---
id: awscurl
version: "0.44"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# awscurl — Curl like tool with AWS request signing

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 686.4K/mo

## What it is and what it does

awscurl is a command-line tool that bridges the gap between curl's simplicity and AWS's mandatory request signing requirement. It wraps HTTP requests in AWS Signature Version 4 signing, automatically handling credential lookup from IAM profiles or explicit keys, then sends the signed request to any AWS service endpoint. The tool accepts curl-like arguments (method, headers, data, output redirection) while adding AWS-specific options for region, service, and credential selection.

The package is built on requests for HTTP transport and boto3/botocore for AWS credential and signing logic, making it a thin orchestration layer. It's designed for developers and operators who want to test AWS APIs from the command line without manually constructing signatures—useful for ad-hoc API exploration, scripting, CI/CD pipelines, or debugging API Gateway and other AWS services that require signed requests.

Use it for:

- Test AWS API Gateway endpoints or Lambda function URLs from the command line with automatic request signing.
- Query S3 buckets, EC2 instances, or other AWS services directly without writing Python code or using the AWS CLI.
- Automate AWS API calls in shell scripts or CI/CD pipelines where curl-like syntax is more natural than SDK calls.
- Debug signed requests to AWS services by inspecting headers and responses with verbose output.
- Integrate AWS API calls into existing curl-based workflows or monitoring systems.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

A curl-like command-line tool that automatically signs and sends HTTP requests to AWS services using AWS Signature Version 4, handling credential management from IAM profiles or explicit keys.

Yes. The package solves a real friction point—making signed AWS API requests from the command line—with low install overhead, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and permissive licensing. It's especially useful for developers who prefer curl-style interfaces or need to integrate AWS calls into shell scripts. The 902 GitHub stars and top-15000 PyPI position indicate established adoption.

## Install

pip install awscurl
uv add awscurl
poetry add awscurl

## Installing awscurl

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure Python wheel distribution. Active maintenance with a recent release (62 days ago) and steady repository activity. Depends on well-established libraries (requests, boto3, botocore, urllib3) that are widely used and stable.

License in practice: MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.

Quickstart:

pip install awscurl

# List S3 bucket content with automatic request signing
awscurl --service s3 'https://bucket-name.s3.amazonaws.com'

# Or use IAM profile credentials from ~/.aws/credentials
awscurl --profile my-profile --service ec2 'https://ec2.amazonaws.com?Action=DescribeRegions&Version=2013-10-15'

Requires AWS credentials available either as command-line arguments, environment variables (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY, AWS_PROFILE), or in ~/.aws/credentials file.

Verify before relying:

- Whether Python version requirements are enforced or if the package works across all modern Python versions despite unspecified support.
- Real-world performance characteristics when signing large request payloads or making high-frequency API calls.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 686.4K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

aws api request signing, curl for aws services, aws signature version 4, command line aws requests, aws credentials automation, signed http requests aws, aws api gateway cli, aws-integration, cli-tool, request-signing

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/awscurl) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/awscurl/)