Alibaba Cloud CLI
OfficialAgent-readyAbout Alibaba Cloud CLI
Alibaba Cloud CLI is the official command-line tool for Alibaba Cloud, providing complete access to Alibaba Cloud OpenAPI. It supports multiple configuration profiles, SSO authentication, and request diagnostics for automation and scripting.
Key features
- 01Access all Alibaba Cloud services through OpenAPI (compute, storage, networking, etc.)
- 02Manage multiple accounts and credentials using configuration profiles
- 03Diagnose request failures and inspect API response details
- 04Structured output in JSON and table formats
Use cases
- 01Automate deployment and management of Alibaba Cloud infrastructure with coding agents
- 02Batch operations on ECS instances, OSS buckets, and other resources in scripts
- 03Integrate Alibaba Cloud service calls into CI/CD workflows
Install
Pick your OS or package manager and run the command in a terminal.
Once installed, runaliyun --versionto confirm it works.
Example commands
Common commands in the order you’d use them.
Details
From the project READMEAlibaba Cloud CLI
A cross-platform command-line tool for managing Alibaba Cloud resources through OpenAPI.
Alibaba Cloud CLI (aliyun) is written in Go and works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. It supports interactive and non-interactive credential profiles, OpenAPI calls, local API help, structured output, waiters, safety controls, and an extensible plugin system.
Alibaba Cloud CLI invokes cloud services through OpenAPI. Activate the target service first and make sure your identity has the required permissions. Avoid long-lived AccessKeys where a temporary or identity-based credential mode is available.
Install
Choose one of the following methods:
# Homebrew
brew install aliyun-cli
# macOS or Linux installer script
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://aliyuncli.alicdn.com/install.sh)"
Official packages:
Verify the installation:
aliyun version
Upgrade an existing standalone installation:
aliyun upgrade
If the CLI was installed through a package manager, prefer that package manager's upgrade command.
See the installation guide for PATH setup, source builds, and upgrades.
To try the CLI without installing it locally, open Alibaba Cloud Shell:
Quick start
1. Configure a profile
For an interactive local environment, OAuth avoids storing a long-lived AccessKey:
aliyun configure --mode OAuth --profile default
For a remote machine without a browser, use:
aliyun configure --mode OAuth --profile default --no-browser
Open the printed authorization link on a device with a browser. After signing in,
copy the complete callback URL from the address bar and paste it into the CLI,
even if the browser reports a connection error. Include both code and state.
This mode does not start a local callback server or require port forwarding.
Press Ctrl+C to cancel.
You can also use AK, StsToken, RamRoleArn, EcsRamRole, OIDC, External, CredentialsURI, ChainableRamRoleArn, CloudSSO, BearerToken, or Anonymous mode where applicable.
# Inspect and select profiles
aliyun configure list
aliyun configure switch --profile default
See configuration and credentials before using a profile in production or CI.
2. Call an API
Both the traditional PascalCase form and the metadata-driven kebab-case form are supported where metadata is available:
aliyun ecs DescribeRegions
aliyun ecs describe-regions
Safety policy matches command names case-insensitively, without expanding API aliases. Configure a rule for each command name used by your automation. See command matching rules.
3. Explore help
aliyun --help
aliyun ecs DescribeInstances --help
aliyun ecs describe-instances --help
Common capabilities
Filter and format output
aliyun ecs DescribeInstances \
--output cols=InstanceId,Status rows=Instances.Instance[]
aliyun ecs describe-instances \
--cli-query 'Instances.Instance[].{Id:InstanceId,Status:Status}'
Wait for a resource state
aliyun ecs DescribeInstances \
--InstanceIds '["i-example"]' \
--waiter expr='Instances.Instance[0].Status' to=Running
Use product plugins
aliyun plugin search <command-name>
aliyun plugin install --name <plugin-name>
aliyun plugin list
aliyun plugin update --name <plugin-name>
See command usage and plugin management for the complete workflows.
Troubleshoot
OpenAPI Troubleshoot helps diagnose OpenAPI request failures by RequestId or error message.
Documentation
| Topic | English | 简体中文 |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation index | English | 中文 |
| Installation and upgrade | Guide | 指南 |
| Configuration and credentials | Guide | 指南 |
| Commands, output, and automation | Guide | 指南 |
| MCP, OpenTelemetry, and machine interfaces | Guide | 指南 |
| Built-in OSS automation | Guide | 指南 |
| Plugin management | Guide | 指南 |
Additional resources:
Support
- Search existing or open a GitHub issue.
- For a suspected security vulnerability, follow SECURITY.md instead of opening a public issue.
- Release notes and binaries are available on the Releases page.
License
Alibaba Cloud CLI is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.