AWS DevOps Engineer Professional Practice Test

Where are AWS user credentials stored by default?

1. /etc/credentials

2. /.aws/credentials

3. /usr/share/aws/credentials

4. /user/.aws/credentials

The correct answer is: /.aws/credentials

AWS user credentials are stored by default in the ".aws/credentials" file located in the user’s home directory. When you configure the AWS CLI (Command Line Interface) or SDKs, the credentials are typically placed in this file to facilitate easy access to AWS resources without needing to input them each time. This practice is part of AWS's approach to managing access securely while allowing for convenient usage by developers and operations teams. The path structure includes a leading dot before "aws," which indicates that it is a hidden directory in UNIX-based systems. Additionally, the credentials file must be located in the user's home directory to be automatically detected and utilized by AWS tools. Other options do not reflect the standard filepath recognized by AWS tools. For instance, "/etc/credentials" typically refers to a location for system-wide configuration files but not specifically for user-specific AWS credentials. "/usr/share/aws/credentials" is also not correct, as it is a directory shared across users and not intended for storing individual credentials. "/user/.aws/credentials" has a misplaced directory hierarchy, as the home directory should be designated simply as "home" for proper access to the credentials file. Thus, the correct answer highlights the appropriate location for storing AWS user credentials by default.