AWS Cheatsheet
Services Overview
Use this AWS reference while you build software engineering projects, review code for technical interview prep, or polish examples for a software engineer resume.
AWS Cheatsheet for Developers
Use this AWS cheatsheet as a developer reference for choosing core services, reading CLI examples, and connecting cloud concepts to software engineering projects. Start with the service map below, then jump to S3, EC2, Lambda, IAM, RDS, CloudWatch, ECS, and cost controls when you need syntax or a decision checklist.
Core Service Categories
| Category | Key Services | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| Compute | EC2, Lambda, ECS, Fargate | Run code, virtual machines, containers |
| Storage | S3, EBS, EFS, Glacier | Object, block, file, archive storage |
| Database | RDS, DynamoDB, ElastiCache, Aurora | SQL, NoSQL, caching |
| Networking | VPC, Route 53, CloudFront, ALB | Isolation, DNS, CDN, load balancing |
| Identity | IAM, Cognito, STS | Access control, auth, temp credentials |
| Monitoring | CloudWatch, X-Ray, CloudTrail | Logs, metrics, traces, audit |
| Messaging | SQS, SNS, EventBridge | Queues, pub/sub, event routing |
| DevOps | CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy | CI/CD pipelines |
| ML | SageMaker, Bedrock, Rekognition | Training, inference, vision |
| Security | KMS, Secrets Manager, WAF, Shield | Encryption, secrets, DDoS |
Global Infrastructure
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Region | Geographic area (e.g. us-east-1). Services and data stay within region unless you choose otherwise. |
| Availability Zone (AZ) | Isolated data center(s) within a region (e.g. us-east-1a). Deploy across AZs for HA. |
| Edge Location | CloudFront/Route 53 PoP. 400+ globally for low-latency delivery. |
| Local Zone | AWS infrastructure placed closer to specific cities (latency < 10ms). |
| Outpost | AWS rack in your own on-prem data center. |
Key Regions
| Region ID | Location |
|---|---|
us-east-1 | N. Virginia (default, most services launch here first) |
us-west-2 | Oregon |
eu-west-1 | Ireland |
ap-southeast-1 | Singapore |
ap-northeast-1 | Tokyo |
Account Fundamentals
- Root account — created at signup. Use only to set up billing/MFA. Never use daily.
- IAM Users / Roles — how humans and services authenticate.
- Organizations — group multiple accounts; apply SCPs (Service Control Policies).
- AWS Control Tower — opinionated multi-account landing zone setup.
Pricing Model
| Dimension | Notes |
|---|---|
| Pay-as-you-go | No upfront. Stop using = stop paying. |
| Reserved Instances | 1 or 3-yr commit for EC2/RDS. Up to 72% off on-demand. |
| Savings Plans | Flexible RI alternative. Applies across instance families. |
| Spot Instances | Spare EC2 capacity. Up to 90% off; can be reclaimed 2-min notice. |
| Data transfer in | Free. Egress to internet charged per GB. Cross-AZ within region charged. |
Quick Reference: Free Tier Highlights
Full list at aws.amazon.com/free
| Offer | Details |
|---|---|
| New accounts (on/after Jul 15, 2025) | Credit-based Free Plan: $100 credits at sign-up + up to $100 more for onboarding activities; lasts 6 months or until credits run out |
| Lambda | 1M requests + 400k GB-sec/mo (always free) |
| DynamoDB | 25 GB storage + 25 WCU + 25 RCU (always free) |
| CloudFront | 1 TB egress + 10M requests/mo (always free) |
| CloudWatch | 10 metrics, 5 GB logs ingestion, 3 dashboards (always free) |
| Legacy accounts (pre-Jul 15, 2025) | 12-month offers: 750 hrs/mo EC2 t2/t3.micro, 5 GB S3, 750 hrs/mo RDS db.t3/t4g.micro |