AWS CLI S3 Commands

AWS CLI S3 commands allow you to create buckets, upload and download files, manage objects, and organize storage directly from the terminal.

Official Link: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/s3/

Create & Manage Buckets

a) Create bucket

Bash

aws s3 mb s3://my-new-bucket    

If the bucket is created successfully, it returns:

make_bucket: my-new-bucket    

b) Create bucket in specific region

Bash

aws s3 mb s3://my-new-bucket --region ap-south-1    

c) List buckets

To list all buckets in your account:

Bash

aws s3 ls    

d) Remove bucket (must be empty)

Bash

aws s3 rb s3://my-new-bucket    

If the bucket is deleted successfully:

remove_bucket: my-new-bucket    

If the bucket is not empty, deletion fails:

remove_bucket failed: s3://my-new-bucket/
An error occurred (BucketNotEmpty) when calling the DeleteBucket operation:
The bucket you tried to delete is not empty    

So, delete objects first and then delete the bucket:

Bash

aws s3 rm s3://my-new-bucket --recursive
aws s3 rb s3://my-new-bucket    

Upload Files

To upload files from your local system to an S3 bucket:

a) Upload single file

Bash

aws s3 cp file.txt s3://mybucket/    

b) Upload entire workspace

Bash

aws s3 cp "." s3://bucket-567/ --recursive    

Download Files

a) Download file

Bash

aws s3 cp s3://mybucket/file.txt .    

b) Download folder

To download all files from a folder, use the --recursive option.

Bash

aws s3 cp s3://mybucket/myfolder . --recursive    

Delete Files

The rm command removes objects from an S3 bucket.

Basic Syntax

aws s3 rm <S3_PATH>    

a) Delete file

Bash

aws s3 rm s3://mybucket/file.txt    

• Deletes file.txt from the bucket.
• Only that object is removed.

Note: If the file does not exist, the command does not throw an error.

b) Delete folder (All files inside)

S3 does not have real folders — they are object prefixes. To remove all objects inside a folder, use --recursive.

Bash

aws s3 rm s3://mybucket/folder/ --recursive    

• Deletes all files inside folder/.
• Removes nested subfolders and contents.

Move Files

The aws s3 mv command is used to move or rename files and folders between locations.

• Local system → S3
• S3 → Local system
• S3 → S3
• Within the same bucket (rename or reorganize)

Unlike cp, the source file is deleted after transfer.

Basic Syntax

aws s3 mv <source> <destination>    

👉 Think of it as:

move = copy + delete source    

a) Upload and remove local file

Bash

aws s3 mv report.pdf s3://mybucket/    

• Uploads the file.
• Deletes the local file.

b) Move file: S3 → Local

Bash

aws s3 mv s3://mybucket/report.pdf .    

• Downloads the file.
• Removes it from S3.

c) Move file: S3 → S3

Bash

aws s3 mv s3://bucket-a/file.txt s3://bucket-b/