@aws-sdk/credential-provider-http

What is @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http?

The @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http package is designed to retrieve AWS credentials from a remote endpoint, such as the Amazon EC2 Instance Metadata Service (IMDS) or a custom HTTP endpoint. It is part of the AWS SDK for JavaScript (v3), which is a modular collection of software for interacting with AWS services. This package is particularly useful for applications running on AWS infrastructure that need to securely obtain temporary credentials without hardcoding them.

What are @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http's main functionalities?

Retrieving credentials from EC2 Instance Metadata Service (IMDS)

This feature allows applications running on an Amazon EC2 instance to automatically retrieve temporary AWS credentials. The credentials are provided by the EC2 Instance Metadata Service without requiring manual credential management.

const { fromInstanceMetadata } = require('@aws-sdk/credential-provider-http');

const credentials = fromInstanceMetadata();

Retrieving credentials from a custom HTTP endpoint

This feature enables the retrieval of AWS credentials from a custom HTTP endpoint. It is useful for scenarios where credentials are centrally managed and distributed via an internal HTTP service.

const { fromHttp } = require('@aws-sdk/credential-provider-http');

const credentials = fromHttp({
  url: 'http://my-custom-credential-provider/',
  requestOptions: { // Optional HTTP request options
    method: 'GET'
  }
});

Other packages similar to @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http

@aws-sdk/credential-provider-ini

Similar to @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http, this package is used to load AWS credentials. However, it loads credentials from local INI-formatted files (e.g., ~/.aws/credentials). It's useful for development environments but less suited for production environments compared to @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http, which can dynamically fetch credentials.

@aws-sdk/credential-provider-imds

This package specifically targets the retrieval of AWS credentials from the EC2 Instance Metadata Service (IMDS). It offers functionality similar to one aspect of @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http but is exclusively focused on EC2 instances. The @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http package is more versatile as it also supports custom HTTP endpoints.

@aws-sdk/credential-provider-env

This package retrieves AWS credentials set in environment variables. It's a simpler approach compared to @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http, suitable for scenarios where credentials are statically defined in the environment. However, it lacks the dynamic credential retrieval capabilities of @aws-sdk/credential-provider-http.

README

@aws-sdk/credential-provider-http

An internal transitively required package.

Usage

See https://www.npmjs.com/package/@aws-sdk/credential-providers

Changelog

3.879.0 (2025-08-29)

Features

• client-ec2: Release shows new route types such as filtered and advertisement. (6f9b4a6)
• client-xray: AWS X-Ray Features: Support Sampling Rate Boost On Anomaly (d3f17b8)