AWS CLI for Managing Amazon Cognito User Pools (with examples)

Introduction

Amazon Cognito is a fully managed service that provides a secure user directory to authenticate and authorize your users. With the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI), you can interact with Amazon Cognito user pools and manage their users and groups efficiently. This article will guide you through eight different use cases for the aws cognito-idp command, along with code examples for each use case.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the examples, make sure you have the AWS CLI installed and configured on your local machine. You can find instructions on how to install and configure the AWS CLI in the official AWS CLI User Guide .

Use Case 1: Creating a New Cognito User Pool

To create a new Cognito user pool, you can use the create-user-pool command:

aws cognito-idp create-user-pool --pool-name {name}

Motivation: Creating a user pool is the first step in setting up an Amazon Cognito user directory. You can use this command to create a new user pool for your application or website.

Arguments:

• {name} (required): The name of the user pool you want to create.

Example Output:

{
    "UserPool": {
        "Id": "us-west-2_xxxxxxxx",
        "Name": "my-user-pool"
        ...
    }
}

Use Case 2: Listing All User Pools

To list all the user pools associated with your AWS account, you can use the list-user-pools command:

aws cognito-idp list-user-pools --max-results {10}

Motivation: This command allows you to quickly view all the user pools you have created. It can be helpful when managing multiple user pools in your applications.

Arguments:

• {10} (optional): The maximum number of results to display. The default value is 60.

Example Output:

{
    "UserPools": [
        {
            "Id": "us-west-2_xxxxxxxx",
            "Name": "my-user-pool"
            ...
        },
        {
            "Id": "us-west-2_yyyyyyyy",
            "Name": "another-user-pool"
            ...
        },
        ...
    ]
}

Use Case 3: Deleting a Specific User Pool

To delete a specific user pool, you can use the delete-user-pool command:

aws cognito-idp delete-user-pool --user-pool-id {user_pool_id}

Motivation: Sometimes, you may need to clean up unused user pools or remove a user pool associated with a deprecated application. This command allows you to delete a specific user pool when it is no longer needed.

Arguments:

• {user_pool_id} (required): The ID of the user pool you want to delete.

Example Output: None (Successful execution returns no output).

Use Case 4: Creating a User in a Specific Pool

To create a user in a specific user pool, you can use the admin-create-user command:

aws cognito-idp admin-create-user --username {username} --user-pool-id {user_pool_id}

Motivation: This command enables you to programmatically create a user in your user pool without requiring the user to sign up manually. It is useful when you need to create user accounts on behalf of your users.

Arguments:

• {username} (required): The username of the user you want to create.
• {user_pool_id} (required): The ID of the user pool in which you want to create the user.

Example Output:

{
    "User": {
        "Username": "johndoe",
        "Enabled": true,
        ...
    }
}

Use Case 5: Listing Users of a Specific Pool

To list all the users in a specific user pool, you can use the list-users command:

aws cognito-idp list-users --user-pool-id {user_pool_id}

Motivation: This command provides a convenient way to retrieve all the users in a user pool. You can use this information for various purposes, such as generating reports or analyzing user data.

Arguments:

• {user_pool_id} (required): The ID of the user pool you want to list the users from.

Example Output:

{
    "Users": [
        {
            "Username": "johndoe",
            "Enabled": true,
            ...
        },
        {
            "Username": "janedoe",
            "Enabled": true,
            ...
        },
        ...
    ]
}

Use Case 6: Deleting a User from a Specific Pool

To delete a user from a specific user pool, you can use the admin-delete-user command:

aws cognito-idp admin-delete-user --username {username} --user-pool-id {user_pool_id}

Motivation: This command allows you to remove a user from a user pool when needed. It can be useful for performing user management operations, such as account deletion or suspension.

Arguments:

• {username} (required): The username of the user you want to delete.
• {user_pool_id} (required): The ID of the user pool from which you want to delete the user.

Example Output: None (Successful execution returns no output).

Conclusion

In this article, we have explored eight different use cases of the aws cognito-idp command for managing Amazon Cognito user pools and their users. By leveraging the AWS CLI, you can automate user pool management tasks and integrate them into your development workflows. These examples provide a solid foundation for working with Cognito user pools and serve as a starting point for exploring more advanced functionality.

For a complete reference of the aws cognito-idp command and its options, refer to the AWS CLI Command Reference - Cognito Identity Provider .

Happy coding with Amazon Cognito!