# Configuring command completion in the AWS CLI The AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) includes a bash-compatible command-completion feature that enables you to use the **Tab** key to complete a partially entered command. On most systems you need to configure this manually. For information on the AWS CLI version 2 auto-prompt feature instead, see [Enabling and using command prompts in the AWS CLI](cli-usage-parameters-prompting.md). **Topics** + [How it works](#cli-command-completion-about) + [Configuring command completion on Linux or macOS](#cli-command-completion-linux) + [Configuring command completion on Windows](#cli-command-completion-windows) ## How it works When you partially enter a command, parameter, or option, the command-completion feature either automatically completes your command or displays a suggested list of commands. To prompt command completion, you partially enter in a command and press the completion key, which is typically *Tab* in most shells. The following examples show different ways that you can use command completion: + Partially enter a command and press *Tab* to display a suggested list of commands. ``` $ aws dynamodb dTAB delete-backup describe-global-table delete-item describe-global-table-settings delete-table describe-limits describe-backup describe-table describe-continuous-backups describe-table-replica-auto-scaling describe-contributor-insights describe-time-to-live describe-endpoints ``` + Partially enter a parameter and press *Tab* to display a suggested list of parameters. ``` $ aws dynamodb delete-table --TAB --ca-bundle --endpoint-url --profile --cli-connect-timeout --generate-cli-skeleton --query --cli-input-json --no-paginate --region --cli-read-timeout --no-sign-request --table-name --color --no-verify-ssl --version --debug --output ``` + Enter a parameter and press *Tab* to display a suggested list of resource values. This feature is available only in the AWS CLI version 2. ``` $ aws dynamodb delete-table --table-name TAB Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 ``` ## Configuring command completion on Linux or macOS To configure command completion on Linux or macOS, you must know the name of the shell you're using and the location of the `aws_completer` script. **Note** Command completion is automatically configured and enabled by default on Amazon EC2 instances that run Amazon Linux. **Topics** + [Confirm the completer's folder is in your path](#cli-command-completion-path) + [Enable command completion](#cli-command-completion-enable) + [Verify command completion](#cli-command-completion-test) ### Confirm the completer's folder is in your path For the AWS completer to work successfully, the `aws_completer` needs to be in your shell's path. The `which` command can check if the completer is in your path. ``` $ which aws_completer /usr/local/bin/aws_completer ``` If the which command can't find the completer, then use the following steps to add the completer's folder to your path. #### Step 1: Locate the AWS completer The location of the AWS completer can vary depending on the installation method used. + **Package Manager** - Programs such as `pip`, `yum`, `brew`, and `apt-get` typically install the AWS completer (or a symlink to it) to a standard path location. + If you used `pip` **without** the `--user` parameter, the default path is `/usr/local/bin/aws_completer`. + If you used `pip` **with** the `--user` parameter the default path is `/home/username/.local/bin/aws_completer`. + **Bundled Installer** - If you used the bundled installer, the default path is `/usr/local/bin/aws_completer`. If all else fails, you can use the `find` command to search your file system for the AWS completer. ``` $ find / -name aws_completer /usr/local/bin/aws_completer ``` #### Step 2: Identify your shell To identify which shell you're using, you can use one of the following commands. + **echo \$1SHELL** – Displays the shell's program file name. This usually matches the name of the in-use shell, unless you launched a different shell after logging in. ``` $ echo $SHELL /bin/bash ``` + **ps** – Displays the processes running for the current user. One of them is the shell. ``` $ ps PID TTY TIME CMD 2148 pts/1 00:00:00 bash 8756 pts/1 00:00:00 ps ``` #### Step 3: Add the completer to your path 1. Find your shell's profile script in your user folder. ``` $ ls -a ~/ . .. .bash_logout .bash_profile .bashrc Desktop Documents Downloads ``` + **Bash**– `.bash_profile`, `.profile`, or `.bash_login` + **Zsh**– `.zshrc` + **Tcsh**– `.tcshrc`, `.cshrc`, or `.login` 1. Add an export command at the end of your profile script that's similar to the following example. Replace `/usr/local/bin/` with the folder that you discovered in the previous section. ``` export PATH=/usr/local/bin/:$PATH ``` 1. Reload the profile into the current session to put those changes into effect. Replace `.bash_profile` with the name of the shell script you discovered in the first section. ``` $ source ~/.bash_profile ``` ### Enable command completion After confirming the completer is in your path, enable command completion by running the appropriate command for the shell that you're using. You can add the command to your shell's profile to run it each time you open a new shell. In each command, replace the */usr/local/bin/* path with the one found on your system in [Confirm the completer's folder is in your path](#cli-command-completion-path). + **`bash`** – Use the built-in command `complete`. ``` $ complete -C '/usr/local/bin/aws_completer' aws ``` Add the previous command to `~/.bashrc` to run it each time you open a new shell. Your `~/.bash_profile` should source `~/.bashrc` to ensure that the command is also run in login shells. + **`zsh`** – To run command completion, you need to run `bashcompinit` by adding the following autoload line at the end of your `~/.zshrc` profile script. ``` $ autoload bashcompinit && bashcompinit $ autoload -Uz compinit && compinit ``` To enable command completion, use the built-in command `complete`. ``` $ complete -C '/usr/local/bin/aws_completer' aws ``` Add the previous commands to `~/.zshrc` to run it each time you open a new shell. + **`tcsh`** – Complete for `tcsh` takes a word type and pattern to define the completion behavior. ``` > complete aws 'p/*/`aws_completer`/' ``` Add the previous command to `~/.tcshrc` to run it each time you open a new shell. After you've enabled command completion, [Verify command completion](#cli-command-completion-test) is working. ### Verify command completion After enabling command completion, reload your shell, enter a partial command, and press **Tab** to see the available commands. ``` $ aws sTAB s3 ses sqs sts swf s3api sns storagegateway support ``` ## Configuring command completion on Windows **Note** For information on how PowerShell handles their completion, including their various completion keys, see [about\$1Tab\$1Expansion](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_tab_expansion) in the *Microsoft PowerShell Docs*. To enable command completion for PowerShell on Windows, complete the following steps in PowerShell. 1. Open your `$PROFILE` with the following command. ``` PS C:\> Notepad $PROFILE ``` If you do not have a `$PROFILE`, create a user profile using the following command. ``` PS C:\> if (!(Test-Path -Path $PROFILE )) { New-Item -Type File -Path $PROFILE -Force } ``` For more information on PowerShell profiles, see [How to Use Profiles in Windows PowerShell ISE](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/windows-powershell/ise/how-to-use-profiles-in-windows-powershell-ise) on the *Microsoft Docs* website. 1. To enable command completion, add the following code block to your profile, save, and then close the file. ``` Register-ArgumentCompleter -Native -CommandName aws -ScriptBlock { param($commandName, $wordToComplete, $cursorPosition) $env:COMP_LINE=$wordToComplete if ($env:COMP_LINE.Length -lt $cursorPosition){ $env:COMP_LINE=$env:COMP_LINE + " " } $env:COMP_POINT=$cursorPosition aws_completer.exe | ForEach-Object { [System.Management.Automation.CompletionResult]::new($_, $_, 'ParameterValue', $_) } Remove-Item Env:\COMP_LINE Remove-Item Env:\COMP_POINT } ``` 1. After enabling command completion, reload your shell, enter a partial command, and press **Tab** to cycle through the available commands. ``` $ aws sTab ``` ``` $ aws s3 ``` To see all available commands available to your completion, enter a partial command and press **Ctrl** \$1 **Space**. ``` $ aws sCtrl + Space s3 ses sqs sts swf s3api sns storagegateway support ```