Show HN: Terminal UI for AWS

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction & comparisons

  • Many commenters like the idea and immediately compare it to k9s, describing this as “k9s for AWS” aimed at exploration and ad‑hoc reviews rather than scripting.
  • Some tried it and reported early crashes, noting that this undermines trust for a tool that touches critical infrastructure.
  • A few point out similar efforts for other clouds (e.g., Azure TUIs) and note that TUIs are having a moment.

Security, trust & credentials

  • Several people are wary of giving AWS credentials to a brand-new tool from an unknown developer, especially via downloaded binaries.
  • Lack of SSO / role-assumption / multi-account support (with a TODO in the code) is seen as a major blocker for production use; permanent access keys are widely considered a security anti-pattern.
  • Some suggest integrating with existing AWS CLI credential mechanisms rather than rolling custom auth.
  • There’s a split on risk: some are hesitant even for read-only use, fearing misrepresented state; others argue that read-only risk is similar to using the AWS console or CLI.

TUI vs CLI/GUI debate

  • Pro-TUI arguments:
    • Keyboard-centric, very fast, good discoverability compared to pure CLI.
    • Works well over SSH, no browser/JS bloat, consistent keybindings, and can scale better for inspecting many resources (like k9s, top, lazygit).
  • Skeptics see TUIs as low-fidelity browser UIs that don’t compose like CLIs and may have color/theme issues, especially on light terminals.
  • Some reference “old mainframe” style interfaces as a gold standard for power-user UX.

Installation & package management

  • A side debate erupts about using Homebrew on Linux vs direct binaries vs building from source.
  • Concerns include: Homebrew’s fit on Linux, system breakage, curl|bash installer insecurity, and binary signing.
  • Others defend Homebrew, especially on immutable distros, as safer and more maintainable than ad-hoc binary installs.

LLMs, originality & maintenance

  • One commenter accuses the author of cloning a similar closed-source AWS TUI announced on Reddit; others call this misleading and note the other project isn’t actually open-source.
  • Several argue an LLM could easily generate a similar app from a simple prompt, so similarity doesn’t prove copying.
  • There’s broader discussion about:
    • How much code was LLM-generated and whether that matters.
    • Fears that “10‑minute LLM projects” will be quickly abandoned vs counterpoints that users aren’t owed long-term support for free tools.