How to migrate from AWS Cloud9 to AWS IDE Toolkits or AWS Cloudshell

Building with AWS requires you to interact with and manipulate your AWS resources, whether it’s to manage infrastructure, deploy applications, or troubleshoot issues and many AWS customers use AWS Cloud9 to do so today. However, developers want the ability to work with AWS resources within their own Integrated Development Environment (IDE) because it allows them to streamline their workflows and leverage familiar tools. Other customers still want the security and flexibility of working with their resources in the AWS Management Console, but with quicker access and portability across different pages. In this blog, we will discuss two solutions, the AWS IDE Toolkits and AWS CloudShell, and why you may want to migrate from AWS Cloud9 to one of these solutions.

Overview

The AWS IDE Toolkits are a set of open-source plugins that integrate AWS services directly into popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code, IntelliJ, and PyCharm. With these toolkits, you can manage AWS resources, deploy applications, and debug code without leaving your familiar development environment. Key features of the AWS IDE Toolkits include seamless access to AWS services, resource exploration and management, local debugging capabilities, and integration with AWS deployment tools like AWS CloudFormation and AWS SAM. The AWS IDE Toolkits saves you the hassle of deploying and managing an AWS Cloud9 EC2 instance in your account and allows you to interact with AWS services in the context of your IDE’s source code.

AWS CloudShell is a browser-based shell available directly in the AWS Management Console that provides a pre-authenticated and pre-configured environment for running interacting with AWS resources. AWS CLI is pre-installed in the AWS CloudShell environment, eliminating the need for you to install and configure the AWS CLI locally, making it easier to interact with AWS resources from anywhere. You can use AWS CloudShell to check or adjust a configuration file, make a quick fix to a production environment, or even experiment with new AWS services or features. Best of all, usage of AWS CloudShell is free. CloudShell’s accessibility from anywhere in the AWS Management Console makes it an ideal alternative when you want to interact with AWS resources via the command line over the web because you have limitations doing so on your local desktop.

Getting started

If you’re interested in leveraging the AWS IDE Toolkits, the onboarding process is straightforward. In many popular IDE’s like Visual Studio Code, you can simply install the AWS Toolkits extension in the IDE’s extension marketplace and authenticate with your AWS credentials to begin taking advantage of all of the AWS Toolkits features. For more detailed information about installation, you can see the onboarding steps for each supported IDE. To begin using AWS CloudShell, simply click the CloudShell icon in the AWS Management Console and follow the prompts to launch your shell environment. CloudShell leverages the credentials from your AWS Management Console sessions to provide a pre-authenticated shell environment. You can also explore detailed user guides and sample use cases to help you get familiar with the tool.

Figure 1: Click on the AWS CloudShell icon

Summary

Both the AWS IDE Toolkits and AWS CloudShell offer powerful capabilities for interacting with AWS resources. Whether you prefer working within your local IDE or a web-based terminal directly in the AWS Management Console, these solutions provide a seamless and efficient way to manage your AWS infrastructure and applications. Take the time to explore these options and see how they can enhance your development workflows. Finally, don’t forget to delete your AWS Cloud9 EC2 instances once you migrate to avoid incurring unnecessary future costs.