Boost Developer Productivity with Amazon Q in the CLI

Overview

Amazon Q (for developers) is the new Generative AI helper from AWS that is integrated into your command line interface (CLI). You may ask questions about AWS or your code, get technical assistance, and even generate code snippets without leaving the shell due to its interactive chat window in your terminal. Amazon Q leverages context to recommend completions for hundreds of tools (such as git, npm, docker, AWS, etc.) as you input commands.

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Introduction

The CLI chat window for Amazon Q opens in your terminal. It greets you and shows example prompts. You can type questions or commands and use commands like /quit to exit the current session. In practice, you open a terminal and type q chat, and you will be greeted with a friendly prompt (e.g., “Hi, I’m Amazon Q. Ask me anything.”) along with suggestions for trying things. This chat mode works like having an AI co-pilot: you can ask it to scaffold projects, explain commands, or fix errors, and it will respond with helpful answers.

Key Features

Interactive Chat: With the q chat command, you enter an AI chat session in your terminal. Questions concerning programming assignments, AWS services, or general problems can be asked in natural language. Amazon Q will answer in real-time and also even provide shell command recommendations or code snippets recommendations. For instance, asking, “How do I list S3 buckets?” could cause it to recommend the exact or similar AWS CLI command. You can exit the chat at any time by typing /quit or pressing Ctrl+D.
Smart Autocompletion: Your shell and Amazon Q CLI work together to autocomplete commands. It offers context-aware completion suggestions for sub-commands, parameters, and arguments as you type in hundreds of widely used CLIs (such as Git, npm, AWS CLI, and Docker). If you forget a flag or file path, Amazon Q can often fill it in, saving time and reducing errors.
Natural-Language Command Translation: Don’t recall complex command syntax? Just describe what you want with Amazon Q in plain English. Using the q translate command, you can convert a natural-language request into a working shell command. For example, a prompt like “find all .py files in this directory” will return the appropriate find or grep command. This makes it easy to perform one-off tasks without memorizing every option.
Agentic Code Assistance: Amazon Q CLI offers “agentic” features. It can use your local tools to help execute tasks. Powered by advanced language models (e.g., Claude 3.7 via Amazon Bedrock), it can generate or edit code files and even run compilers or AWS CLI commands if you allow it. In practice, you can ask it to scaffold a new application, write a script, or fix code bugs, and it will produce code or suggestions. With your permission, the AI can edit files and assist with Git workflows or debugging.
Persistent Conversations: Long-running projects can benefit from context memory. Amazon Q’s CLI now supports saving and resuming chat sessions. Your conversation is immediately saved to the project directory when you use q chat –resume, allowing you to continue where you left off the following time. Additionally, you may use /load to recover a prior chat history or /save to retain the current one. This helps when you’re working through a complex issue over multiple sessions.
Multilingual Support: (Bonus) Amazon Q works in many human languages. You can chat in Spanish, Japanese, or even less common languages, and it will respond in kind. This makes the tool accessible to non-English speakers as well.

Setting Up Amazon Q CLI on Windows

Getting started with the Amazon Q CLI chat is straightforward on a supported system:

Set up the CLI application: Depending on your operating system, download and install Amazon Q. AWS offers Windows (WSL), Linux, and macOS installs. For example, on MacOS, you can download a .dmg file or use Homebrew; on Linux, you might use the App Image or .deb package for Ubuntu. Follow the platform-specific instructions on the AWS site to complete the installation.
Enable shell integration and sign in: Launch the Amazon Q application after installing (this opens a MacOS GUI). You will be prompted to enable shell integration, and this step hooks Amazon Q into your terminal so commands like q work. If it exists, you can use your AWS Builder ID to create new or AWS IAM Identity Centre login URL information. (If you don’t have an AWS account, you can still register a free AWS Builder ID with your email to try it out.
Open the terminal and begin using Amazon Q: Launch or open a new window in the terminal. You should now have the q command available (the install puts it on your PATH). To begin chatting with Amazon Q, simply type:

$ q chat

$ q chat

This starts the interactive session. The CLI also supports other commands, like q help to show options or q translate for natural-language conversion. When you are in a chat, remember that typing /quit or hitting Ctrl+D will exit the chat.
Support for Windows and WSL: To run Amazon Q on Windows, use the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). The Linux installation works in WSL, giving you the same features. Once set up, you’re ready to leverage AI in your terminal. Ask Amazon Q to explain a Git command, solve a coding problem, or audit your AWS settings from the CLI.

#1. Command to install WSL on Windows using the Powershell:
wsl --install

#2. Commands to update the WSL
wsl –update

#3. commnand to DOwnload Amazon Q cli on Winodw’s WLS
wget https://desktop-release.q.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/latest/amazon-q.deb

#4. Install the package
sudo apt-get install -f
sudo dpkg -i amazon-q.deb


#5.Launch the Amaozn Q Cli in your terminal
q

#6. Authencticate with either Builder ID or AWS Indentity center url.

Examples:

#1. Command to install WSL on Windows using the Powershell:

wsl --install

#2. Commands to update the WSL

wsl –update

#3. commnand to DOwnload Amazon Q cli on Winodw’s WLS

wget https://desktop-release.q.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/latest/amazon-q.deb

#4. Install the package

sudo apt-get install -f

sudo dpkg -i amazon-q.deb

#5.Launch the Amaozn Q Cli in your terminal

#6. Authencticate with either Builder ID or AWS Indentity center url.

Examples:

Conclusion

Amazon Q Developer CLI Chat turns the traditional terminal into an AI-based smart conversational assistant. Integrating generative AI directly into your shell helps you work faster and learn as you go. Key benefits include instant help with AWS services, natural language to command translation, and even code generation without leaving the command line.

For general tech users, this means less time hunting through documentation and more time getting things done. Amazon Q CLI is easy to try, with support for common platforms (Mac/Linux/WSL) and free Builder-ID login. Give it a shot next time you’re in the terminal – it might be the AI helper you didn’t know you needed.

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding Amazon Q CLI and we will get back to you quickly.

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FAQs

1. What is Amazon Q CLI Chat?

ANS: – It’s a command-line interface for Amazon Q Developer, AWS’s AI assistant. Running Q chat starts an interactive chat on your terminal. You can ask questions, get help with AWS tasks or coding, and receive AI-generated responses within the CLI. It’s like having a virtual assistant accessible by typing instead of clicking.

2. How do I install and start a chat session?

ANS: – Download Amazon Q for CLI from AWS (supporting operating systems like macOS, Linux, and Windows/WSL). After installing and enabling shell integration (during setup), open a terminal and type q chat. This launches the chat. To exit the chat, type /quit or press Ctrl+D. Before chatting, you’ll sign in with an AWS Builder ID or AWS IAM (during setup).

WRITTEN BY Aditya Kumar

Aditya Kumar works as a Research Associate at CloudThat. His expertise lies in Data Analytics. He is learning and gaining practical experience in AWS and Data Analytics. Aditya is also passionate about continuously expanding his skill set and knowledge to learn new skills. He is keen to learn new technology.