Build and deploy AWS infrastructure with CDK best practices

This guide helps configure AWS MCP tools for AI agents. Two options are available: Full AWS MCP Server (requires Python 3.10+, uvx, AWS credentials) for executing AWS API calls plus documentation search, or AWS Documentation MCP (no requirements) for documentation search only.

Use this skill when you need to configure AWS MCP servers for documentation search and API access. Use when setting up AWS MCP, configuring AWS documentation tools, troubleshooting MCP connectivity, or when user mentions aws-mcp, awsdocs, uvx setup, or MCP server configuration.

Do NOT use this skill only when the task clearly matches its upstream source and local project context. Verify commands, generated code, dependencies, credentials, and external service behavior before applying changes. Do not treat examples as a substitute for environment-specific tests, security review, or user approval for destructive or costly actions.

Before configuring, check if AWS MCP tools are already available. Look for tool name patterns: mcp__aws-mcp__* or mcp__aws__* indicates Full AWS MCP Server configured; mcp__*awsdocs*__aws___* indicates AWS Documentation MCP configured.

Agent tools use hierarchical configuration with precedence: local → project → user → enterprise. Configuration files include .claude.json (local/user scope) and .mcp.json (project scope).

Check existing configuration:

# Check project config
cat .mcp.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"(aws-mcp|aws|awsdocs)"'

# Check user config
cat ~/.claude.json 2>/dev/null | grep -E '"(aws-mcp|aws|awsdocs)"'

# Or use Claude CLI
claude mcp list

For Full AWS MCP Server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aws-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-proxy-for-aws@latest",
        "https://aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws/mcp",
        "--metadata", "AWS_REGION=us-west-2"
      ]
    }
  }
}

For AWS Documentation MCP Server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "awsdocs": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://knowledge-mcp.global.api.aws"
    }
  }
}

Required IAM permissions for Full AWS MCP Server:

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [{
    "Effect": "Allow",
    "Action": [
      "aws-mcp:InvokeMCP",
      "aws-mcp:CallReadOnlyTool",
      "aws-mcp:CallReadWriteTool"
    ],
    "Resource": "*"
  }]
}

Credential configuration options include AWS Profile (recommended for development), environment variables, or IAM Role (for EC2/ECS/Lambda).

Full AWS MCP Server requires Python 3.10+ with uv package manager and AWS credentials configured via profile, environment variables, or IAM role. Reference: https://github.com/aws/mcp-proxy-for-aws

AWS Documentation MCP Server requires no authentication or local dependencies and uses HTTP endpoint at https://knowledge-mcp.global.api.aws

Configuration files supported: .claude.json (local project or user home directory), .mcp.json (project root), and system managed directories (enterprise scope).

For users who need to configure AWS MCP servers with either full API execution capabilities (requiring Python 3.10+, uvx, and AWS credentials) or documentation search only (no requirements).