Commandeer vs AWS Console Comparison

When you're developing for the cloud, it's important to have the right tools at your disposal to solve the challenges at your work. AWS offers many great services with full-featured API's and CLI. When managing your services though, the best option is to have a GUI. That's where the two cloud management tools come into play: Commandeer and AWS Console. This article goes over each tool in detail comparing the features, so you know when to use the right tool for the job.

What is Commandeer?

Commandeer is a native desktop app that runs on your local machine. All your data (including your keys) are stored locally on your computer. The app interacts with the other development tools installed on your machine like LocalStack, Docker, Serverless, Ansible, etc. At the same time, Commandeer also connects to any number of cloud accounts. With a native app, you have right-click context menus on your cloud resources, efficient navigation, universal search, and rapid movement between connected services, allowing for maximum developer productivity.

What is AWS Console?

AWS Console is a website developed by AWS. It runs in your browser and issues requests to the AWS backend to do the work. The main advantage of AWS Console is that it's developed by AWS. This means that as new services come out, they will be supported in AWS Console out of the box. On the other hand, the AWS Console user experience isn't very efficient and lacks cohesiveness across different services. Lastly, since AWS is a web browser application, it won't be able to tightly integrate with your development tooling installed on your local machine.

Feature Comparison

Features	Commandeer	AWS Console
LocalStack Integration	✅	❌
Docker Integration	✅	❌
Serverless Runner	✅	❌
Ansible Runner	✅	❌
Switching Between Cloud and Local accounts	✅	❌
IAC Testing Tools	✅	❌
System Diagrams	✅	❌
Usage Analytics	✅	❌
Right Click context menus and actions	✅	❌
System wide resource search	✅	❌
Supports all and upcoming AWS Services	❌	✅
Doesn't require app installation	❌	✅

Conclusion

We went over the major differences between AWS Console and Commandeer. AWS Console is a website developed by AWS. The major advantages of AWS Console that it doesn't require app installation, works in the browser and supports all existing and upcoming AWS services out of the box. On the other hand, the Commandeer desktop app is a more specialized tool that tightly integrates with your local environment, has a clean and efficient UI with additional tools and integrations helping you with your day-to-day cloud development.