Install aws-amplify with Homebrew, scoop

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• amplify

Project history

AWS announced the AWS Amplify library and AWS Mobile CLI in 2017, and that announcement now carries an editorial note directing users to the AWS Amplify CLI. In August 2018, AWS announced the Amplify CLI toolchain as the newer workflow for configuring local project state and deploying cloud resources.

The Amplify CLI's Gen 1 architecture used AWS CloudFormation and nested stacks so developers could add or modify backend configurations locally before pushing them to an AWS account. Its file layout grew around an amplify/ project directory containing backend state, team environment metadata, feature flags, and generated client configuration.

Amplify later introduced Gen 2, a code-first TypeScript backend experience built on AWS CDK constructs. AWS made Amplify Gen 2 generally available on May 6, 2024, which shifted new projects toward ampx and file-based TypeScript backend definitions while leaving Gen 1 CLI documentation in maintenance mode.

Adoption history

Amplify CLI was adopted heavily by frontend and mobile developers who wanted AWS-backed auth, APIs, storage, functions, and hosting without hand-writing all of the CloudFormation. Its category model let users add Cognito, AppSync, S3, Lambda, and hosting resources from prompts and then commit the resulting project files.

The tool also became a source of package-manager friction because it is an npm-distributed CLI with a large plugin ecosystem, but many users want it installed like any other system command. Homebrew and Scoop formulas serve that audience by making amplify available outside a per-project node_modules tree.

How it is used

In Gen 1 workflows, users run amplify configure to connect local tooling to an AWS account, amplify init to create an Amplify project, amplify add <category> to model backend resources, and amplify push to deploy generated CloudFormation. The CLI writes project state under amplify/ and consumes AWS shared config and credentials files for account access.

Amplify's documented project files include amplify/.config/, backend-config.json under both amplify/backend and amplify/#current-cloud-backend, team-provider-info.json, cli.json, category cli-inputs.json files, generated client configuration, and deployment secrets stored outside the repository. Gen 2 workflows instead use npx ampx commands and generate amplify_outputs.json for client configuration.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, aws-amplify is a case study in packaging a fast-moving JavaScript cloud CLI as a system formula. It has to bridge npm expectations, Node version support, AWS credentials, generated project files, and the fact that the product line split between Gen 1 CLI and Gen 2 ampx workflows.

It is also historically useful because old Amplify projects often encode their backend state in generated JSON files. Having a reproducible CLI installation can be the difference between being able to pull, inspect, migrate, or retire an older Amplify backend.

Timeline

• 2017: AWS announced AWS Amplify and the AWS Mobile CLI, with later guidance to use Amplify CLI going forward.
• 2018: AWS announced the AWS Amplify CLI toolchain.
• 2021: AWS Amplify CLI added support for function environment variables and secrets.
• 2024: AWS Amplify Gen 2 became generally available as a fullstack TypeScript experience.
• 2027: AWS Amplify Gen 1 documentation says Gen 1 reaches end of life on May 1, 2027.

Related projects

• AWS Amplify Gen 2 backend tooling uses the @aws-amplify/backend-cli package and ampx commands.
• AWS CDK underpins Amplify Gen 2's backend-building model and can be used for custom resources.
• AWS CloudFormation is the deployment substrate used by the Gen 1 CLI and nested-stack architecture.

Sources

• https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2024/05/aws-amplify-gen-2-available/
• https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/mobile/announcing-aws-amplify-and-the-aws-mobile-cli/
• https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/mobile/announcing-the-aws-amplify-cli-toolchain/
• https://docs.amplify.aws/gen1/javascript/tools/cli/
• https://docs.amplify.aws/gen1/react/tools/cli/reference/files/
• https://docs.amplify.aws/react/reference/cli-commands/
• https://docs.aws.amazon.com/sdkref/latest/guide/file-location.html
• https://github.com/aws-amplify/amplify-cli