AWS Toolbox 🧰 - A Collection of Awesome Tools and Scripts for Cloud Engineers
Tags: aws, devops, python, bash
Published: 2022-04-12 19:17:05

---
title: AWS Toolbox 🧰 - A Collection of Awesome Tools and Scripts for Cloud Engineers
published: true
date: 2021-10-26 06:24:19 UTC
tags: aws, devops, python, bash
canonical_url: https://towardsthecloud.com/blog/aws-toolbox-cloud-engineers
---

Having the right tools at your disposal can be a bit of a challenge when there are so many open-source tools out there available on the web. Therefore, I decided to share some of my favorite tools, scripts, and blogs with you in the **AWS Toolbox 🧰**

[https://github.com/dannysteenman/aws-toolbox](https://github.com/dannysteenman/aws-toolbox)

Here is what you'll find in the **AWS Toolbox** :

- [What's in the AWS Toolbox?](#whats-in-the-aws-toolbox)
  - [Scripts](#scripts)
  - [Tools](#tools)
  - [Blogroll](#blogroll)
- [Contributions](#contributions)

## What's in the AWS Toolbox?

To start out you can find an introduction to help you configure the AWS Command Line Interface (CLI) so you can make use of the Bash and Python scripts that are available in the AWS Toolbox.

### Scripts

You'll find over 20 Bash and Python scripts that you can use to run to avoid repetitive tasks. As an example, the [multi\_account\_execution script](https://github.com/dannysteenman/aws-toolbox/blob/main/general/multi_account_execution.py) gives you the ability to run Boto3 commands on all accounts which are specified in the aws\_account\_list. See the code below for details:

```
# https://github.com/dannysteenman/aws-toolbox
#
# This script gives you the ability to run Boto3 commands on all accounts which are specified in the aws_account_list

import boto3

aws_account_list = ["111111111111", "222222222222", "333333333333"]

def role_arn_to_session(**args):
    client = boto3.client("sts")
    response = client.assume_role(**args)
    return boto3.Session(
        aws_access_key_id=response["Credentials"]["AccessKeyId"],
        aws_secret_access_key=response["Credentials"]["SecretAccessKey"],
        aws_session_token=response["Credentials"]["SessionToken"],
    )

# This decides what role to use, the name of the session you will start, and potentially an external id.
# The external id can be used as a passcode to protect your role.
def set_boto3_clients(account_id):
    return role_arn_to_session(
        RoleArn="arn:aws:iam::" + account_id + ":role/your-rolename-to-assume",
        RoleSessionName="your-rolename-to-assume",
    )

# This is an example function which deletes evaluation results for a specific config rule.
# You can create your own Boto3 function which you want to execute on mutliple accounts.
def delete_awsconfig_rule_evaluations(awsconfig):
    return awsconfig.delete_evaluation_results(ConfigRuleName="SHIELD_002")

def lambda_handler(event, context):
    for account_id in aws_account_list:
        run_boto3_in_account = set_boto3_clients(account_id)
        # You can use run_boto3_in_account as if you are using boto in another account
        # For example: s3 = run_boto3_in_account.client('s3')
        awsconfig = run_boto3_in_account.client("config")
        delete_awsconfig_rule_evaluations(awsconfig)

if __name__ == " __main__":
    lambda_handler({"invokingEvent": '{"messageType":"ScheduledNotification"}'}, None)

```

### Tools

This section in the repository contains links to popular tools and **hidden gems 💎** that you might now know about yet that automate or simplify the usage of AWS in the console, CLI, or API's.

An example of a popular tool that helps you set up and deploy AWS ECS containers relatively easily in an automated way is [AWS Copilot CLI](https://github.com/aws/copilot-cli). The AWS Copilot CLI is a tool for developers to build, release and operate production-ready containerized applications on Amazon ECS and AWS Fargate.

![aws-copilot-cli-example.gif](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1635174638963/3mcA9Knl8.gif)

An example of a hidden gem 💎 is [steampipe](https://github.com/turbot/steampipe). This tool allows you to query Cloud resources in a SQL-like fashion. I dare to say that if you wish to query multiple AWS resources, this tool is way faster and easier to use than the default AWS CLI!

You can instantly run query cloud APIs using SQL like so:

```
select
  title,
  create_date,
  mfa_enabled
from
  aws_iam_user

```

The example query will return all IAM users including their creation date and if MFA has been enabled:

```
+-----------------+---------------------+-------------+
| title | create_date | mfa_enabled |
+-----------------+---------------------+-------------+
| pam_beesly | 2005-03-24 21:30:00 | false |
| creed_bratton | 2005-03-24 21:30:00 | true |
| stanley_hudson | 2005-03-24 21:30:00 | false |
| michael_scott | 2005-03-24 21:30:00 | false |
| dwight_schrute | 2005-03-24 21:30:00 | true |
+-----------------+---------------------+-------------+

```

But the real power with this tool is the use of mods! A Steampipe mod is a collection of related Steampipe resources such as queries, controls, and benchmarks. You can simply download one of the several mods from the [Steampipe Hub](https://hub.steampipe.io/mods) or create one yourself.

A good example of a mod that you can use for AWS is the [AWS Compliance Mod](https://hub.steampipe.io/mods/turbot/aws_compliance). This mod can run individual configuration, compliance and security controls, or full compliance benchmarks for AWS Foundational Security Best Practices. Basically, that means it can run a full security health check on your AWS accounts and produce a report based on the findings. This makes this tool invaluable to helping you protect your AWS accounts.

### Blogroll

This section contains a collection of AWS blogs that contain helpful tips and tricks.

| Blog title | Description |
| **[AWS Security](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security)** | The latest AWS security, identity, and compliance launches, announcements, and how-to posts. |
| **[AWS DevOps](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/devops)** | The latest AWS DevOps announcements, and how-to posts. |
| **[Netflix Techblog](http://techblog.netflix.com)** | Learn about Netflix’s world class engineering efforts, company culture, product developments, and more. |
| **[Last week in AWS](https://www.lastweekinaws.com)** | We’re the internet’s only snarky, sarcastic resource for literally anything and everything AWS… and we know it. |

## Contributions

All the contributions are welcome! So if you have a Bash or Python script lying around, feel free to create a Pull Request! Read how you can contribute by reading the [contribution guidelines](https://github.com/dannysteenman/aws-toolbox/blob/main/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md)

* * *

👋 **Enjoyed this article?** Reach out in the comments below or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/dannysteenman) to let me know what you think of it.