---
title: "Lab 1: Getting Started with Prowler CLI"
description: "Install Prowler CLI and run your first cloud security assessment on AWS"
---

<Note>
**Tags:** `workshop` `aws` `getting-started` `beginner` `cli`
</Note>

# Lab 1: Getting Started with Prowler CLI

Learn to install Prowler CLI and perform your first cloud security assessment on AWS.

## Prerequisites

* AWS account with active resources
* AWS CLI installed and configured
* IAM credentials with appropriate permissions (see [AWS Authentication](/user-guide/providers/aws/authentication))
* Python 3.9 or higher
* Basic command-line experience

**Estimated Time:** 30 minutes

## Lab Objectives

By completing this lab, you will:

* Install Prowler CLI using pip
* Configure AWS credentials for Prowler
* Execute your first security scan
* Understand Prowler's output formats
* Review security findings

## Step 1: Install Prowler CLI

Install Prowler using pip:

```bash
pip install prowler
```

Verify the installation:

```bash
prowler -v
```

Expected output:
```
Prowler X.X.X
```

<Tip>
For alternative installation methods (Docker, from source), see [Prowler CLI Installation](/getting-started/installation/prowler-cli).
</Tip>

## Step 2: Configure AWS Credentials

Ensure AWS credentials are configured. Prowler uses the same credential chain as AWS CLI.

Verify credentials:

```bash
aws sts get-caller-identity
```

Expected output:
```json
{
    "UserId": "AIDACKCEVSQ6C2EXAMPLE",
    "Account": "123456789012",
    "Arn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:user/username"
}
```

<Note>
[Note: Screenshot of slide 8 showing AWS credential verification - to be added]
</Note>

## Step 3: Run Your First Scan

Execute a basic Prowler scan:

```bash
prowler aws
```

This command:
* Scans all enabled AWS regions
* Runs all available security checks
* Generates output in the current directory

<Note>
The scan may take 5-15 minutes depending on the number of resources in your AWS account.
</Note>

## Step 4: Understanding the Output

Prowler generates multiple output formats in the `output` directory:

* **CSV:** Detailed findings (`prowler-output-*.csv`)
* **JSON:** Machine-readable format (`prowler-output-*.json`)
* **HTML:** Human-readable report (`prowler-output-*.html`)

Review the HTML report:

```bash
open output/prowler-output-*.html
```

<Note>
[Note: Screenshot of slide 10 showing HTML report - to be added]
</Note>

## Step 5: Analyze Security Findings

Examine the findings structure in the HTML report:

* **Status:** PASS, FAIL, or MANUAL
* **Severity:** critical, high, medium, low, informational
* **Service:** AWS service affected (e.g., S3, IAM, EC2)
* **Check ID:** Unique identifier for each check
* **Region:** AWS region where the resource exists
* **Resource:** Specific resource ARN or identifier

Example finding structure:

```json
{
  "Status": "FAIL",
  "Severity": "high",
  "Service": "s3",
  "CheckID": "s3_bucket_public_access",
  "Region": "us-east-1",
  "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::my-bucket"
}
```

## Step 6: Filter Scan by Service

Run a targeted scan for specific AWS services:

```bash
prowler aws --services s3 iam
```

This scans only S3 and IAM services, reducing execution time.

## Step 7: Run Checks by Severity

Scan for critical and high-severity findings only:

```bash
prowler aws --severity critical high
```

This focuses on the most important security issues.

<Note>
[Note: Screenshot of slide 13 showing severity filtering - to be added]
</Note>

## Verification Steps

Confirm successful lab completion:

1. Prowler CLI installed and version verified
2. AWS credentials properly configured
3. First scan completed successfully
4. Output files generated in the `output` directory
5. HTML report reviewed and findings understood
6. Filtered scans executed by service and severity

## Expected Outcomes

After completing this lab, you should have:

* Working Prowler CLI installation
* Understanding of basic Prowler commands
* Knowledge of output formats
* Ability to run targeted scans
* Familiarity with finding severity levels

## Troubleshooting

**Issue:** `prowler: command not found`
* **Solution:** Ensure Python's bin directory is in your PATH, or use `python3 -m prowler`

**Issue:** AWS credentials error
* **Solution:** Run `aws configure` to set up credentials, or use environment variables

**Issue:** Scan takes too long
* **Solution:** Use `--services` to scan specific services or `--regions` to limit regions

## Next Steps

Continue to [Lab 2: Threat Detection with Prowler](/workshop/lab-02-threat-detection) to learn about identifying security threats in your AWS environment.

## Additional Resources

* [Prowler CLI Documentation](/getting-started/basic-usage/prowler-cli)
* [AWS Authentication Methods](/user-guide/providers/aws/authentication)
* [Output Formats](/user-guide/cli/tutorials/reporting)