AboutFree templates
AWS error

command not found: aws

Your shell cannot find the aws program, so the AWS CLI is not installed properly or is not on your PATH.

Checked 4 Nov 2026Official source linked
command not found: aws

Your shell cannot find the aws program, so the AWS CLI is not installed properly or is not on your PATH.

Why it happens

AWS lists four causes: the terminal has not picked up a new PATH (the list of folders the shell searches for programs), the install did not finish, the files lack run permissions on Linux, or the install folder was never added to PATH.

How to fix it

  1. 1

    Step 1

    Close and reopen your terminal, then run aws --version.

  2. 2

    Step 2

    If it still fails, reinstall the AWS CLI. See install the AWS CLI.

  3. 3

    Step 3

    On Linux, fix permissions with sudo chmod -R 755 /usr/local/aws-cli/ (use your install path). On Linux or macOS, add export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH to your profile script and run source ~/.bash_profile.

  4. 4

    Step 4

    On Windows, find the program with where /R c:\ aws in Command Prompt and add its folder (for example c:\Program Files\Amazon\AWSCLIV2\) to the PATH environment variable.

export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH
source ~/.bash_profile
aws --version

Source

AWS Docs: Troubleshooting errors for the AWS CLI