BMC

Chrome Profiles

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

BMC can open the AWS console in a dedicated, isolated Chrome profile per AWS account. Each profile has its own cookies and session — no cross-account contamination.

Enable #

{
 "console": {
 "chrome_profiles": true,
 "chrome_binary": "google-chrome"
 }
}

For Brave or Chromium:

{
 "console": {
 "chrome_profiles": true,
 "chrome_binary": "brave-browser"
 }
}

How it works #

On first use for a profile, BMC:

profsel

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc profsel interactively selects an AWS profile and exports it as AWS_PROFILE in your current shell.

Usage #

bmc profsel # Interactive profile selection
bmc profsel -p myprofile # Pre-select a profile by name
bmc profsel -l # List all profiles in tabular format
bmc profsel --json # Output selected profile as JSON

Shell integration required #

bmc profsel must be invoked through the shell wrapper for AWS_PROFILE to be set in your current shell. Install it once with:

Shell Integration

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Shell integration is required for bmc profsel to set AWS_PROFILE in your current shell session.

Install #

bmc install-shell-integration

This installs a shell wrapper function:

zsh / bash: appends to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
Fish: writes ~/.config/fish/functions/bmc.fish (auto-loaded, no restart needed)
NixOS + Fish: prints a programs.fish.functions snippet instead of writing files

After installation, restart your shell or source the config file.

Configuration

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

BMC is configured via ~/.config/bmc/config.json.

Example #

{
 "mfa": {
 "enabled": true,
 "totp_script": "/usr/bin/rbw get my-aws-mfa-entry --field totp",
 "copy_command": "wl-copy",
 "paste_command": "wl-paste | wtype -"
 },
 "ec2": {
 "auto_start_stopped": "prompt",
 "columns": ["InstanceId", "Name", "PrivateIP", "PublicIP", "State", "Hibernate", "Scheduler"]
 },
 "console": {
 "firefox_containers": true
 }
}

Reference #

Key	Type	Default	Description
`mfa.enabled`	bool	`false`	Enable MFA session management
`mfa.totp_script`	string	`""`	Shell command to generate a 6-digit TOTP code
`mfa.copy_command`	string	`""`	Command to copy TOTP to clipboard (receives code via stdin)
`mfa.paste_command`	string	`""`	Command to simulate paste keystroke 300ms after copy
`ec2.auto_start_stopped`	string	`"prompt"`	`always` / `never` / `prompt` — what to do when connecting to a stopped instance
`ec2.columns`	[]string	all columns	Columns to show in EC2 tables, in order
`console.firefox_containers`	bool	`false`	Open AWS console in Firefox container tabs via the Granted extension
`console.chrome_profiles`	bool	`false`	Open AWS console in isolated Chrome profiles per AWS account
`console.chrome_binary`	string	`"google-chrome"`	Chrome binary to use (`"chromium"`, `"brave-browser"`, etc.)

EC2 columns #

The ec2.columns field controls which columns appear in EC2 instance tables and in what order. Available values:

console

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc console opens the AWS Management Console in your browser for the current or selected AWS profile.

Usage #

bmc console # Open console for current profile (AWS_PROFILE)
bmc console -p myprofile # Open console for a specific profile
bmc console -p # Force interactive profile selection
bmc console -s ec2 # Open console at a specific service URL

Browser options #

Firefox containers with Granted (recommended) #

The Granted Firefox extension enables container tabs — each AWS profile opens in its own isolated container with separate cookies and sessions.

NixOS / home-manager

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Installing BMC #

NixOS (configuration.nix) #

{
 inputs.bmc.url = "github:wearetechnative/bmc";

 outputs = { nixpkgs, bmc, ... }: {
 nixosConfigurations.myhost = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
 modules = [
 {
 environment.systemPackages = [
 bmc.packages.${system}.bmc
 ];
 }
 ];
 };
 };
}

home-manager #

{
 inputs.bmc.url = "github:wearetechnative/bmc";

 home.packages = [ inputs.bmc.packages.${system}.bmc ];
}

Shell integration with home-manager #

bmc install-shell-integration prints snippets instead of writing files when it detects a managed shell config. Add them manually:

ec2

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc ec2 is the unified entry point for EC2 operations. Pick an instance once and choose an action from a menu — no need to repeat instance selection across separate commands.

Usage #

bmc ec2 # Interactive instance picker → action menu
bmc ec2 nginx # Filter instances by name/ID/IP first
bmc ec2 i-0abc123 # Single match skips the picker

The optional search argument filters instances by a case-insensitive substring match on instance name, ID, private IP, or public IP.

MFA

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

BMC handles MFA automatically. When you run bmc profsel or bmc console, BMC checks if your session credentials are still valid and refreshes them if needed — no separate command required.

Requirements #

Set mfa.enabled = true in ~/.config/bmc/config.json
Add a [profile-long-term] section to ~/.aws/credentials:

[technative-long-term]
aws_access_key_id = AKIA...
aws_secret_access_key = ...
aws_mfa_device = arn:aws:iam::123456789012:mfa/your-username

When the session expires, BMC prompts for a 6-digit TOTP code. If totp_script is configured, BMC runs it automatically to fetch the code.

Migration from bash version

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

If you were using the previous bash-based version of BMC, here is what changed and how to migrate.

Steps #

Install the new binary (same name: bmc)
Run bmc install-shell-integration — replaces the source bmc profsel pattern
Create ~/.config/bmc/config.json — replaces ~/.config/bmc/config.env
Run bmc doctor to verify setup

Breaking changes #

Old	New
`source bmc profsel`	`eval "$(bmc profsel)"` — handled automatically by the shell wrapper
`~/.config/bmc/config.env`	`~/.config/bmc/config.json`
`bmc gencompletions`	`bmc completion bash\|zsh` (Cobra built-in)

Config migration #

Old config.env:

ec2ls

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc ec2ls lists all EC2 instances in the current AWS profile.

Usage #

bmc ec2ls # Display as interactive table
bmc ec2ls --json # Output as JSON array

Table output #

The table columns are configurable via ec2.columns in ~/.config/bmc/config.json. See Configuration.

JSON output #

--json outputs all instances as a JSON array with AWS PascalCase keys, ignoring the columns config:

ec2connect

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc ec2connect connects to a running EC2 instance via SSH or AWS SSM Session Manager.

Usage #

bmc ec2connect # Interactive instance picker
bmc ec2connect nginx # Filter instances by name/ID/IP first
bmc ec2connect -i i-0abc123 # Connect to a specific instance ID
bmc ec2connect -u ubuntu # SSH as a specific user (skips method picker)

Connection methods #

SSH #

Requires ssh on your PATH. BMC prompts for the SSH user (root, ubuntu, ec2-user, or custom) unless -u is specified.

ec2find

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc ec2find searches for EC2 instances across all AWS profiles in an account group simultaneously.

Usage #

bmc ec2find nginx # Search across profiles (select group interactively)
bmc ec2find nginx --json # Same search, output as JSON array

How it works #

You select an AWS account group from an interactive picker
BMC queries all profiles in that group in parallel
Results matching your search string are shown

The search is a case-insensitive substring match on: instance ID, name, private IP, public IP, and profile name.

ec2stopstart

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc ec2stopstart stops or starts an EC2 instance interactively.

Usage #

bmc ec2stopstart # Pick instance → stop or start

BMC shows the current state of the selected instance and offers the appropriate action (Stop or Start). For hibernate-enabled instances, Stop also offers a hibernate option.

Stopping with hibernate #

If an instance has hibernation configured (Hibernate: yes in ec2ls), BMC will ask whether to hibernate instead of a cold stop. Hibernation saves RAM to disk and resumes faster.

ec2scheduler

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc ec2scheduler enables or disables the AWS Instance Scheduler tag on an EC2 instance.

Usage #

bmc ec2scheduler # Pick instance → enable or disable scheduler

What it does #

The command adds or removes the InstanceScheduler tag on the selected instance. AWS Instance Scheduler uses this tag to automatically start and stop instances on a configured schedule — useful for saving costs on non-production environments.

ecsconnect

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

bmc ecsconnect opens an interactive shell into a running ECS container.

Usage #

bmc ecsconnect # Interactive: pick cluster → service → task → container

The command walks you through selecting:

ECS cluster
Service
Task
Container

Then launches an interactive shell via AWS SSM.

Prerequisites #

aws CLI v2
session-manager-plugin

Check with: