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AWS CLI Logs & Monitoring Cheat Sheet 2026

2 min read

AWS CLI — Logs & Monitoring Cheat Sheet 2026

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

Logs & Monitoring

Action Command Useful flags
List log groups 
aws logs list-log-groups
Continuously poll logs of a CloudWatch log group 
aws logs tail <log_group_name> --follow
 --follow
Tail the logs of a CloudWatch log group based on a filter 
aws logs tail <log_group_name> --filter-pattern <pattern>
 --filter-pattern
Stream near real-time logs from a log group 
aws logs start-live-tail --log-group-identifiers <log_group_name>
 --log-group-identifiers
Export logs to an S3 bucket 
aws logs create-export-task --log-group-name <log_group_name> --from <start_time> --to <end_time> --destination <s3_bucket_name>
 --log-group-name --from --to --destination
List dashboards for your account 
aws cloudwatch list-dashboards
Display details for the specified dashboard 
aws cloudwatch get-dashboard --dashboard-name <dashboard_name>
 --dashboard-name
List metrics 
aws cloudwatch list-metrics
List alarms 
aws cloudwatch describe-alarms
Create or update an alarm and associate it with a metric 
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm --alarm-name <alarm_name> --evaluation-periods <evaluation_periods> --comparison-operator <comparison_operator>
 --alarm-name --evaluation-periods --comparison-operator
Delete the specified alarms 
aws cloudwatch delete-alarms --alarm-names <alarm_names>
 --alarm-names
Delete the specified dashboards 
aws cloudwatch delete-dashboards --dashboard-names <dashboard_names>
 --dashboard-names

⚠️ Dangerous / Destructive Commands

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

Action Command Warning
⚠️ Cloudwatch delete-alarms 
aws cloudwatch delete-alarms --alarm-names <alarm_names>
 Irreversible — verify the target before running
⚠️ Cloudwatch delete-dashboards 
aws cloudwatch delete-dashboards --dashboard-names <dashboard_names>
 Irreversible — verify the target before running

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Logs & Monitoring and the other groups?

Each group in this AWS CLI cheat sheet covers a distinct area. Logs & Monitoring 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: