Step By Step — Connect Visual Studio Code to AWS

This step by step guide will cover how to connect Visual Studio Code to AWS using the AWS Toolkit. While this guide is optional, connecting Visual Studio Code to AWS using the AWS Toolkit makes it easier to use Visual Studio Code when building AWS Solutions. Note the author has hidden certain fields (email addesses, account names, codes and credentials, etc.) for security purposes using colored boxes.

Link to YouTube video: coming soon.

Ensure you have a valid email address.

Ensure you have a smartphone with a Two Factor Authentication tool such as Microsoft Authenticator.

Step By Step — Configure a GitHub Account

Step By Step — Install Visual Studio Code

Step By Step — Install and Configure Git

Step By Step — Connect Visual Studio Code to GitHub

Step By Step — Create an AWS Account

Step 1: In VS Code on the right side menu bar, choose the "Extension" option.

Step 2: In the text box, type in "AWS Toolkit." You should see the AWS Toolkit option show up in the list. Click the "Install" button on the AWS Toolkit option.

Step 3: You may be prompted by VS Code to ensure you trust the publish. Click the "Trust Publisher & Install" option.

Step 4: You may notice some pop ups on the left side of your screen. You can ignore them for now.

Step 5: Once the installation is complete, you should notice a new menu option on the right side menu bar called "AWS." Click this menu bar option.

Step 6: You will be prompted to select a method to sign into your AWS Account since VS Code needs your AWS credentials to access the AWS Account. Choose the "Workforce" option and click "Continue."

Step 7: You will need to enter the start url. This was the url that was presented to you when you created your "admin" account in the Step By Step AWS Account guide. You also need to select the correct Region. The steps for getting this information are below if you are not sure.

Step 8: Optional - if you need to know the URL / Region for the above Step, log into your AWS Console via the normal method (URL, Username, Password, 2FA). On the login screen (see below), click the "Access keys" option.

Step 9: There will be a new box that pops up with the information you need (see screenshot below). Use this information in Step 92. Note - the URL may have a "#" sign at the end, you may need to remove this character when pasting it into VS Code to avoid an error.

Step 10: Once you enter the correct information on Step 92, you should be prompted to sign in via your browser (assuming you are not already signed into the AWS Console). Follow the normal setps to sign in (Username, Password, 2FA) and you should be prompted to allow access. Click the "Allow access" button.

Step 11: You should see a prompt telling you that you can now close your browser window and go back to VS Code.

Step 12: In VS Code, you should see a message indicating you are connected.

Step 13: If you click on the option "Select IAM Credentials to View Resources," you should be able to refresh your access.

Step 14: Once you refresh access, you should see a list of AWS Services show up on the right menu bar. This indicated that VS Code is now able to access your AWS Account. You have now completed the installation of the AWS Toolkit!

Step 15: This completes the process to connect Visual Studio Code to AWS. You can now follow the Step By Step guides that use AWS Services to deliver working solutions, such as creating a static website. These guides can be found in the main Step By Step Guides page.