---
name: aws-sam-cli
summary: "A Python CLI for developing, locally testing, building, and deploying AWS serverless applications defined with the Serverless Application Model. It emulates Lambda execution in Docker and wraps the build/package/deploy lifecycle for Lambda, API Gateway, Step Functions, and other AWS services."
language: Python
license: Apache-2.0
repo: https://github.com/aws/aws-sam-cli
source: https://opensources.dev/resource/aws-sam-cli
health: 95
---

# aws-sam-cli

A Python CLI for developing, locally testing, building, and deploying AWS serverless applications defined with the Serverless Application Model. It emulates Lambda execution in Docker and wraps the build/package/deploy lifecycle for Lambda, API Gateway, Step Functions, and other AWS services.

# AWS SAM CLI

[![Apache 2.0 License](https://img.shields.io/github/license/aws/aws-sam-cli)](https://github.com/aws/aws-sam-cli/blob/develop/LICENSE)
![SAM CLI Version](https://img.shields.io/github/release/aws/aws-sam-cli.svg?label=CLI%20Version)
![Install](https://img.shields.io/badge/brew-aws/tap/aws--sam--cli-orange)
![pip](https://img.shields.io/badge/pip-aws--sam--cli-9cf)

[Installation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/serverless-sam-cli-install.html) | [Blogs](https://serverlessland.com/blog?tag=AWS%20SAM) | [Videos](https://serverlessland.com/video?tag=AWS%20SAM) | [AWS Docs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/what-is-sam.html) | [Roadmap](https://github.com/aws/aws-sam-cli/wiki/SAM-CLI-Roadmap) | [Try It Out](https://s12d.com/jKo46elk) | [Slack Us](https://join.slack.com/t/awsdevelopers/shared_invite/zt-yryddays-C9fkWrmguDv0h2EEDzCqvw)

The AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM) CLI is an open-source CLI tool that helps you develop serverless applications containing [Lambda functions](https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/), [Step Functions](https://aws.amazon.com/step-functions/), [API Gateway](https://aws.amazon.com/api-gateway/), [EventBridge](https://aws.amazon.com/eventbridge/), [SQS](https://aws.amazon.com/sqs/), [SNS](https://aws.amazon.com/sns/) and more. Some of the features it provides are:

- **Initialize serverless applications** in minutes with AWS-provided infrastructure templates with `sam init`
- **Compile, build, and package** Lambda functions with provided runtimes and with custom Makefile workflows, for zip and image types of Lambda functions with `sam build`
- **Locally test** a Lambda function and API Gateway easily in a Docker container with `sam local` commands on SAM and CDK applications
- **Sync and test your changes in the cloud** with `sam sync` in your developer environments
- **Deploy** your SAM and CloudFormation templates using `sam deploy`
- Quickly **create pipelines** with prebuilt templates with popular CI/CD systems using `sam pipeline init`
- **Tail CloudWatch logs and X-Ray traces** with `sam logs` and `sam traces`

## Recent blogposts and workshops

- **Speeding up incremental changes with AWS SAM Accelerate and Nested Stacks** - [Read blogpost here](https://s12d.com/wt1ajjwB).
- **Develop Node projects with SAM CLI using esbuild** - and use SAM Accelerate on Typescript projects. [Read blogpost here](https://s12d.com/5Aa6u0o7).
- **Speed up development with SAM Accelerate** - quickly test your changes in the cloud. [Read docs here](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/accelerate.html).
- **AWS Serverless Developer Experience Workshop: A day in a life of a developer** - [This advanced workshop](https://s12d.com/aws-sde-workshop) provides you with an immersive experience as a serverless developer, with hands-on experience building a serverless solution using AWS SAM and SAM CLI.
- **The Complete SAM Workshop** - [This workshop](https://s12d.com/jKo46elk) is a great way to experience the power of SAM and SAM CLI.
- **Getting started with CI/CD? SAM pipelines can help you get started** - [This workshop](https://s12d.com/_JQ48d5T) walks you through the basics.
- **Get started with Serverless Application development using SAM CLI** - [This workshop](https://s12d.com/Tq9ZE-Br) walks you through the basics.

## Get Started

To get started with building SAM-based applications, use the SAM CLI. SAM CLI provides a Lambda-like execution
environment that lets you locally build, test, debug, and deploy [AWS serverless](https://aws.amazon.com/serverless/) applications.

- [Install SAM CLI](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/serverless-sam-cli-install.html)
- [Build & Deploy a "Hello World" Web App](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/serverless-quick-start.html)
- [Install AWS Toolkit](https://aws.amazon.com/getting-started/tools-sdks/#IDE_and_IDE_Toolkits) to use SAM with your favorite IDEs
- [Tutorials and Workshops](https://serverlessland.com/learn)
- **Powertools for AWS Lambda** is a developer toolkit to implement Serverless best practices and increase developer velocity. Available for [Python](https://awslabs.github.io/aws-lambda-powertools-python), [Java](https://github.com/awslabs/aws-lambda-powertools-java), [TypeScript](https://github.com/awslabs/aws-lambda-powertools-typescript) and [.NET](https://github.com/awslabs/aws-lambda-powertools-dotnet).

**Next Steps:** Learn to build a more complex serverless application.

- [Extract text from images and store it in a database](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/serverless-example-s3.html) using Amazon S3 and Amazon Rekognition services.
- [Detect when records are added to a database](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/serverless-example-ddb.html) using Amazon DynamoDB database and asynchronous stream processing.
- [Explore popular patterns](https://serverlessland.com/patterns)

## What is this Github repository? 💻

This Github repository contains source code for SAM CLI. Here is the development team talking about this code:

> SAM CLI code is written in Python. Source code is well documented, very modular, with 95% unit test coverage.
> It uses this awesome Python library called Click to manage the command line interaction and uses Docker to run Lambda functions locally.
> We think you'll like the code base. Clone it and run `make pr` or `./Make -pr` on Windows!

## Related Repositories and Resources

- **SAM Transform** [Open source template specification](https://github.com/aws/serverless-application-model/) that provides shorthand syntax for CloudFormation
- **SAM CLI application templates** Get started quickly with [predefined application templates](https://github.com/aws/aws-sam-cli-app-templates/blob/master/README.md) for all supported runtimes and languages, used by `sam init`
- **Lambda Builders** [Lambda builder tools](https://github.com/aws/aws-lambda-builders) for supported runtimes and custom build workflows, used by `sam build`
- **Build and local emulation images for CI/CD tools** [Build container images](https://gallery.ecr.aws/sam/) to use with CI/CD tasks

## Contribute to SAM

We love our contributors ❤️ We have over 100 contributors who have built various parts of the product.
Read this [testimonial from @ndobryanskyy](https://www.awsadvent.com/2018/12/10/aws-sam-my-exciting-first-open-source-experience/) to learn
more about what it was like contributing to SAM.

Depending on your interest and skill, you can help build the different parts of the SAM project;

**Enhance the SAM Specification**

Make pull requests, report bugs, and share ideas to improve the full SAM template specification.
Source code is located on Github at [aws/serverless-application-model](https://github.com/aws/serverless-application-model).
Read the [SAM Specification Contributing Guide](https://github.com/aws/serverless-application-model/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
to get started.

**Strengthen SAM CLI**

Add new commands, enhance existing ones, report bugs, or request new features for the SAM CLI.
Source code is located on Github at [aws/aws-sam-cli](https://github.com/aws/aws-sam-cli). Read the [SAM CLI Contributing Guide](https://github.com/aws/aws-sam-cli/blob/develop/CONTRIBUTING.md) to
get started.

**Update SAM Developer Guide**

[SAM Developer Guide](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/serverless-application-model/latest/developerguide/index.html) provides a comprehensive getting started guide and reference documentation.
Source code is located on Github at [awsdocs/aws-sam-developer-guide](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-sam-developer-guide).
Read the [SAM Documentation Contribution Guide](https://github.com/awsdocs/aws-sam-developer-guide/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md) to get
started.

### Join the SAM Community on Slack

[Join the SAM developers channel (#samdev)](https://join.slack.com/t/awsdevelopers/shared_invite/zt-yryddays-C9fkWrmguDv0h2EEDzCqvw) on Slack to collaborate with fellow community members and the AWS SAM team.