AWS Cloud Operations Skill

Installation

The skill invokes the AWS CLI v2. Install and configure:

• Linux x86: Download AWS CLI v2, unzip, then sudo ./aws/install
• macOS: curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.pkg" -o "AWSCLIV2.pkg" then run the installer
• Windows: Download MSI from AWS CLI v2 or use msiexec; or install via package managers

Configure: aws configure (access key, secret, region). Verify: aws --version

Cheat Sheet & Best Practices

Identity & config: aws sts get-caller-identity — who am I; aws configure list-profiles — list profiles.

S3: aws s3 ls; aws s3 cp <local> s3://bucket/; aws s3 sync ./dir s3://bucket/; aws s3 rm s3://bucket/key.

Lambda: aws lambda list-functions; aws lambda invoke --function-name X output.json; aws lambda get-function --function-name X.

CloudWatch: aws cloudwatch list-metrics; aws cloudwatch get-metric-statistics; aws cloudwatch describe-alarms; put-metric-alarm for alerts.

EC2: aws ec2 describe-instances; start-instances/stop-instances/terminate-instances with --instance-ids.

Best practices: Use IAM roles over long-lived keys; set AWS_REGION/AWS_PROFILE; use --output json and --query to limit response size; run destructive ops only after describe to confirm resources.

Certifications & Training

Free: AWS Skill Builder — exam prep, Cloud Quest, Cloud Essentials. Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02): Cloud concepts, security/compliance, technology/services, billing (~6 months exposure). Solutions Architect Associate: Next step; prep on Skill Builder.

Skill data: Map to S3, Lambda, CloudWatch, EC2, IAM; security best practices; no hardcoded credentials.

Hooks & Workflows

Suggested hooks: Pre-deploy: validate credentials (aws sts get-caller-identity). Cost-tracking hook: optional CloudWatch/billing checks. No mandatory hook; use when devops is routed for AWS tasks.

Workflows: Use with devops (contextual: aws_project). Flow: detect AWS project → load aws-cloud-ops → run CLI via skill script. See operations/incident-response if debugging AWS resources.

Overview

Provides 90%+ context savings vs raw AWS MCP server. Multi-service support with progressive disclosure by service category.

Requirements

• AWS CLI v2
• Configured credentials (AWS_PROFILE or ~/.aws/credentials)
• AWS_REGION environment variable

Tools (Progressive Disclosure)

CloudWatch Operations

Tool	Description	Confirmation
logs-groups	List log groups	No
logs-tail	Tail log stream	No
logs-filter	Filter log events	No
metrics-list	List metrics	No
metrics-get	Get metric data	No
alarm-list	List alarms	No
alarm-create	Create alarm	Yes

S3 Operations

Tool	Description	Confirmation
s3-ls	List buckets/objects	No
s3-cp	Copy objects	Yes
s3-sync	Sync directories	Yes
s3-rm	Delete objects	Yes

Lambda Operations

Tool	Description	Confirmation
lambda-list	List functions	No
lambda-get	Get function details	No
lambda-invoke	Invoke function	Yes
lambda-logs	Get function logs	No

EC2 Operations

Tool	Description	Confirmation
ec2-list	List instances	No
ec2-describe	Describe instance	No
ec2-start	Start instance	Yes
ec2-stop	Stop instance	Yes
sg-list	List security groups	No

IAM Operations (Read-Only)

Tool	Description	Confirmation
iam-users	List users	No
iam-roles	List roles	No
iam-policies	List policies	No

Quick Reference

# List EC2 instances
aws ec2 describe-instances --output table

# Tail CloudWatch logs
aws logs tail /aws/lambda/my-function --follow

# List S3 buckets
aws s3 ls

# Invoke Lambda
aws lambda invoke --function-name my-func output.json

Configuration

• AWS_PROFILE: Named profile to use
• AWS_REGION: Target region (e.g., us-east-1)
• AWS_DEFAULT_OUTPUT: Output format (json/table/text)

Security

⚠️ Never hardcode credentials ⚠️ Use IAM roles when possible ⚠️ IAM write operations are blocked

Agent Integration

• devops (primary): Cloud operations
• cloud-integrator (primary): Multi-cloud
• incident-responder (secondary): Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Access denied	Check IAM permissions
Region error	Set AWS_REGION
Credentials	Run aws configure

Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

After completing:

• New pattern -> .claude/context/memory/learnings.md
• Issue found -> .claude/context/memory/issues.md
• Decision made -> .claude/context/memory/decisions.md

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.