Getting Started

Unit 1

Starting your cloud journey can feel overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. Learn the Cloud breaks down complex AWS concepts into bite-sized, practical lessons that build on each other. We provide clear explanations, hands-on exercises, and real-world projects to help you gain job-ready skills as quickly as possible, completely free.

We start from the absolute beginning—no prior technical knowledge required. If you’ve never used a terminal, written code, or heard of AWS, that’s perfectly fine. We’ll teach you everything you need to know, step by step.

Table of contents

  1. Getting Started
    1. How to Use Learn the Cloud
    2. Prerequisites
      1. Tools You’ll Learn Along the Way
    3. What You’ll Learn in This Unit

How to Use Learn the Cloud

Learn the Cloud serves as your guided pathway through AWS. When excellent free resources already exist, we’ll point you to them rather than reinventing the wheel. You’ll often see us recommend specific videos, articles, or documentation—watch or read them, then return here to apply what you’ve learned through hands-on practice.

Important Note: This course is optimized for Linux and Mac users. While Windows users can absolutely follow along, you may need to adapt some commands (we’ll note common differences where possible). Consider using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) for the best experience.

Learn the Cloud is organized into Units, Lessons, Quizzes and Projects. Also, at the end of every relevant Lesson is a Good to Know section.

Units

Lessons

Quizzes

Projects

Good to Know

  • Units - Major topics essential for becoming an AWS Cloud Engineer. Each unit builds on the previous one.
  • Lessons - Practical, hands-on exercises within each unit. Every lesson includes clear objectives and repeatable exercises so you can practice until you’re confident.
  • Quizzes - Quick knowledge checks at the end of each unit. Use these to identify areas that need more practice before moving forward.
  • Projects - Real-world applications you’ll build throughout the course. These become portfolio pieces to showcase when applying for jobs.
  • Good to Know - Additional topics that aren’t essential for landing your first job but are worth exploring once you have the fundamentals down. We focus on what employers actually look for, not every possible AWS service.

Prerequisites

You only need basic computer skills to start:

  • Type comfortably
  • Browse the internet
  • Switch between windows
  • Download and install software
  • Create accounts on websites
  • Follow step-by-step instructions

Tools You’ll Learn Along the Way

Don’t worry if you haven’t used these before—we’ll teach you:

  • Git & GitHub - Version control for tracking your code
  • Node.js - JavaScript runtime (or any programming language basics)
  • Terminal/Command Line - How to navigate and run commands
  • Postman - Testing APIs
  • Docker - Running applications in containers

We’ll introduce each tool exactly when you need it, with clear installation instructions and beginner-friendly tutorials.

What You’ll Learn in This Unit

In Getting Started, you’ll set up your development environment and create your first cloud infrastructure:

  1. Code Editor - Install and configure a professional development environment
  2. Terminal Basics - Master essential command-line skills
  3. AWS Account Setup - Create and secure your free AWS account
  4. Terraform Introduction - Deploy your first cloud resources with infrastructure as code

By the end of this unit, you’ll have a fully configured development environment and your first AWS resources running in the cloud.

Ready? Let’s start with setting up your code editor!

Table of contents