# Getting started
<a name="quick-start"></a>

The fastest way to get started with the Agent Toolkit for AWS is to install the plugin for your AI coding agent. The plugin bundles the AWS MCP Server configuration and a curated set of agent skills in a single install.

## Prerequisites
<a name="quick-start-prerequisites"></a>
+ [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) installed on your system (required for the MCP proxy).
+ (Optional) An AWS account with IAM credentials set up on your local machine. Credentials are required for tools that execute AWS API calls and run scripts, but not for searching documentation or discovering skills. If you do not have credentials configured, see [Setting up the AWS MCP Server](getting-started-aws-mcp-server.md) for detailed instructions.

## Step 1: Install
<a name="quick-start-install"></a>

**Claude Code**  


In Claude Code:

```
/plugin marketplace add aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws
/plugin install aws-core@agent-toolkit-for-aws
/reload-plugins
```

**Codex**  


In your terminal:

```
codex plugin marketplace add aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws
```

Then launch Codex and run `/plugins` to browse and install the **aws-core** plugin.

**Kiro**  


Add the following to your MCP configuration file (for example, `~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json`):

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "timeout": 100000,
      "transport": "stdio",
      "args": [
        "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
        "https://aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws/mcp",
        "--metadata", "AWS_REGION=us-west-2"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

Then install skills:

```
npx skills add aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws/skills
```

**Other agents**  


If your agent supports MCP, you can configure the AWS MCP Server directly. See [Setting up the AWS MCP Server](getting-started-aws-mcp-server.md) for instructions.

Then install skills:

```
npx skills add aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws/skills
```

## Step 2: Verify your connection
<a name="quick-start-verify"></a>

After you install the plugin, verify that the AWS MCP Server is connected:

1. Start a new conversation with your agent.

1. Ask: *"What AWS Regions are available?"*

If the agent returns a list of AWS Regions, the connection is working. If you see an authentication error, see [Troubleshooting authentication errors](getting-started-aws-mcp-server.md#troubleshooting-auth-errors).

## Step 3: Try it out
<a name="quick-start-try"></a>

Ask your agent to perform an AWS task:
+ "What AWS services should I use to build a serverless API?"
+ "Create an Amazon S3 bucket with versioning enabled and a lifecycle policy that transitions objects to Glacier after 90 days."
+ "Help me troubleshoot why my CloudFormation deployment failed."

The agent discovers and uses relevant skills automatically. You do not need to know which skills are available — the agent finds them based on your request.

## Additional plugins
<a name="quick-start-additional-plugins"></a>

After you install aws-core, you can install additional plugins for specialized workflows:
+ **aws-agents** — Skills for building AI agents on AWS with API Gateway and AgentCore.
+ **aws-data-analytics** — Skills for data lake, analytics, and ETL workflows.

Install additional plugins using the same method as aws-core.