Install AWS CLI on Debian: official v2 installer and apt awscli

The AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) manages S3, EC2, IAM, and the rest of your AWS account from the shell. AWS CLI v2 is the current line—installed from Amazon’s official Linux bundle or, on recent Debian releases, the awscli apt package.

This guide covers install AWS CLI on Debian for Debian 11 (Bullseye), 12 (Bookworm), and 13 (Trixie): the official v2 installer, apt install awscli, optional legacy pip, credential setup, verification, and uninstall. I ran these steps on Debian 13 and kept real terminal output below.

Tested on: Debian 13 (trixie); kernel 6.12.94+deb13-amd64; amd64; official aws-cli/2.35.11; apt aws-cli/2.23.6.

IMPORTANT

Install one primary aws binary on PATH. The official installer places /usr/local/bin/aws; apt places /usr/bin/aws. If both exist, which aws follows PATH order—not necessarily the newer build.

Choose an install method

Method	Best for	On test host (trixie)
Official v2 zip	Latest upstream; matches AWS docs	2.35.11 → `/usr/local/bin/aws`
`apt install awscli`	Debian-maintained updates in main	2.23.6-1 → `/usr/bin/aws`
`pip install awscli`	Legacy v1 only—not recommended	Not tested (no `pip` on minimal VM)

Amazon’s getting started install guide targets the v2 bundle. On Trixie, Debian’s awscli package is also v2—not the old PyPI-only v1 era.

Prerequisites

Debian 11, 12, or 13 on x86_64 (ARM: use awscli-exe-linux-aarch64.zip from AWS).
sudo for install steps.
curl or wget for the official bundle.
unzip for the AWS zip: sudo apt install unzip.
AWS account credentials when you run service commands (not required for aws --version).

Check current state:

bash


. /etc/os-release && echo "$PRETTY_NAME"
command -v aws || echo "aws: not installed"
apt-cache policy awscli | head -8

Before install on the test host:

text


Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie)
aws: not installed
awscli:
  Candidate: 2.23.6-1
     2.23.6-1 500
        500 http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie/main amd64 Packages

Install AWS CLI v2 from the official bundle (recommended)

Steps from Install the AWS CLI on Linux:

bash


sudo apt install -y curl unzip
curl -fsSL "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o /tmp/awscliv2.zip
unzip -q /tmp/awscliv2.zip -d /tmp
sudo /tmp/aws/install
aws --version
which aws

text


-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 70M Jun 29 09:43 /tmp/awscliv2.zip
You can now run: /usr/local/bin/aws --version
aws-cli/2.35.11 Python/3.14.5 Linux/6.12.94+deb13-amd64 exe/x86_64.debian.13
/usr/local/bin/aws

Upgrade an existing official install:

bash

sudo /tmp/aws/install --update

Layout:

text

/usr/local/bin/aws -> /usr/local/aws-cli/v2/current/bin/aws
/usr/local/aws-cli/v2/2.35.11/

Install AWS CLI from Debian apt

On Debian 13, awscli in main provides AWS CLI v2:

bash


sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y awscli
aws --version
dpkg -l awscli | grep ^ii

text


Setting up awscli (2.23.6-1) ...
aws-cli/2.23.6 Python/3.13.5 Linux/6.12.94+deb13-amd64 source/x86_64.debian.13
ii  awscli  2.23.6-1  amd64  Unified command line interface to Amazon Web Services

bash

apt-cache show awscli | grep -E '^Package:|^Version:|^Description-en'

text


Package: awscli
Version: 2.23.6-1
Description-en: Unified command line interface to Amazon Web Services

On Bookworm and Bullseye, run apt-cache policy awscli—the candidate version may differ or the package may be absent; use the official bundle when apt is too old or missing.

Verify the installation

Version and path:

bash


aws --version
type -a aws
aws help | head -8

text


aws-cli/2.35.11 Python/3.14.5 Linux/6.12.94+deb13-amd64 exe/x86_64.debian.13
aws is /usr/local/bin/aws
aws is /usr/bin/aws
AWS()                                                                    AWS()

NAME
       aws -

DESCRIPTION
       The  AWS  Command  Line  Interface is a unified tool to manage your AWS
       services.

API call without credentials (expected failure):

bash

aws sts get-caller-identity

text

aws: [ERROR]: An error occurred (NoCredentials): Unable to locate credentials.

That error means the CLI is installed; configure credentials next.

Configure AWS credentials

Interactive setup:

bash

aws configure

You will be prompted for:

AWS Access Key ID
AWS Secret Access Key
Default region (for example us-east-1)
Default output format (json, table, or text)

Files are written under ~/.aws/. For IAM roles on EC2, SSO, or environment variables, see Configuration and credential file settings.

Legacy pip install (AWS CLI v1 — avoid for new systems)

Older guides use pip install awscli (Cyberciti, Ask Ubuntu threads). That installs v1, which AWS has superseded with v2.

On a minimal Debian image without pip:

text

pip3: command not found
/usr/bin/python3: No module named pip

If you must use pip for a legacy workflow:

bash

sudo apt install -y python3-pip
pip3 install awscli --user

Prefer the official v2 bundle or apt install awscli on Trixie. See also install Python on Debian if you are building a Python toolchain.

PATH when both installs exist

If you install official v2 and apt install awscli:

bash


echo "$PATH" | tr ':' '\n' | head -5
which aws
/usr/local/bin/aws --version
/usr/bin/aws --version

text


aws is /usr/local/bin/aws
aws-cli/2.35.11 ...
aws-cli/2.23.6 Python/3.13.5 ...

/usr/local/bin usually precedes /usr/bin, so the newer official build runs by default. Remove one install or adjust PATH if you need the Debian package exclusively.

Update AWS CLI

Channel	Command
Official bundle	Download a fresh zip; `sudo /tmp/aws/install --update`
Debian apt	`sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade awscli`

Confirm with aws --version. List packages with list installed packages on Debian.

Uninstall AWS CLI

Official v2 bundle

The install script does not support --uninstall (AWS uninstall guide):

text

Got an unexpected argument: --uninstall

Remove manually:

bash

sudo rm -rf /usr/local/aws-cli
sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/aws /usr/local/bin/aws_completer

Debian apt package

bash

sudo apt remove --purge awscli
sudo apt autoremove

After removing only the official build, /usr/bin/aws from apt may remain:

text

aws-cli/2.23.6 Python/3.13.5 Linux/6.12.94+deb13-amd64 source/x86_64.debian.13
/usr/bin/aws

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
`aws: command not found`	Not installed	Official bundle or `sudo apt install awscli`
`unzip: command not found`	Missing unzip	`sudo apt install unzip`
Wrong `aws --version`	Two installs on PATH	`type -a aws`; remove one or fix PATH
`NoCredentials` on first API call	Normal before `aws configure`	Run `aws configure` or set env vars
`Package awscli has no installation candidate`	Older suite without package	Use official zip installer
pip `awscli` vs v2 confusion	Legacy v1 path	Use official v2 or apt `awscli` on Trixie
Download fails behind proxy	Network / TLS	Set `https_proxy`; verify curl works

References

Summary

Install AWS CLI on Debian with Amazon’s official v2 zip (curl the bundle, unzip, sudo ./aws/install) for the latest release (2.35.11 here), or sudo apt install awscli on Trixie for Debian’s v2 package (2.23.6). Verify with aws --version, configure with aws configure, and keep one aws on PATH. Remove the official build with rm -rf /usr/local/aws-cli or drop the apt package with apt remove awscli.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I install AWS CLI on Debian?

Download the official Linux x86_64 bundle from awscli.amazonaws.com, unzip it, and run sudo ./aws/install. On Debian 13 you can also run sudo apt install awscli for the Debian-packaged AWS CLI v2.

2. Is AWS CLI v1 or v2 on Debian apt?

On Debian 13 (trixie), the awscli package is AWS CLI v2 (2.23.6-1 on the test host). Older suites may ship different versions—run apt-cache policy awscli. Legacy AWS CLI v1 was the old pip package awscli.

3. Should I use apt or the official AWS installer on Debian?

Use the official installer when you want the latest upstream release (2.35.x here). Use apt when you prefer Debian security updates and a single apt upgrade path. Do not install both without managing PATH order.

4. How do I verify AWS CLI after install?

Run aws --version and which aws. Without credentials, aws sts get-caller-identity returns NoCredentials—that is expected until you run aws configure or set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY.

5. How do I configure AWS CLI on Debian?

Run aws configure and enter access key, secret key, default region, and output format. Credentials are stored in ~/.aws/credentials. For SSO or IAM roles, see the AWS CLI user guide.

6. Why does which aws show two different versions?

Both the official /usr/local/bin/aws and apt /usr/bin/aws may be installed. PATH order decides which runs—/usr/local/bin usually comes first. Remove one install or adjust PATH.

7. Can I install AWS CLI with pip on Debian?

pip install awscli installs legacy AWS CLI v1 and is discouraged. AWS documents the v2 zip installer for Linux. If you use pip, install python3-pip first and expect a different command layout than v2.

8. How do I uninstall AWS CLI from Debian?

For apt: sudo apt remove awscli. For the official v2 bundle: sudo rm -rf /usr/local/aws-cli and sudo rm /usr/local/bin/aws /usr/local/bin/aws_completer per AWS uninstall docs.

Choose an install method

Prerequisites

Install AWS CLI v2 from the official bundle (recommended)

Install AWS CLI from Debian apt

Verify the installation

Configure AWS credentials

Legacy pip install (AWS CLI v1 — avoid for new systems)

PATH when both installs exist

Update AWS CLI

Uninstall AWS CLI

Official v2 bundle

Debian apt package

Troubleshooting

References

Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I install AWS CLI on Debian?

2. Is AWS CLI v1 or v2 on Debian apt?

3. Should I use apt or the official AWS installer on Debian?

4. How do I verify AWS CLI after install?

5. How do I configure AWS CLI on Debian?

6. Why does which aws show two different versions?

7. Can I install AWS CLI with pip on Debian?

8. How do I uninstall AWS CLI from Debian?

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