How to Configure multiple AWS CLI Profiles

Using multiple AWS profiles is a best practice for organizing and securely managing access to different AWS environments, accounts, or roles, especially in complex or multi-user setups.

Why You Need Multiple AWS Profiles
Environment Separation: Developers often work with multiple environments such as development, staging, and production. Each environment may reside in a different AWS account or use different credentials. Multiple profiles help you switch contexts safely without accidentally deploying code or changing resources in the wrong environment.

Account Isolation: In organizations using AWS Organizations or multiple standalone AWS accounts, each account might serve a different purpose—billing, security, applications, etc. Profiles allow developers or automation scripts to access each account independently while keeping credentials separate.

Role-Based Access Control: You may assume different IAM roles for different tasks. Profiles can be configured to reflect these roles, ensuring you operate with the least privilege necessary.

Personal vs Work Credentials: If you use AWS for both personal projects and professional work, separate profiles help you isolate your activities and prevent overlap.

🔹 How Profiles Are Configured
Profiles are typically configured through a settings file that stores named credentials. Each profile is associated with a set of access keys or a role configuration. Tools like the AWS CLI and SDKs refer to these profiles by name to determine which credentials to use.

🔹 When to Use Each Profile
Development and Testing: Use a low-privilege profile connected to non-production resources.

Production Operations: Use a dedicated profile with higher privileges, often tied to audit trails or MFA.

Automation: Configure separate profiles for CI/CD pipelines or automated scripts, with access tightly scoped to specific services or regions.

Temporary Access: When using federated login or temporary credentials (e.g., from AWS SSO or STS), configure a transient profile for the duration of the session.

🔹 Benefits
Security: Reduces the risk of using high-privilege credentials unintentionally.

Organization: Keeps access credentials and configurations cleanly separated.

Flexibility: Makes it easy to switch between accounts and roles.

Auditability: Facilitates better tracking of who did what, especially with role-based access and centralized logging.

🔹 Downsides
Complexity: Managing many profiles can get confusing, especially with similar names or unclear labeling.

Human Error: You may accidentally use the wrong profile if not careful, leading to unexpected behavior or resource changes.

Maintenance Overhead: Profiles must be kept up to date, especially if credentials expire, roles change, or MFA requirements are introduced.

Tool Compatibility: Not all tools support profiles natively, so custom scripting or extra configuration may be needed.

Видео How to Configure multiple AWS CLI Profiles канала Cameron McKenzie