How to Use AWS CLI with Identity-Aware Proxy for Secure, Zero-Trust Access
The first time you run aws cli through Identity-Aware Proxy, it either works perfectly or nothing works at all. There’s rarely a middle ground. That’s why getting it right—fast—matters.
AWS CLI is powerful but blind to modern access patterns unless you wire it into Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP) the right way. Identity-Aware Proxy adds a secure, policy-driven layer that controls who can reach your AWS endpoints. Done well, it gives you granular access, logs every request, and shuts the door on anyone who shouldn’t be there.
To integrate AWS CLI with Identity-Aware Proxy, you start by setting IAP to accept only authenticated sessions from trusted identities. This means syncing your Identity Provider (IdP) with AWS IAM so that CLI sessions know who you are before handing you credentials. With IAP in place, even if someone gets your AWS CLI config, they can’t bypass authentication.
The core steps are clear:
- Enable Identity-Aware Proxy for your target compute or service endpoint.
- Map your AWS IAM roles to verified identities from your IdP.
- Use short-lived credentials that are issued only after passing through IAP.
- Configure AWS CLI to request and refresh these credentials automatically.
The benefit is immediate. You keep using the CLI’s full feature set—aws s3 cp, aws ec2 describe-instances, aws lambda invoke—while IAP ensures every call runs through a secure, identity-gated tunnel. There’s no SSH jump host. No static keys floating around. Just tight, logged, user-by-user access.
Many teams stumble because AWS CLI assumes direct network reach to AWS APIs, and IAP changes that path. Without proper proxy configuration, CLI calls fail with timeout or forbidden errors. The fix is to point CLI traffic through a local IAP-secured tunnel that authenticates in the background. This keeps your scripts and automation working without code changes—just a cleaner, safer network flow.
When AWS CLI and Identity-Aware Proxy run together, you get the speed of direct CLI commands and the safety of zero-trust access. That’s the future of cloud ops. You don’t need to trade agility for security, and the setup can be live in minutes.
If you want to see AWS CLI over Identity-Aware Proxy working right now, without touching your existing infra, check out hoop.dev and test it live. It’s the fastest path from idea to locked-down, identity-secure CLI access.