# Install amazon-ecs-cli with Homebrew, MacPorts CLI for Amazon ECS to manage clusters and tasks for development. Version 1.21.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:amazon-ecs-cli ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install amazon-ecs-cli ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install ecs-cli ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: devel/ecs-cli/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:amazon-ecs-cli - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.21.0 - **Source summary:** CLI for Amazon ECS to manage clusters and tasks for development - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - ecs-cli (cli) - ecs-cli (alias) ## Build dependencies - go ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.21.0 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/aws/amazon-ecs-cli - Upstream latest detected: v1.21.0 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## Project history and usage Amazon ECS CLI was AWS's higher-level command-line tool for Amazon Elastic Container Service workflows, especially local development patterns that used Docker Compose-style definitions to create, update, and inspect ECS clusters, services, and tasks. ### Project history The aws/amazon-ecs-cli repository was created in September 2015. Its README describes a CLI for Amazon ECS that provides high-level commands for creating, updating, and monitoring clusters and tasks from a local development environment, as an alternative to using the AWS Management Console or lower-level AWS CLI commands. The project tracked major ECS platform features through its changelog: named profiles and Windows support in 1.0.0, Fargate support in 1.1.0, service discovery, private registry credentials, Docker Compose v3 support, local commands, FireLens, EFS, and AWS Graviton2 support by the final 1.21.0 release line. ### Adoption history The ECS CLI fit a specific packaging niche: developers wanted a small binary that translated familiar Docker Compose workflows into ECS resources before broader opinionated deployment CLIs existed. Homebrew packaging made it especially convenient for macOS and Linux developers working against ECS and Fargate. AWS later placed AWS Copilot at the top of the ECS CLI README, describing Copilot as a generally available CLI for building, releasing, and operating container apps on ECS and Fargate. The GitHub repository metadata now marks amazon-ecs-cli as archived, which makes it a historical package for older ECS workflows rather than the forward-looking AWS container CLI. ### How it is used Users configured AWS credentials, region, cluster name, ECS profiles, and cluster configurations, then used commands such as ecs-cli configure, ecs-cli up, ecs-cli compose service up, ecs-cli ps, and ecs-cli logs. The README documents configuration storage in ~/.ecs on macOS/Linux and C:\Users\\AppData\local\ecs on Windows, with optional use of ~/.aws/credentials through --aws-profile or AWS_PROFILE. The tool mattered most when a project already had docker-compose.yml and ecs-params.yml files and wanted an incremental path to ECS tasks and services. For new AWS workflows, the README's Copilot banner is the key adoption signal: AWS redirected the developer-experience story to Copilot while leaving ECS CLI for compatibility. ### Why package nerds care Amazon ECS CLI is a classic cloud CLI lifecycle package: very useful during a platform transition, then effectively superseded while still present in package indexes for users with old automation. It is also a reminder that package-manager descriptions can outlive a tool's strategic status. The binary still documents install links and configuration behavior, but the upstream repository being archived changes how maintainers should frame it. ### Timeline - 2015-09-30: aws/amazon-ecs-cli repository is created. - 2017: v1.0.0 adds named ECS profiles, cluster configurations, and Windows support. - 2017: v1.1.0 adds AWS Fargate support. - 2020-07-07: v1.20.0 adds EFS support in compose up workflows. - 2020-12-21: v1.21.0 adds container dependencies and Graviton2 instance support. - 2025: GitHub metadata shows the repository archived. ### Related projects - AWS CLI provides the lower-level ECS API command surface. - AWS Copilot CLI is the AWS-recommended successor-style developer CLI for container applications on ECS and Fargate. - Docker Compose and ecs-params.yml are central adjacent formats for ECS CLI workflows. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: ~/.ecs - Windows: C:\Users\\AppData\local\ecs ## Credential files - Unix: ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.ecs - Windows: C:\Users\\AppData\local\ecs ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** amazon-ecs-cli - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** yes - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - MacPorts - ecs-cli: installed executable or alias match | MacPorts ports tree: devel/ecs-cli/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Cloud CLI packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/cloud-clis/) - Belongs to a cloud or infrastructure command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [go](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/go/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [ecs-deploy](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ecs-deploy/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers, ecs. - [ansible-builder](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ansible-builder/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers. - [colima](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/colima/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers. - [container](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/container/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers. - [container-canary](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/container-canary/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers. - [container-compose](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/container-compose/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers. - [container-structure-test](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/container-structure-test/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers. - [containerd](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/containerd/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, cloud-infrastructure, containers. - [awscli](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/awscli/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: amazon, aws, cli, cloud, cloud-infrastructure. - [aws-amplify](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/aws-amplify/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: aws, cli, cloud, cloud-infrastructure, infrastructure. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/amazon-ecs-cli.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/amazon-ecs-cli.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph