The config profile (my-profile) could not be found

The profile name does not match anything in your config. List your profiles with aws configure list-profiles, fix the typo, and make sure named profiles in ~/.aws/config use the [profile my-profile] header (only [default] goes bare). If AWS_PROFILE is set to an empty string, unset it entirely.

The config profile (my-profile) could not be found

Fix

1. List the profiles the CLI actually sees:

   aws configure list-profiles

   Expected: the profile name you want appears exactly, character for character.

2. If it is missing, check ~/.aws/config. Named profiles need the prefix:

   [profile my-profile]
   region = us-east-1

   Only [default] goes without the profile prefix. Fix the header, save, retry.

3. Check the right file: SSO, role_arn, and source_profile settings belong in ~/.aws/config; static IAM keys belong in ~/.aws/credentials. A profile split across the wrong files will not resolve.

4. If the error shows empty parentheses - The config profile () could not be found - your AWS_PROFILE is set to an empty string, which counts as a profile name. Fix it:

   unset AWS_PROFILE

   Expected: aws sts get-caller-identity falls back to the default profile and works.

When this applies

• Any aws command fails with The config profile (name) could not be found, including the empty-parens variant.
• You just edited ~/.aws/config or set AWS_PROFILE in a new shell.

When it does NOT apply

• Unable to locate credentials: the profile resolves but has no credentials.
• ExpiredToken / InvalidClientTokenId: the profile resolves but the credentials are bad.

Compatibility

• AWS CLI v1 and v2. The [profile name] header rule applies to ~/.aws/config in both.

Why it happens

The CLI looks up the profile name in ~/.aws/config (and ~/.aws/credentials for keys). A typo, a missing profile prefix in the section header, or an AWS_PROFILE value that does not exist anywhere means the lookup finds nothing. The empty-string case is sneaky: export AWS_PROFILE="" sets a real (empty) name instead of clearing the variable.

Edge cases

• AWS_CONFIG_FILE / AWS_SHARED_CREDENTIALS_FILE env vars can point the CLI at different files than the ones you edited. Check them with env | grep AWS_.
• Profile names are case-sensitive.
• On Windows, the files live under %UserProfile%\.aws.