Create an S3 Inventory configuration

Part 67 of AWS from Zero. This lesson keeps the scope to one S3 behavior you can verify from the terminal.

What we are learning

S3 Inventory produces scheduled object listings that are better suited to repeated full-bucket analysis than live listing calls.

Before you run it

SOURCE_BUCKET="replace-with-source-bucket"
DEST_BUCKET="replace-with-inventory-destination"
ACCOUNT_ID=$(aws sts get-caller-identity --query Account --output text)

The destination must be in the same Region and must have a bucket policy that allows S3 Inventory delivery from the source.

Cost note: Inventory generation and destination storage are billable.

The command

cat > inventory.json <<EOF
{
  "Destination": {
    "S3BucketDestination": {
      "AccountId": "$ACCOUNT_ID",
      "Bucket": "arn:aws:s3:::$DEST_BUCKET",
      "Format": "CSV",
      "Prefix": "inventory"
    }
  },
  "IsEnabled": true,
  "Id": "DailyCurrentVersions",
  "IncludedObjectVersions": "Current",
  "Schedule": {"Frequency": "Daily"},
  "OptionalFields": ["Size", "LastModifiedDate", "StorageClass", "EncryptionStatus"]
}
EOF
 
aws s3api put-bucket-inventory-configuration \
  --bucket "$SOURCE_BUCKET" \
  --id DailyCurrentVersions \
  --inventory-configuration file://inventory.json

A successful configuration command may return no output. Treat inspection as a separate required step.

Inspect the result

aws s3api get-bucket-inventory-configuration \
  --bucket "$SOURCE_BUCKET" \
  --id DailyCurrentVersions

Confirm the destination ARN, schedule, version scope, and optional fields.

One tiny variation

aws s3api list-bucket-inventory-configurations \
  --bucket "$SOURCE_BUCKET" \
  --query "InventoryConfigurationList[].{ID:Id,Enabled:IsEnabled,Frequency:Schedule.Frequency}" \
  --output table

A bucket can have multiple independently named inventory configurations.

Common mistake

The first report is not immediate, and the inventory destination exposes object metadata to readers of that destination. Protect it accordingly.

Cleanup

aws s3api delete-bucket-inventory-configuration \
  --bucket "$SOURCE_BUCKET" \
  --id DailyCurrentVersions
rm inventory.json

Delete the configuration and separately decide whether delivered inventory reports should be retained.

Next, we will learn List and inspect S3 Inventory configurations.

Official AWS CLI reference