Diagnose AWS issues with read-only Claude access
A startup engineer gives Claude read-only access to AWS, logs and the database, and it investigates issues and writes a report, though it sometimes makes things up. ·
Done withClaude
- What they did
- A startup engineer who covers the whole stack (code, deployment, database, cloud, networking) gives Claude read-only access to AWS, the logs and the database. Instead of manually reading logs, checking routing tables and cross-checking against database data, they let Claude use the AWS CLI to investigate the issue. It then writes a detailed report that can be passed to others.
- How it went
- The author says it solves issues roughly 10x faster than they could. It sometimes makes things up, and the author worries about skill atrophy, including for future job interviews.
- Worth knowing
- Read-only access limits the damage, but the report can contain invented claims, so verify its findings before passing them along.
Try it yourself with Claude
I'm giving you read-only access to [my AWS account/profile], [log source], and [database]. Investigate this problem: [describe the symptom and when it started]. Only run read-only commands, and don't change or delete anything. Write a report with what you found, the evidence for each claim (log lines, queries, resource IDs), and anything you're unsure about, clearly marked as a guess rather than a fact.
Want help getting this working? Join the Vibe Coding Academy ↗ Run by Alex Finn, who also runs this site.
Source: HN · Oct 30, 2026
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