Module 4: Set Up AWS Cloud9 IDE
TUTORIAL
Set Up Your AWS Cloud9 IDE
In this module, you will configure your AWS Cloud9 environment
What you will accomplish
- Set up an AWS Cloud9 environment using the AWS CLI
- Use the built-in tools
Implementation
If you already have an IDE, this module is optional.
AWS Cloud9 is a free, cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you write, run, and debug your code using just a browser. The IDE includes a code editor, debugger, and terminal.
AWS Cloud9 comes prepackaged with essential tools for popular programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, PHP, and more, so you don’t need to install files or configure your development machine to start new projects. Because AWS Cloud9 IDE is cloud-based, you can work on your projects from your office, home, or anywhere using an internet-connected machine.
Time to complete
15 minutes
Module requirements
- An internet browser
- An AWS account
- AWS CLI set up
Create an environment
In this step, you use the AWS CLI to create an AWS Cloud9 development environment.
To create the environment, we will use the aws cloud9 create-environment-ec2 command. After that, we'll add the following information:
- --name: The name of the environment. For this module, we're using getting-started.
- --description: An optional description of the environment, provided as a string.
- --instance-type: The type of Amazon EC2 instance AWS Cloud9 will launch and connect to the new environment. For this module, we're using t2.micro, which is covered by the AWS Free Tier for the first 12 months.
By default, AWS Cloud9 shuts down the Amazon EC2 instance for the environment 30 minutes after all web browser instances that are connected to the IDE for the environment have been closed.
aws cloud9 create-environment-ec2 --name getting-started-2 --description "Getting started with AWS Cloud9." --instance-type t2.micro
A successful command returns the ID of your new AWS Cloud9 environment:
{
"environmentId": "8a34f51ce1e04a08882f1e811bd706EX"
}
Open environment
To open your environment, go to console.aws.amazon.com/cloud9.
In the top navigation bar, choose the AWS Region where your environment is located. Make sure you are logged in with the same user you have configured in your AWS CLI.

In the list of environments, find the one you want to open and choose Open IDE.
For more information, see Opening an environment in AWS Cloud9.

Delete created resources - Optional
If you don't plan to use the AWS Cloud9 development environment we created in this module, you can delete it by running the following command:
aws cloud9 delete-environment --environment-id <environmentID>
The aws cloud9 delete-environment command does not return any outputs. A way to check if your environment has been deleted is to go to console.aws.amazon.com/cloud9 and check if it's still there.
The full documentation for this command can be found in the AWS CLI Command Reference.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have learned how to set up the AWS Cloud9 IDE. Visit the AWS Cloud9 documentation for additional information and tutorials. You can see all AWS Cloud9 and CLI commands here.
This is the end of the Setting Up Your AWS Environment tutorial.