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Introducing atmos auth list: Visualize Your Authentication Configuration

· 5 min read
Erik Osterman
Erik Osterman
Founder @ Cloud Posse

We're excited to announce a powerful new command for managing authentication in Atmos: atmos auth list. This command provides comprehensive visibility into your authentication configuration, making it easier than ever to understand and manage complex authentication chains across multiple cloud providers and identities.

See it in action:

atmos auth identities
00:00.0 / 00:00.0

View the full example

Why atmos auth list?​

As cloud infrastructure grows more complex, so does authentication management. Modern teams often work with:

  • Multiple cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, Okta)
  • Complex role assumption chains (SSO → base role → admin role → specific account)
  • Multiple identities per environment (dev, staging, production)
  • Team-specific access patterns (developer, operator, security auditor)

Without proper tooling, it becomes difficult to answer simple questions like:

  • "What authentication providers do we have configured?"
  • "Which identities can I use to access production?"
  • "How does this identity authenticate? Through which provider?"
  • "What's the complete authentication chain for this admin role?"

atmos auth list solves these challenges by providing clear, actionable visibility into your entire authentication configuration.

Key Features​

🎨 Multiple Output Formats​

Table Format (Default) Perfect for quick overviews with formatted tables showing key attributes:

atmos auth list

Tree Format Visualize hierarchical relationships and authentication chains:

atmos auth list --format tree

JSON/YAML Export Integrate with scripts and automation tools:

atmos auth list --format json | jq '.identities'
atmos auth list --format yaml > auth-config.yml

Graph Visualization Generate diagrams for documentation:

atmos auth list --format graphviz > auth-chain.dot
atmos auth list --format mermaid > auth-chain.mmd
atmos auth list --format markdown > docs/auth-config.md

🔍 Smart Filtering​

Filter by providers or identities to focus on what matters:

# Show only AWS SSO providers
atmos auth list --providers=aws-sso

# View specific identities
atmos auth list --identities=admin,developer

# Show all providers (no identities)
atmos auth list --providers

🔗 Authentication Chain Visualization​

Understand complex authentication flows at a glance. Chains show the complete path from provider to target identity:

aws-sso → base-role → admin-role → prod-account

This makes it immediately clear:

  • Which provider authenticates you initially
  • What roles you assume along the way
  • The final identity you end up with

🎯 Real-World Examples​

Quick Overview​

$ atmos auth list

PROVIDERS
NAME      KIND       REGION      START URL                                DEFAULT
aws-sso   aws-sso    us-east-1   https://example.awsapps.com/start       ✓
okta      okta                   https://example.okta.com

IDENTITIES
NAME       KIND              VIA PROVIDER  VIA IDENTITY  DEFAULT  ALIAS
admin      aws/assume-role   aws-sso                     ✓        prod-admin
developer  aws/assume-role   aws-sso                              dev
ops        aws/assume-role   aws-sso       admin                  ops-admin

Detailed Tree View​

$ atmos auth list --format tree

Authentication Configuration
├─ aws-sso (aws-sso) [DEFAULT]
│  ├─ Region: us-east-1
│  ├─ Start URL: https://example.awsapps.com/start
│  └─ Identities
│     ├─ admin (aws/assume-role) [DEFAULT] [ALIAS: prod-admin]
│     │  ├─ Principal
│     │  │  └─ arn: arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AdminRole
│     │  └─ ops (aws/assume-role) [ALIAS: ops-admin]
│     │     └─ Principal
│     │        └─ arn: arn:aws:iam::987654321098:role/OpsRole
│     └─ developer (aws/assume-role) [ALIAS: dev]
│        └─ Principal
│           └─ arn: arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/DeveloperRole
└─ okta (okta)
    └─ URL: https://example.okta.com

The tree format shows the hierarchical relationship between providers and identities. Identities that authenticate through a provider appear as children under that provider's "Identities" section. Identity chains (where one identity assumes another) are shown as nested children - notice how ops appears as a child of admin since it authenticates via the admin identity.

Automation Integration​

# Export to JSON for CI/CD validation
atmos auth list --format json | jq -r '.providers | keys[]'

# Generate documentation
atmos auth list --format yaml > docs/auth-config.yml

# Check if specific provider exists
atmos auth list --providers=aws-sso --format json | jq -e '.providers["aws-sso"]'

Understanding Authentication Chains​

One of the most powerful features is authentication chain visualization. Chains show how identities authenticate through providers or other identities:

  • Simple chain: aws-sso → admin Direct authentication through AWS SSO

  • Multi-step chain: aws-sso → base-role → admin-role Authenticate via SSO, assume base role, then assume admin role

  • Complex chain: okta → aws-dev → prod-account → admin Authenticate through Okta, assume AWS dev role, switch to prod account, become admin

These chains can be arbitrarily long, supporting even the most complex enterprise authentication scenarios.

Integration with Existing Commands​

atmos auth list complements the existing authentication commands:

Together, these commands provide a complete authentication workflow from discovery to usage.

Get Started​

atmos auth list is available in Atmos v1.195.0 and later. To get started:

  1. Upgrade Atmos to the latest version
  2. List your configuration: Run atmos auth list
  3. Explore the formats: Try --format tree, json, and yaml
  4. Filter as needed: Use --providers and --identities to focus

For full documentation, see the atmos auth list command reference.

What's Next?​

The atmos auth list command is part of our broader authentication management initiative. Coming soon:

  • atmos auth logout - Cleanly terminate authentication sessions and clear cached credentials
  • atmos auth shell - Launch an authenticated shell session with credentials automatically configured
  • Interactive identity selection - Enhanced atmos auth login with improved identity selection and TTY dialogs
  • AWS SSO improvements - Better user experience with spinners and interactive prompts for AWS SSO authentication

Together, these enhancements will provide an even more seamless authentication workflow from discovery to usage.

We'd love to hear your feedback! Let us know what you think on GitHub or join our community Slack.

Happy authenticating! 🔐