Provisioning Basic AWS Resources with Pulumi and TypeScript: A Step-by-Step Tutorial
Tags: aws, pulumi, iac, typescript
Published: 2023-01-27 15:34:14

Pulumi is a cloud-native infrastructure as code (IAC) tool that allows developers to provision, manage, and update cloud resources using familiar programming languages such as JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and Go. It can be used to automate the deployment and management of resources on various cloud platforms, including AWS.

In this article, we will go over how to use Pulumi to provision basic AWS resources using TypeScript.

Before we begin, you will need to have an AWS account set up, and have your AWS access key and secret key handy.

**Setting up and configuring Pulumi to access your AWS account:**

First, install the Pulumi CLI on your machine. You can download it from the Pulumi website at: 

```
https://www.pulumi.com/docs/get-started/install/
```
Run the command `pulumi login` to log in to your Pulumi account.

Run the command `pulumi config set aws:region <region>` to set the desired region for your deployment. Replace <region> with your preferred region (e.g. `eu-central-1`).

Run the command `pulumi config set aws:access_key <access_key> ` and `pulumi config set aws:secret_key <secret_key>` to set your AWS access and secret keys.

**Creating a new Pulumi project:** Run the command `pulumi new aws-typescript` to create a new Pulumi project using the AWS and TypeScript templates.
This will create a new directory with a basic Pulumi project structure and some starter code.


**Create an S3 bucket:** One of the most basic resources you can create in AWS is an S3 bucket. You can create an S3 bucket using the following TypeScript code:

```
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

const bucket = new aws.s3.Bucket("my-bucket");
```
**Create an EC2 instance:** Another basic resource you can create in AWS is an EC2 instance. You can create an EC2 instance using the following TypeScript code:

```
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

const instance = new aws.ec2.Instance("my-instance", {
  instanceType: "t2.micro",
  ami: "ami-0c94855ba95c71c99",
  vpcSecurityGroupIds: [],
  subnetId: ""
});
```

**Create a security group:** To secure your EC2 instance, you can create a security group using the following TypeScript code:

```
import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

const securityGroup = new aws.ec2.SecurityGroup("my-security-group", {
  ingress: [
    { protocol: "tcp", fromPort: 22, toPort: 22, cidrBlocks: ["0.0.0.0/0"] }
  ]
});
```

**Deploy the resources:** After you have created your resources, you can deploy them to AWS by running the following command:

```
pulumi up
```

**Destroy resources:** Pulumi also allows you to update and destroy resources. You can update resources by modifying the code and running the pulumi up command again. To destroy resources, you can run the following command:

```
pulumi destroy
```

By using Pulumi with TypeScript, you can easily provision and manage basic AWS resources such as S3 buckets, EC2 instances, and security groups. Pulumi provides a simple and efficient way to manage cloud infrastructure while also allowing developers to use a familiar programming language.

In summary, Pulumi is a powerful tool that makes it easy to provision and manage resources on AWS using familiar programming languages. It is a great choice for teams looking to automate their infrastructure and make it more scalable and manageable.