owner": { "DisplayName": "{storage-account-uuid}", "ID": "{storage-account-uuid}" }, "Buckets": [ { "CreationDate": "2016-09-09T12:48:52.442Z", "Name": "bucket-1" }, { "CreationDate": "2016-09-16T21:29:00.912Z", "Name": "bucket-2" } ] } ``` ### Listing objects within a bucket {: #aws-cli-low-level-list-objects} ```sh aws s3api list-objects --bucket bucket-1 ``` ```json { "Contents": [ { "LastModified": "2016-09-28T15:36:56.807Z", "ETag": "\"13d567d518c650414c50a81805fff7f2\"", "StorageClass": "STANDARD", "Key": "c1ca2-filename-00001", "Owner": { "DisplayName": "{storage-account-uuid}", "ID": "{storage-account-uuid}" }, "Size": 837 }, { "LastModified": "2016-09-09T12:49:58.018Z", "ETag": "\"3ca744fa96cb95e92081708887f63de5\"", "StorageClass": "STANDARD", "Key": "c9872-filename-00002", "Owner": { "DisplayName": "{storage-account-uuid}", "ID": "{storage-account-uuid}" }, "Size": 533 }, { "LastModified": "2016-09-28T15:36:17.573Z", "ETag": "\"a54ed08bcb07c28f89f4b14ff54ce5b7\"", "StorageClass": "STANDARD", "Key": "98837-filename-00003", "Owner": { "DisplayName": "{storage-account-uuid}", "ID": "{storage-account-uuid}" }, "Size": 14476 }, { "LastModified": "2016-10-06T14:46:26.923Z", "ETag": "\"2bcc8ee6bc1e4b8cd2f9a1d61d817ed2\"", "StorageClass": "STANDARD", "Key": "abfc4-filename-00004", "Owner": { "DisplayName": "{storage-account-uuid}", "ID": "{storage-account-uuid}" }, "Size": 20950 } ] } ``` ## Next Steps {: #aws-cli-next-steps} The detailed description of the RESTful API for IBM Storage Ceph as a Service can be found in the [API Documentation](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/apis/object-storage){: external}.