Before You Begin
To successfully connect to your organization’s AWS Bedrock setup, you’ll need a few things ready. Cline extension installed and configuredThe Cline extension must be installed in VS Code and you need to be signed into your organization account. If you haven’t installed Cline yet, follow our installation guide.
Quick Check: Open the Cline panel in VS Code. If you see your organization name in the bottom left, you’re signed in correctly.
You need AWS credentials that have permission to access Bedrock in your organization’s configured region.
If you don’t have AWS credentials yet, reach out to your IT or cloud team to get access keys or AWS CLI profiles configured with the necessary Bedrock permissions.

Configuration Steps
1
Open Cline Settings
Open VS Code and access the Cline settings panel using either of these methods:
- Click the settings icon (⚙️) in the Cline panel
- Click on the API Provider dropdown located directly below the chat area (it will display as
bedrock.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-20250514-v1:0or similar)
2
Select Your Authentication Method
Choose one of the following credential methods to authenticate with AWS Bedrock:
AWS Bedrock API Key
AWS Bedrock API Key
Use dedicated AWS access keys specifically for Bedrock access.Learn more about AWS Bedrock API Keys
- Select the API Key radio button
- Enter your AWS Access Key ID and Secret Access Key
- These credentials are stored locally and used only by the VS Code extension
AWS Profile
AWS Profile
Use an existing AWS CLI profile configured on your machine.Learn more about AWS CLI Profiles
- Select the AWS Profile radio button
- Choose or enter the profile name from your
~/.aws/credentialsfile - Cline will use the credentials associated with that profile
AWS Credentials
AWS Credentials
Use your default AWS credential chain (environment variables, EC2 instance roles, etc.).
- Select the AWS Credentials radio button
- Cline will automatically detect credentials from your environment using the standard AWS credential provider chain
The AWS Region is preconfigured by your administrator and does not need to be set in the extension.
3
Verify Configuration
After selecting your authentication method, the extension will display checkmarks for enabled features:
- ✓ Supports images
- ✓ Supports browser use
- ✓ Supports prompt caching
4
Test the Connection
Send a test message in Cline to verify your credentials work correctly with the configured Bedrock region.
Troubleshooting
Authentication errors (“Access Denied” or “Invalid Credentials”)Verify your chosen credential method has the necessary IAM permissions to call Bedrock in the configured region. Required permissions include
bedrock:InvokeModel and bedrock:InvokeModelWithResponseStream. For more information, refer to AWS Bedrock IAM Permissions.
Region-related errors or “model not available”Ask your administrator to confirm which region is configured for your organization. Ensure your AWS credentials have access to Bedrock in that specific region. View AWS Global Infrastructure Don’t see AWS Bedrock as an option
Confirm you’re signed into the correct Cline organization. Verify your administrator has saved the Bedrock configuration. Try signing out and back into the extension. AWS Credentials option not finding credentials
Verify AWS CLI is installed and configured with
aws configure (AWS CLI Installation Guide). Check that credentials are present in ~/.aws/credentials. For EC2/ECS environments, ensure IAM roles are properly attached. If using environment variables, set AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY.
Security Best Practices
When configuring your AWS credentials, follow these security guidelines:- Use IAM roles with minimum required permissions (AWS IAM Best Practices)
- Rotate access keys regularly if using the API Key method
- Never store credentials in code or version control
- Prefer AWS Profile method for better credential management
- Consider using AWS SSO/federated roles for enhanced security

