AWS MCP — Auth Setup
AWS uses access key credentials and a region to authenticate programmatic API requests.
1. Get your credentials
- Open the AWS IAM Security Credentials page (opens AWS — we never see your keys)
- Under Access keys, click Create access key
- Copy both the Access key ID and Secret access key — the secret is shown only once
- Note the AWS region you intend to use (e.g.,
us-east-1)
2. Set environment variables
macOS / Linux — add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID_HERE
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_HERE
export AWS_REGION=YOUR_REGION_HERE
Then run source ~/.zshrc (or open a new terminal).
Windows — run in Command Prompt (then restart):
setx AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID_HERE"
setx AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY "YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY_HERE"
setx AWS_REGION "YOUR_REGION_HERE"
3. Verify
npx claude-skills doctor
You should see ✅ next to the AWS MCP entry. If you see ❌, confirm the variables are set: echo $AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID.
4. Restart Claude Code
Quit and reopen Claude Code (or run /mcp list inside Claude Code to confirm the AWS MCP appears).

