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AWS CLI Lambda & Serverless Cheat Sheet 2026

2 min read

AWS CLI — Lambda & Serverless Cheat Sheet 2026

AWS CLI Lambda & Serverless Cheat Sheet is the complete quick-reference of AWS CLI Lambda & Serverless commands grouped by function. Copy any command with one click and find what you need with Ctrl+F in under 3 seconds.

Lambda & Serverless

Action Command Useful flags
Run a function 
aws lambda invoke --function-name <name> <path/to/response.json>
 --function-name
Run a function with an input payload in JSON format 
aws lambda invoke --function-name <name> --payload <json> <path/to/response.json>
 --function-name --payload
List functions 
aws lambda list-functions
Display the configuration of a function 
aws lambda get-function-configuration --function-name <name>
 --function-name
List function aliases 
aws lambda list-aliases --function-name <name>
 --function-name
Display the reserved concurrency configuration for a function 
aws lambda get-function-concurrency --function-name <name>
 --function-name
List which AWS services can invoke the function 
aws lambda get-policy --function-name <name>
 --function-name

⚠️ Dangerous / Destructive Commands

These commands are irreversible. Verify your environment (dev/staging vs prod) before running them.

Action Command Warning
⚠️ Destroy ⚠️ 
terraform destroy -auto-approve
 Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Delete 
kubectl delete namespace production
 Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Prune ⚠️ 
docker system prune -af --volumes
 Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Delete 
pvesh delete /nodes/{node}/qemu/{vmid}
 Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Delete 
az group delete --name MyResourceGroup --yes
 Irreversible — verify the target before running

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Lambda & Serverless and the other groups?

Each group in this AWS CLI cheat sheet covers a distinct area. Lambda & Serverless focuses on its specific scope, while the other groups and the remaining groups cover networking, storage, security and diagnostics respectively.

How do I check the installed AWS CLI version?

Run the version command (usually aws version or aws --version). The output shows the client and, when applicable, the server version.

Why does AWS CLI return ‘permission denied’?

A ‘permission denied’ error in AWS CLI usually means the current user lacks sufficient privileges or credentials are not configured. Check: (1) assigned IAM/RBAC roles, (2) an active authentication context via the corresponding login command.

How do I filter AWS CLI output by status or name?

Use flags such as --filter, --selector or --query depending on the tool. You can also pipe into grep or jq to process JSON: 

aws list | grep RUNNING

What is the fastest way to debug a AWS CLI error?

Add the verbose flag (--verbose, -v or --debug) to the failing command. This reveals the underlying HTTP/API calls and the full error response body.

Official sources & references

Commands cross-checked against vendor documentation and high-authority repositories: