# Setting up your AWS MCP Server (Preview)
Setting up your AWS MCP Server

This section outlines how you can set up your AWS MCP Server (Preview).

**Topics**
+ [

## Prerequisites
](#getting-started-prerequisites)
+ [

## Set up your AWS MCP Server (Preview)
](#mcp-set-up-process)

## Prerequisites


Before you begin, you must ensure that you have set up an AWS account.

### Sign up for an AWS account


#### Sign up for an AWS account


If you do not have an AWS account, complete the following steps to create one.

**To sign up for an AWS account**

1. Open [https://portal.aws.amazon.com/billing/signup](https://portal.aws.amazon.com/billing/signup).

1. Follow the online instructions.

   Part of the sign-up procedure involves receiving a phone call or text message and entering a verification code on the phone keypad.

   When you sign up for an AWS account, an *AWS account root user* is created. The root user has access to all AWS services and resources in the account. As a security best practice, assign administrative access to a user, and use only the root user to perform [tasks that require root user access](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_root-user.html#root-user-tasks).

AWS sends you a confirmation email after the sign-up process is complete. At any time, you can view your current account activity and manage your account by going to [https://aws.amazon.com/](https://aws.amazon.com/) and choosing **My Account**.

#### Create a user with administrative access


After you sign up for an AWS account, secure your AWS account root user, enable AWS IAM Identity Center, and create an administrative user so that you don't use the root user for everyday tasks.

**Secure your AWS account root user**

1.  Sign in to the [AWS Management Console](https://console.aws.amazon.com/) as the account owner by choosing **Root user** and entering your AWS account email address. On the next page, enter your password.

   For help signing in by using root user, see [Signing in as the root user](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/signin/latest/userguide/console-sign-in-tutorials.html#introduction-to-root-user-sign-in-tutorial) in the *AWS Sign-In User Guide*.

1. Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your root user.

   For instructions, see [Enable a virtual MFA device for your AWS account root user (console)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/enable-virt-mfa-for-root.html) in the *IAM User Guide*.

**Create a user with administrative access**

1. Enable IAM Identity Center.

   For instructions, see [Enabling AWS IAM Identity Center](https://docs.aws.amazon.com//singlesignon/latest/userguide/get-set-up-for-idc.html) in the *AWS IAM Identity Center User Guide*.

1. In IAM Identity Center, grant administrative access to a user.

   For a tutorial about using the IAM Identity Center directory as your identity source, see [ Configure user access with the default IAM Identity Center directory](https://docs.aws.amazon.com//singlesignon/latest/userguide/quick-start-default-idc.html) in the *AWS IAM Identity Center User Guide*.

**Sign in as the user with administrative access**
+ To sign in with your IAM Identity Center user, use the sign-in URL that was sent to your email address when you created the IAM Identity Center user.

  For help signing in using an IAM Identity Center user, see [Signing in to the AWS access portal](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/signin/latest/userguide/iam-id-center-sign-in-tutorial.html) in the *AWS Sign-In User Guide*.

**Assign access to additional users**

1. In IAM Identity Center, create a permission set that follows the best practice of applying least-privilege permissions.

   For instructions, see [ Create a permission set](https://docs.aws.amazon.com//singlesignon/latest/userguide/get-started-create-a-permission-set.html) in the *AWS IAM Identity Center User Guide*.

1. Assign users to a group, and then assign single sign-on access to the group.

   For instructions, see [ Add groups](https://docs.aws.amazon.com//singlesignon/latest/userguide/addgroups.html) in the *AWS IAM Identity Center User Guide*.

## Set up your AWS MCP Server (Preview)


To set up AWS MCP Server (Preview), use the steps in the following sections.

**Topics**
+ [

### Step 1: (If applicable) Remove conflicting MCP servers
](#step-1-remove-conflicting-servers)
+ [

### Step 2: Configure AWS credentials
](#step-2-configure-aws-credentials)
+ [

### Step 3: Configure your MCP client
](#step-3-configure-mcp-client)
+ [

### Step 4: Configure IAM permissions
](#step-4-configure-iam)
+ [

### Step 5: Test your connection
](#step-5-test-connection)

### Step 1: (If applicable) Remove conflicting MCP servers


If you currently have AWS API MCP Server or AWS Knowledge MCP Server installed, we recommend removing them before setting up the AWS MCP Server (Preview) to avoid tool conflicts that can confuse AI agents and reduce performance.

**To remove existing AWS MCP servers:**  


1. Open your MCP client configuration file.

1. Remove any entries for these servers:
   + `aws-api-mcp-server`
   + `aws-knowledge-mcp-server`

1. Save the configuration file.

1. Restart your MCP client to apply the changes.

### Step 2: Configure AWS credentials


Before connecting to AWS MCP Server (Preview), you need to configure AWS credentials on your local machine. The server uses these credentials to authenticate your requests.

You can use the SigV4 via Proxy to authenticate the AWS MCP Server (Preview). SigV4 via Proxy uses your available AWS credentials and requires the [MCP Proxy for AWS](https://github.com/aws/mcp-proxy-for-aws).

**Note**  
If your authentication step worked previously but you have encountered an authentication error, you might need to refresh your credentials and try again.

1. Install the AWS CLI by following the instructions at [ Installing the AWS CLI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html).

1. Configure your AWS credentials using one of these methods:

   

**For users with AWS Management Console credentials (Recommended)**  
From the AWS CLI, run the following command:

   ```
   aws login
   ```
**Note**  
AWS Management Console credentials means that you have a username and password that allows you to sign in to the console. To use this method, you need the AWS CLI version `2.32.0` or later.

**For SSO users**  


   ```
   aws configure sso
   ```

   Follow the prompts to set up your SSO configuration.

**For IAM users**  


   ```
   aws configure
   ```

   Enter your Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, default region, and output format.

1. Test your configuration:

   ```
   aws sts get-caller-identity
   ```

1. Install uv (if not already installed)

**On macOS and Linux**  


   ```
   curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
   ```

**Windows**  


   ```
   powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
   ```

### Step 3: Configure your MCP client


Set your default AWS Region by adding the `--metadata` parameter with `AWS_REGION`. Without this setting, all AWS operations default to `us-east-1`.

**Note**  
Replace `us-west-2` with your preferred default AWS Region.

**Region behavior:**
+ Without `--metadata` and `AWS_REGION`: Operations default to `us-east-1`
+ With `--metadata` and `AWS_REGION`: Operations use your specified Region
+ In queries: You can override by specifying a Region (example: "list my EC2 instances in eu-west-1")

------
#### [ Amazon Kiro CLI ]

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "timeout": 100000,
      "transport": "stdio",
      "args": [
        "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
        "https://aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws/mcp",
        "--metadata", "AWS_REGION=us-west-2"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

------
#### [ Cursor IDE ]

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
        "https://aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws/mcp",
        "--metadata", "AWS_REGION=us-west-2"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

------
#### [ Claude Desktop ]

```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
        "https://aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws/mcp",
        "--metadata", "AWS_REGION=us-west-2"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

------

### Step 4: Configure IAM permissions


If you're not using an administrator role, you must add specific permissions for AWS MCP Server (Preview) access.

**Note**  
Skip this step if you're using an administrator role.

**To configure IAM permissions**

1. Open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/

1. Choose the user or role you configured in Step 2

1. Add this policy to grant AWS MCP Server (Preview) access:

   ```
   {
      "Version": "2012-10-17",		 	 	 
      "Statement": [
           {
               "Effect": "Allow",
               "Action": [
                   "aws-mcp:InvokeMcp",
                   "aws-mcp:CallReadOnlyTool",
                   "aws-mcp:CallReadWriteTool"
               ],
               "Resource": "*"
           }
       ]
   }
   ```

### Step 5: Test your connection


1. Start your MCP client (Kiro CLI, Cursor, Claude Desktop, etc.).

1. Wait for the MCP server to initialize (this may take a few minutes on first connection).

1. Test the connection by asking your AI assistant:

   *Example: What AWS Regions are available?*

1. Verify that tools are loaded by running (in Kiro CLI):

   `/tools`

   Or to see installed MCP servers:

   `/mcp`

You should see tools like `aws__search_documentation` and `retrieve_agent_sop` listed. For more information about the tools, see [Understanding the MCP Server tools](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/aws-mcp/latest/userguide/understanding-mcp-server-tools.html).