AWS pager blog

content/post/aws-pager.adoc

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+---
+draft: false
+title: 'How to stop AWS CLI clearing the screen'
+date: "2024-04-26T12:49:50Z"
+image: "/images/2024/04/h_IMG_1253.webp"
+thumbnail: "/images/2024/04/t_IMG_1105.webp"
+credit: "https://twitter.com/rmoff/"
+categories:
+- aws
+- pager
+---
+
+:source-highlighter: rouge
+:icons: font
+:rouge-css: style
+:rouge-style: github
+
+After a break from using AWS I had reason to reacquaint myself with it again today, and did so via the CLI. The AWS CLI is pretty intuitive and has a good helptext system, but one thing that kept frustrasting me was that after closing the help text, the screen cleared—so I couldn't copy the syntax out to use in my command!
+
+The same thing happened when I ran a command that returned output - the screen cleared.
+
+Here's how to fix either, or both, of these
+
+<!--more-->
+
+== AWS CLI help text disappears when closed
+
+++++
+<script src="https://asciinema.org/a/SvT2Ncm92T49vGMFcX5R6R7Ct.js" id="asciicast-656551" async="true"></script>
+++++
+
+The fix: set `MANPAGER` (https://ashley.raiteri.net/stop-aws-cli-help-command-from-clearing-screen/[h/t])
+
+[source,bash]
+----
+export MANPAGER='less -isXF'
+----
+
+++++
+<script src="https://asciinema.org/a/MuEdcL9wSLSU6eFJKYr2mwcoQ.js" id="asciicast-656553" async="true"></script>
+++++
+
+== AWS CLI command output disappears when closed
+
+Similar to the above, but a different solution, which confuses the issue when Googling :)
+
+You run a command, you want to refer to the output, but as soon as you return to the command prompt it's gone 🤨
+
+++++
+<script src="https://asciinema.org/a/HeeDf3YOTO64sHzg7SyJBvoZf.js" id="asciicast-656555" async="true"></script>
+++++
+
+The fix: make sure that `AWS_PAGER` is set to the correct invocation of `less`. Or other options, including setting `--no-cli-pager` argument. This https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-usage-pagination.html#cli-usage-pagination-clientside[is documented] if you want to read more.
+
+[source,bash]
+----
+export AWS_PAGER='less -isXF'
+----
+
+or simply
+
+[source,bash]
+----
+unset AWS_PAGER
+----
+
+++++
+<script src="https://asciinema.org/a/K5bCE9wXJDN5Bid6GHeWGrM8D.js" id="asciicast-656557" async="true"></script>
+++++