PyCharm: Why "Python Console" is not accessing ~\.aws\credentials file? How to set it within "Python Console"

Question

I am developing AWS DynamoDb tables in Pycharm. For this I have created a virtual environment with Python 3.6 and installed required libraries like boto3. I have also set my AWS credentials using AWS CLI tool in ~/.aws/credentials file.

Problem is when I simply run the code, it works like a charm and is able to read the credentials file. However, when I select to run the code in "Python console", I get the error that credentials have expired. It appears to me that somehow "Python console" is unable to access the ~/.aws/credentials file and is looking somewhere else for credentials. Or boto3 is not accessing the credentials file from ~/.aws/credentials when I select code to run in python console.

Can someone guide me as how to set up credentials in Python console so that I can run the code interactively.

Thanks,

Answer 1

I struggled with the same problem using Pycharm in Intellij.

Boto3 couldn't locate the credentials file and I didn't have a default profile set.

> os.environ["AWS_SHARED_CREDENTIALS_FILE"]
None
> os.environ["AWS_DEFAULT_PROFILE"]
None

Solution, I set the variables explicitly

> import boto3
> import os
> os.environ["AWS_SHARED_CREDENTIALS_FILE"] = "<full-path>/.aws/credentials"
> os.environ["AWS_DEFAULT_PROFILE"] = "<profile-name>"

> boto3.client('sts').get_caller_identity().get('Account')
1234567890

Answer 2

From Credentials — Boto 3 Docs 1.9.61 documentation:

The mechanism in which boto3 looks for credentials is to search through a list of possible locations and stop as soon as it finds credentials. The order in which Boto3 searches for credentials is:

• Passing credentials as parameters in the boto.client() method
• Passing credentials as parameters when creating a Session object
• Environment variables
• Shared credential file (~/.aws/credentials)
• AWS config file (~/.aws/config)
• Assume Role provider
• Boto2 config file (/etc/boto.cfg and ~/.boto)
• Instance metadata service on an Amazon EC2 instance that has an IAM role configured.

Therefore, if it isn't using the credentials file, it is probably getting credentials from Environment Variables.