erlcloud
A comprehensive Erlang library for interacting with AWS services including EC2, S3, SQS, DynamoDB, and ELB.
What is erlcloud?
Erlcloud is an open-source Erlang library that provides a comprehensive interface to Amazon Web Services APIs. It allows Erlang developers to programmatically manage AWS resources like EC2 instances, S3 storage, SQS queues, and DynamoDB tables directly from their Erlang applications, solving the problem of AWS integration in Erlang-based systems.
Erlang/Elixir developers and teams building backend systems that need to interact with AWS services, particularly those working on distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, or DevOps tooling in Erlang environments.
Developers choose Erlcloud because it's the most complete Erlang-native AWS client available, offering broad service coverage while following Erlang/OTP best practices. Its configuration flexibility and support for modern AWS features like temporary credentials make it production-ready for enterprise use.
Overview
AWS APIs library for Erlang (Amazon EC2, S3, SQS, DDB, ELB and etc)
Use Cases
Best For
- Building Erlang-based DevOps tools that manage AWS infrastructure
- Creating distributed systems in Erlang that use SQS for message queuing
- Developing cloud-native Erlang applications that store data in S3
- Managing EC2 instances programmatically from Erlang code
- Implementing AWS service integrations in existing Erlang/OTP systems
- Building Erlang backends that require DynamoDB as a database
Not Ideal For
- Teams requiring immediate access to the latest AWS service APIs, as Erlcloud adds functionality only upon request and may lag behind official SDKs
- Projects needing official AWS support and guaranteed SLAs, since Erlcloud is community-maintained and not developed by AWS
- Applications that prefer stateful, managed clients with built-in caching, as Erlcloud avoids long-running processes for simplicity
- Developers seeking out-of-the-box solutions with minimal configuration, due to the manual setup required for credentials and VPC endpoints
Pros & Cons
Pros
Supports over 20 AWS services including EC2, S3, and DynamoDB, providing extensive integration options for Erlang applications as listed in the README.
Follows Erlang idioms by avoiding stateful processes, ensuring reliability in distributed systems as per the project philosophy.
Offers both process dictionary and config object methods for credentials, enabling easy or cross-account access as detailed in the configuration sections.
Tested on Erlang versions 19.3 through 27.1 and used in production, with support for temporary credentials and VPC endpoints.
Cons
The README admits missing functionality compared to aws-cli, with features added only upon request, leading to potential gaps in service coverage.
Not all API functions have been thoroughly tested, which could introduce risks in production code, as cautioned in the documentation.
The roadmap includes major API compatibility changes, such as in version 3.0.X, which may require significant code updates for users.
Requires manual credential management and configuration objects, which can be cumbersome compared to more automated SDKs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
libclusterAutomatic cluster formation/healing for Elixir applications
ex_awsA flexible, easy to use set of clients AWS APIs for Elixir
awsAWS clients for Elixir
BonnyThe Elixir based Kubernetes Development Framework
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