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Installation Guide

Get taskcat installed and running on your system with our comprehensive installation guide.

Prerequisites

Before installing taskcat, ensure you have:

  • Python 3.8+: taskcat requires Python 3.8 or higher
  • AWS CLI: Configured with appropriate credentials
  • Git: For cloning repositories and version control
  • Sufficient AWS Permissions: See Required Permissions

Installation Methods

The easiest way to install taskcat is via PyPI:

pip install taskcat

For the latest development version:

pip install --upgrade taskcat

Method 2: From Source

For development or the latest features:

git clone https://github.com/aws-ia/taskcat.git
cd taskcat
pip install -e .

Method 3: Docker

Use our pre-built Docker images:

docker pull public.ecr.aws/aws-ia/taskcat:latest
docker run -it --rm -v $(pwd):/workspace taskcat --help

Verification

Verify your installation:

taskcat --version
taskcat --help

AWS Configuration

Configure AWS Credentials

taskcat uses AWS credentials from your environment. Configure using:

AWS CLI

aws configure

Environment Variables

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-secret-key
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1

taskcat automatically uses IAM roles when running on AWS services.

Required Permissions

taskcat requires the following AWS permissions:

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "cloudformation:*",
                "s3:*",
                "iam:*",
                "ec2:Describe*",
                "ssm:GetParameter*",
                "secretsmanager:GetSecretValue"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        }
    ]
}

Next Steps

Once installed, continue to the Quick Start Guide to run your first test.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Python version too old: 

python3 --version  # Should be 3.8+

Permission denied: 

pip install --user taskcat

AWS credentials not found: 

aws configure list

For more help, see our Troubleshooting Guide.