README.md

🔐 AWS IAM Management with Shell Script

Automating IAM resource management in AWS is critical as teams scale. This project script handles the creation of IAM users, user groups, and permission assignment using the AWS CLI, packaged inside a reusable shell script.

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⚙️ Project Setup: aws-iam-manager.sh

1. Pre-requisites

• AWS CLI installed (aws --version)
• AWS CLI configured (aws configure)
• IAM permissions to manage users, groups, and policies
• Completion of Linux and shell scripting fundamentals

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📄 Script Structure & Logic

#!/bin/bash

# AWS IAM Manager Script for CloudOps Solutions
# Automates user, group creation, and permission assignment

IAM_USER_NAMES=("user1" "user2" "user3" "user4" "user5")

create_iam_users() {
  echo "Starting IAM user creation..."
  for user in "${IAM_USER_NAMES[@]}"; do
    aws iam get-user --user-name "$user" &>/dev/null
    if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
      aws iam create-user --user-name "$user" && echo "Created $user"
    else
      echo "User $user already exists"
    fi
  done
}

create_admin_group() {
  echo "Creating admin group and attaching policy..."
  aws iam get-group --group-name "admin" &>/dev/null
  if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
    aws iam create-group --group-name "admin" && echo "Group created"
  else
    echo "Group already exists"
  fi

  aws iam attach-group-policy \
    --group-name admin \
    --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AdministratorAccess
}

add_users_to_admin_group() {
  echo "Adding users to admin group..."
  for user in "${IAM_USER_NAMES[@]}"; do
    aws iam add-user-to-group \
      --user-name "$user" \
      --group-name admin
    echo "Added $user to admin group"
  done
}

main() {
  echo "Starting AWS IAM automation..."
  if ! command -v aws &>/dev/null; then
    echo "Error: AWS CLI not installed."
    exit 1
  fi

  create_iam_users
  create_admin_group
  add_users_to_admin_group

  echo "✅ IAM automation complete"
}

main

The extented script can be found here AWS IAM manager

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✅ Make Script Executable and Run

After saving the script file, make it executable and run it:

chmod +x aws-iam-manager.sh
./aws-iam-manager.sh

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⚡ Error Handling (Built-in in Script)

To make the script safe and idempotent (i.e., can run multiple times without breaking), the following patterns are used:

User Already Exists

Skip user creation if they exist:

aws iam get-user --user-name "$user" &>/dev/null || aws iam create-user --user-name "$user"

Group Already Exists

Skip group creation if it already exists:

aws iam get-group --group-name admin &>/dev/null || aws iam create-group --group-name admin

Policy Attachment Feedback

Capture success or failure of policy attachment:

if aws iam attach-group-policy --group-name admin \
  --policy-arn arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AdministratorAccess; then
  echo "Policy attached."
else
  echo "Failed to attach policy."
fi

These checks make the script safe to re-run and eliminate common failure scenarios during AWS IAM provisioning.

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🤖 Debugging Scripts with set -x

To troubleshoot issues in real-time:

#!/bin/bash
set -x   # Enables debugging

Disable debugging when needed:

set +x   # Stops command tracing

This traces each line as it's executed—great for identifying incorrect arguments or failed commands in AWS CLI calls.

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🛠️ Troubleshooting & Common Errors

Problem	Cause	Solution
aws: command not found	AWS CLI not installed	Install using: sudo apt install awscli
Unable to locate credentials	AWS CLI not configured	Run: aws configure
EntityAlreadyExists errors	User or group already exists	Script handles this—outputs message and skips
AccessDenied errors	Missing IAM permissions	Attach IAM full-access policy to the AWS CLI user

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🧠 Key Concepts & Good Practices

✅ IAM Resource Checks

Always verify the existence of users or groups using:

aws iam get-user --user-name "user1"

Avoids script failure when entities already exist.

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✅ Using Arrays for User Lists

The array structure makes bulk user creation and management clean and repeatable:

IAM_USER_NAMES=("user1" "user2" "user3")

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✅ Portability via Shebang

#!/bin/bash

• Guarantees Bash shell execution.
• Promotes portability across environments where /bin/bash is available.
• Avoids ambiguous behavior with system default shells.

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🐞 Debugging with set -x

Enable line-by-line execution tracing:

set -x   # Start debugging
# your logic
set +x   # Stop debugging

Helps in identifying which line fails during script execution.

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📝 Project Deliverables

• ✅ Fully documented script: aws-iam-manager.sh

• ✅ Image evidence of:

  • AWS CLI installed & configured
  • Script execution and IAM user/group creation
  • Policy attachment and group assignment

• ✅ GitHub or cloud link to script for review

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🏁 Conclusion

This project extends basic shell scripting into real-world AWS IAM automation using arrays, loops, functions, and CLI integration. The script is reusable, handles errors gracefully, and promotes safe cloud operations at scale.