Leapp vs aws-vault: Comparing AWS CLI Credential Tools

Both Leapp and aws-vault solve the same problem: keeping AWS credentials out of plaintext files and generating short-lived session tokens instead of pasting long-term keys into every shell. They differ in scope and interface, not in what problem they’re solving.

What each one is

Leapp is a cross-platform credential manager with both a GUI and a CLI, and it isn’t AWS-specific: it supports several cloud providers through the same account-switching interface.

aws-vault is command-line only and AWS-specific. It stores credentials in the OS keystore and generates temporary credentials on demand.

Installing

# Leapp
npm install -g @noovolari/leapp-cli
brew install leapp        # macOS, GUI
brew install leapp-cli    # macOS, CLI

# aws-vault
brew install aws-vault          # macOS
choco install aws-vault         # Windows

Configuring an SSO or IAM profile

Leapp takes profiles through its own CLI:

leapp add aws-sso --name "My AWS SSO" --sso-url https://my-sso-portal.awsapps.com/start
leapp add aws-credentials --name "My AWS Account" --access-key AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE --secret-key wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY

aws-vault reads SSO config from the standard AWS config file and stores IAM keys itself:

# ~/.aws/config
[profile my-profile]
sso_start_url = https://my-sso-portal.awsapps.com/start
sso_region = us-east-1
sso_account_id = 123456789012
sso_role_name = MyRole
region = us-west-2
output = json

aws-vault add my-profile   # prompts for access key and secret key

Running a command through each

leapp session exec --profile <profile-name> -- aws s3 ls
aws-vault exec <profile-name> -- aws s3 ls

Functionally identical: both generate temporary credentials and inject them into the child process’s environment.

Where they actually differ

Both support SSO, IAM long-term keys, MFA, and automatic session token rotation, so the choice isn’t about security, it’s about scope and interface:

• Leapp supports multiple cloud providers behind one GUI and CLI, with visual account switching. That’s real value if you’re not AWS-only, and overhead if you are.
• aws-vault is AWS-only and CLI-only, which makes it lighter to install and easier to script into existing workflows. It has nothing to offer once you’re also managing GCP or Azure credentials.

Which one to use

If AWS is the only cloud you touch and you live in a terminal, aws-vault is the smaller, more scriptable tool; there’s no reason to carry Leapp’s multi-cloud surface for a single-cloud job. If you’re switching between AWS, GCP, or Azure accounts regularly, or you want a GUI for account switching, Leapp’s broader scope earns its extra weight.