Houlak CLI

A comprehensive command-line tool suite for developers to interact with AWS services.

Overview

houlak-cli is a developer-friendly toolkit that provides multiple tools for interacting with AWS services. The tool abstracts the complexity of AWS operations, allowing developers to focus on their work without needing to understand AWS internals.

Currently, houlak-cli includes:

• Database connections: Connect to RDS databases through AWS Session Manager with a simple command

More tools and commands will be added in the future to expand the capabilities of the CLI.

Prerequisites

Before using houlak-cli, you need:

• Python 3.8+
• AWS CLI v2 - Installation Guide
• AWS Session Manager Plugin - Installation Guide
• AWS Profile Configuration - houlak-cli is based on AWS profiles configured locally in ~/.aws/config. The first step is to have your AWS profile configured for the account you want to connect to. You can configure it manually or use the setup command.

Installation

First-time Installation

Install directly from GitHub:

pip install git+https://github.com/Houlak/houlak-cli.git

Or clone and install in development mode:

git clone https://github.com/Houlak/houlak-cli.git
cd houlak-cli
pip install -e .

Updating to Latest Version

If you already have houlak-cli installed, update it with:

pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/Houlak/houlak-cli.git

Or if installed in development mode:

cd houlak-cli
git pull origin main
pip install -e .

Check Current Version

Check which version you have installed:

houlak-cli --version

Quick Start

1. Initial Setup

Important: houlak-cli is based on AWS profiles configured locally in ~/.aws/config. The first step is to have your AWS profile configured for the account you want to connect to.

Run the setup wizard to configure your AWS profile:

houlak-cli setup

The wizard will guide you through:

• Checking prerequisites (AWS CLI, Session Manager Plugin)
• Configuring your AWS profile in ~/.aws/config
• Testing your connection to Parameter Store

2. Connect to a Database

# Connect to postgres database in dev environment (default engine is postgres)
houlak-cli db-connect --env dev

# Connect to mariadb database
houlak-cli db-connect mariadb --env dev

# Connect with custom port
houlak-cli db-connect postgres --env dev --port 54321

# Connect with different AWS profile
houlak-cli db-connect --env dev --profile my-profile

3. Use Your Database Client

Once connected, use your favorite database client (DBeaver, TablePlus, pgAdmin, etc.) with:

Host: localhost
Port: 54320 (or your custom port)

Press Ctrl+C in the terminal to stop the tunnel.

Available Commands

houlak-cli setup

Run the interactive setup wizard to configure AWS profile and test connectivity.

houlak-cli db-connect [ENGINE] --env ENV [OPTIONS]

Connect to a database through Session Manager.

Arguments:

• ENGINE: Database engine (default: postgres). Supported: postgres, mariadb

Options:

• --env, -e: Environment name (required). Examples: dev, qa, prod
• --port, -p: Local port number (optional, uses default based on engine)
• --profile: AWS profile name (default: houlak)

Examples:

houlak-cli db-connect --env dev
houlak-cli db-connect mariadb --env dev --port 33061
houlak-cli db-connect --env qa --profile my-profile

houlak-cli db-list [--profile PROFILE]

List all available databases from Parameter Store.

houlak-cli db-list
houlak-cli db-list --profile my-profile

houlak-cli config-current

Display current houlak-cli configuration.

houlak-cli config-current

houlak-cli config-list

List all AWS profiles configured locally.

houlak-cli config-list

houlak-cli admin-db-add (Admin only)

Add a database configuration to Parameter Store. Requires admin privileges.

houlak-cli admin-db-add hk-postgres-dev \
  --project hk \
  --engine postgres \
  --env dev \
  --bastion i-1234567890abcdef0 \
  --rds-endpoint hk-postgres-dev.region.rds.amazonaws.com \
  --rds-port 5432 \
  --region us-east-1

houlak-cli --help

Show help for all commands.

houlak-cli version or houlak-cli --version or houlak-cli -v

Show version information.

houlak-cli version
# or
houlak-cli --version
# Output: houlak-cli version 0.1.0

How It Works

Database Connections

The db-connect command uses AWS Session Manager to create a secure tunnel from your local machine to your RDS database through a bastion host. This approach:

• ✅ Eliminates the need for SSH keys
• ✅ Doesn't require exposed SSH ports
• ✅ Provides full audit trail in CloudTrail
• ✅ Uses IAM-based authentication

The database configurations are stored securely in AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store.

Future Tools

Additional tools and commands will be added to houlak-cli to support various AWS operations and developer workflows.

Troubleshooting

AWS CLI not found

Install AWS CLI v2 from: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/getting-started-install.html

Session Manager Plugin not found

Install the plugin from: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/systems-manager/latest/userguide/session-manager-working-with-install-plugin.html

AWS Session expired

Run:

aws sso login --profile houlak

Port already in use

Specify a different port:

houlak-cli db-connect --env dev --port 54321

Database not found

Check available databases:

houlak-cli db-list

Contributing

This is an internal tool for Houlak development team.

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues or questions, contact the DevOps team or open an issue in the repository.