TL;DR
taws is an open-source, Rust-built terminal UI that lets users browse and act on AWS resources from the command line. It supports multiple profiles and regions, provides keyboard/Vim-like controls, and ships prebuilt binaries for major platforms as well as a Homebrew formula and Cargo install.
What happened
A project named taws has been published on GitHub offering a terminal-based interface for working with AWS resources. The tool continuously watches AWS for changes and surfaces commands to inspect and operate on observed resources. It exposes a keyboard-driven experience with Vim-like navigation and a resource picker, supports resource actions such as starting, stopping and terminating EC2 instances, and presents detailed JSON/YAML views. The release includes prebuilt binaries for macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux (x86_64 and ARM64) and Windows, plus installation via Homebrew or Cargo. Building from source requires Rust 1.70+ and standard AWS credentials or IAM roles. The README documents supported services, key bindings, configuration locations for credentials, known issues around IAM permissions and pagination, and guidance for proposing new service support via the project’s discussion process.
Why it matters
- Offers a fast, keyboard-centric alternative to the AWS Console for exploration and lightweight management tasks.
- Supports direct resource actions (start/stop/terminate EC2) from the terminal, reducing context switching.
- Works across multiple AWS profiles and regions, which helps operators managing multi-account or multi-region setups.
- Provides detailed JSON/YAML views and filtering to aid inspection and troubleshooting without leaving the terminal.
Key facts
- taws is implemented in Rust and the repository is published at huseyinbabal/taws on GitHub.
- Install options include Homebrew, downloadable prebuilt binaries for macOS/Linux/Windows, cargo install, or building from source (Rust 1.70+ required).
- The project advertises support for 94+ resource types across 60+ AWS services and also lists 30 core AWS services covering roughly 95% of typical usage.
- Keyboard-driven controls use Vim-like bindings (k/j navigation, : resource picker, r refresh, p switch profile, R switch region).
- Supports resource actions such as starting, stopping and terminating EC2 instances directly from the UI.
- Requires AWS credentials provided via aws configure, environment variables, IAM roles, or profiles in ~/.aws/credentials; at minimum, Describe* and List* permissions are needed to browse resources.
- Known issues noted include resource-specific IAM permission requirements, pagination affecting resource counts during loading, and some global services defaulting to us-east-1.
- Built with the Ratatui Rust TUI library and uses aws-sigv4 for request signing; project is licensed under the MIT License.
What to watch next
- Requests or proposals for adding new AWS services should start as discussions in the project repository (confirmed in the source).
- New releases and prebuilt binaries published on the project’s Releases page (confirmed in the source).
- Whether the project will add automated security audits or hardening steps for credential handling (not confirmed in the source).
- Long-term support and contribution cadence for expanding service coverage and fixing known issues (not confirmed in the source).
Quick glossary
- TUI (Terminal User Interface): A text-based user interface that runs in a terminal, allowing keyboard-driven interaction without a graphical environment.
- AWS profile: A named set of AWS credentials and configuration stored locally (commonly in ~/.aws/credentials and ~/.aws/config) used to select which account or role to operate in.
- IAM permissions: Access control policies in AWS Identity and Access Management that determine which API actions and resources an identity can use.
- aws-sigv4: AWS Signature Version 4 signing process used to authenticate requests to AWS APIs.
- Ratatui: A Rust library for building terminal user interfaces.
Reader FAQ
How can I install taws?
Options include Homebrew (macOS/Linux), downloading prebuilt binaries from the Releases page, cargo install, or building from source with Rust 1.70+.
What AWS permissions are required to use taws?
At minimum, read/list permissions such as Describe* and List* are required for the services you want to browse; some resources may need additional permissions.
Does taws support all AWS services?
The project lists support for 94+ resource types across 60+ services and highlights 30 core services covering most typical usage; full coverage of every AWS service is not claimed and adding services is handled via project discussion.
Is it safe to use my AWS credentials with taws?
not confirmed in the source
taws – Terminal UI for AWS taws provides a terminal UI to interact with your AWS resources. The aim of this project is to make it easier to navigate, observe,…
Sources
- Show HN: Terminal UI for AWS
- TUI Terminal Tools
- rothgar/awesome-tuis: List of projects that provide terminal …
- Run example Amazon Bedrock API requests with the AWS …
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