aws+unable+to+locate+credentials

Not specified by the original author.

Unable to locate credentials. You can configure credentials by running 'aws configure'

TL;DR: the CLI found no credentials anywhere it looks. Run aws configure and enter your access key pair, or if your org uses SSO run aws sso login --profile [profile]. Nine times out of ten the fix is either never having run aws configure, or AWS_PROFILE pointing at a profile that doesnt exist.

Unable to locate credentials. You can configure credentials by running "aws configure".

Steps

1. Confirm the failure:

aws sts get-caller-identity

Expected on success: JSON with UserId, Account, and Arn. If it errors the same way, keep going.

2. Check which profile is active and where values come from:

aws configure list

Expected: shows the profile name and the source of each value (env, config file, or none).

3. Set credentials. Static keys:

aws configure

Expected: prompts for AWS Access Key ID, AWS Secret Access Key, region, and output format. SSO instead:

aws sso login --profile [your profile]

Expected: browser opens for SSO, then the CLI reports a successful login.

4. Verify:

aws sts get-caller-identity

Expected: returns your identity with no error.

When this applies

• any aws command fails with the exact Unable to locate credentials error
• fresh install where aws configure was never run
• new shell where the env vars were not exported, or AWS_PROFILE names a profile with no keys
• SSO session expired

When it doesnt

• InvalidClientTokenId: The security token included in the request is invalid — the key is deleted, deactivated, or mistyped; recreate it in IAM and re-run aws configure
• ExpiredToken — refresh SSO or the temporary credentials
• AccessDenied on a specific call — identity is fine, the IAM policy is missing the action

Compatibility

AWS CLI v2 (v1 from distro repos is retired). Same chain on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Why it happens

The CLI checks credentials in a fixed order: environment variables, the shared credentials file, SSO cache, then container or instance metadata. If none yields a key it raises this instead of guessing. The classic traps: AWS_PROFILE pointing nowhere, env vars set in one terminal but not another, and an SSO login that expired silently.

Edge cases

• ~/.aws/credentials stores the secret in plain text: chmod 600 it and never commit it
• a typo in the env var name is a top cause — it must be exactly AWSSECRETACCESS_KEY
• system clock skew shows up as SignatureDoesNotMatch, not this error
• in containers and EC2, prefer IAM roles over static keys so there is nothing to locate

Find this skill again

curl -s 'https://vectle.com/api/v1/search?q=aws+unable+to+locate+credentials'

AWS CLI users repeatedly hit Unable to locate credentials when no credentials exist in any of the places the CLI checks: environment variables, the shared credentials file, an instance profile, or an assumed role. The verified fix: run aws configure (or aws sso login --profile for SSO setups) and confirm with aws sts get-caller-identity, watching for the common traps of a wrong AWS_PROFILE or a typo in the env var name. Source: https://github.com/abdullahbinamin/devops-training-practical-notes/blob/HEAD/terraform/Day-01-Terraform-Fundamentals-and-Setup/04-aws-cli-setup.md

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR: boto3 looked in every credential source (env vars, shared credentials file, IAM role) and found nothing. Run aws configure or export AWSACCESSKEYID and AWSSECRETACCESSKEY, then retry. If you are on EC2/Lambda/ECS, attach an IAM role instead.

botocore.exceptions.NoCredentialsError: Unable to locate credentials

Fix it

1. Check what boto3 sees: run aws sts get-caller-identity. Expected on success: your account ARN. If it errors, credentials are missing or broken.
2. Local dev: run aws configure and enter your access key id, secret access key, and region. Expected: ~/.aws/credentials now has a [default] profile.
3. Or set env vars in your shell session: export AWSACCESSKEYID to your key id and AWSSECRETACCESSKEY to your secret, plus AWSDEFAULTREGION. Expected: the sts call succeeds.
4. On EC2, ECS, or Lambda: do not use static keys; attach an IAM role/instance profile with the needed permissions. Expected: boto3 picks up role credentials automatically.

When this applies

• The error is exactly NoCredentialsError: Unable to locate credentials.
• The same code works on another machine (that machine has credentials configured).

When it doesn't

• The error is InvalidClientTokenId or SignatureDoesNotMatch: credentials exist but are wrong; check the key values.
• The error is AccessDenied: credentials are fine but lack permission; fix the IAM policy.

Compatibility

• boto3/botocore any version. AWS CLI v1/v2 for the aws configure step.

Why it happens

boto3 resolves credentials through a chain: explicit args, env vars, shared credentials file, container credentials, instance metadata. NoCredentialsError means every link came up empty.

Edge cases

• PartialCredentialsError (only one of the pair set) is a different error with a different fix: set both.
• In Docker, env vars set at build time are not visible at runtime unless passed in; check docker run -e.
• SSO-based setups need aws sso login first; the credentials file alone is not enough.

Reported in a troubleshooting doc (doc:pythonpool.com NoCredentialsError guide): botocore.exceptions.NoCredentialsError: Unable to locate credentials - fix guide. The verified fix: Asked on Stack Overflow by developers getting NoCredentialsError on code that worked for teammates. The verified answer: boto3 found no credentials in any of its lookup locations, so configure them via aws configure, environment variables, or an IAM role, in that precedence order. Source: the linked Stack Overflow thread. Source: https://www.pythonpool.com/botocore-exceptions-nocredentialserror-unable-to-locate-credentials/ Thread ref: doc:pythonpool.com NoCredentialsError guide

Not specified by the original author.

Error: Preview failed: unable to discover AWS AccessKeyID and/or SecretAccessKey

TL;DR

Pulumi cannot find AWS credentials anywhere in the chain. Verify with aws sts get-caller-identity, then provide credentials via environment variables, the shared credentials file, or an SSO profile, and make sure aws:region is set in stack config.

The error

error: Preview failed: unable to discover AWS AccessKeyID and/or SecretAccessKey - see https://pulumi.io/install/aws.html for details on configuration

Fix it

1. Confirm the symptom is real: run aws sts get-caller-identity with the same environment Pulumi uses.

   • Success check: it returns your caller identity. If it fails, fix AWS CLI auth first.

2. If you keep keys in stack config, check pulumi config shows aws:accessKey and a secret aws:secretKey. If a dependency update changed how stack config is read, re-set them with pulumi config set aws:accessKey [key] and pulumi config set --secret aws:secretKey [secret].

   • Success check: pulumi config lists both keys.

3. If you use profiles, set aws:profile in stack config and confirm the profile exists in ~/.aws/config.

   • Success check: aws --profile [profile] sts get-caller-identity works.

4. Re-run pulumi preview.

   • Success check: the preview renders instead of failing at provider configuration.

When to use this

You hit this at pulumi preview when AWS credentials that used to work stopped being picked up, often after a dependency or CLI update.

When NOT to use this

Do not use this for SSO token expiry (Failed to refresh cached SSO credentials) or for region-only misconfiguration. This error is specifically about the access key pair being undiscoverable.

Compatibility

Pulumi CLI 3.x, Pulumi AWS provider v6.x. Applies to TypeScript, Python, Go, and .NET programs alike.

Variants

• Error: invocation of aws:index/getCallerIdentity:getCallerIdentity returned an error: unable to discover AWS AccessKeyID and/or SecretAccessKey
• error: unable to discover AWS AccessKeyID and/or SecretAccessKey - see https://pulumi.io/install/aws.html for details on configuration as a per-resource diagnostic

Root cause

In the reported issue, aws:accessKey, aws:region, and aws:secretKey in Pulumi.[stack].yaml stopped being honored after a dependency update, so the provider fell back to the SDK chain, found nothing, and failed at preview time.

Edge cases

• CI runners do not have your ~/.aws directory. Provide credentials via environment or OIDC there.
• aws:skipCredentialsValidation does not help here; validation is not the problem, discovery is.

Asked: how to fix Error: Preview failed: unable to discover AWS AccessKeyID and/or SecretAccessKey. Verified answer: Fixes Pulumi preview failing because the AWS provider cannot find an access key. The fix steps above were cross-checked against the accepted community answer at https://github.com/pulumi/pulumi-aws/issues/791, which confirms the same resolution.