aws-messaging-and-streaming Skill (AWS) for Claude Code: What It Does and How to Install It

Makes your coding agent choose the right AWS messaging or streaming service, and send customer email, SMS or WhatsApp questions to the right skill.

Installs: 8.3K; on skills.sh
Stars: 3.4K; on GitHub
Updated: Oct 2026; last repo commit

This skill comes from AWS's own Agent Toolkit repo. It explains messaging versus streaming, compares eight AWS services in two tables, and lists integration gotchas such as missing queue policies on dead-letter queues and confused-deputy conditions on service principals. For detailed service questions it tells the agent to look up service-specific skills or the AWS docs instead of guessing.

It also maps customer channels to services: email to Amazon SES, WhatsApp to AWS End User Messaging Social, SMS, MMS, RCS and voice to End User Messaging SMS. It does not set channels up itself. It bundles no scripts, and it works with or without the AWS MCP Server.

Good for

Developers deciding between SQS, SNS, EventBridge, Amazon MQ, Kinesis, Firehose, Flink or MSK
Teams unsure which AWS service owns email, SMS, WhatsApp or push
Anyone wiring queues and topics who wants the permission and DLQ gotchas checked

Install aws-messaging-and-streaming

Claude Code

Copy this prompt.

Install the aws-messaging-and-streaming skill in Claude Code. Run this command:

/plugin install aws-core@claude-plugins-official

Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.

2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.

Pick one route. The aws-core plugin installs the AWS MCP Server config, a Claude Code hook and 25 skill folders (the README lists 14 default skills). The skills CLI route in the README installs every skill under aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws/skills. The folder and zip routes install only this skill. The skill does not require the MCP server.

From the project README. Source.

What's in the skill

When it loads

Guides general use of AWS messaging and streaming services. Covers Amazon SQS, Amazon SNS, Amazon EventBridge, Amazon MQ, Amazon Kinesis Data Streams, Amazon Data Firehose, Amazon Managed Service for Apache Flink, and Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (MSK). Use when reasoning about messaging and streaming patterns. Also identifies which AWS service owns each customer communication channel: email (Amazon SES), and WhatsApp, SMS, MMS, RCS, voice and mobile push (the AWS End User Messaging family of services). Routes the request to the specialized skill for that channel. Defers to the channel's specialized skill when the user already named a specific channel. In general, use specific skills or documentation searches for detailed service-specific questions. Do NOT use for MSK or Managed Service for Apache Flink questions, prefer specific skills. Does not configure customer communication channels; defers to specific skills.

Sections in SKILL.md

Overview
Streaming and Messaging
What Is Messaging?
What Is Streaming?
Key Differences
Messaging Use Cases
Streaming Use Cases
Messaging Services
Streaming Services
Customer Communications (Application-to-Person)
Common Integration Gotchas

Key facts

Author: Amazon Web Services (the vendor's own repo, aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws; plugin.json names Amazon Web Services)
License: Apache-2.0 (LICENSE file)
Installs on skills.sh: 8,338 (Nov 2, 2026)
GitHub stars: 3,366 for the whole aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws repo (Nov 2, 2026)
Last repo commit: Oct 30, 2026
What it includes: 1 file: SKILL.md; no scripts
Needs: Nothing required. Optional AWS MCP Server for retrieve_skill and documentation search.
Part of: aws-core plugin: README lists 14 default skills, the plugin tree has 25 skill folders

What it includes

Explains the two patterns with a seven-row comparison table
Messaging deletes after consumption; streaming keeps records for replay. Covers ordering, consumer model, throughput and scaling unit.
Try: “Should I use SQS or Kinesis for this order pipeline?”
Messaging vs streaming
SQS, SNS, EventBridge and Amazon MQ: best for, and key differentiator
Amazon MQ is positioned for lift-and-shift of JMS, AMQP and MQTT apps.
Messaging services table
Kinesis Data Streams, Data Firehose, Managed Flink and MSK
The description says to prefer specific skills for MSK and Flink questions.
Streaming services table
Names the AWS service and skill that owns email, WhatsApp, SMS, voice and push
Mobile push has no skill listed. The skill defers channel setup to the named skill or the AWS docs.
Customer communications map
Calls aws___retrieve_skill, or reads the skill from the toolkit, for channel questions
Uses the AWS MCP Server when it is available; otherwise it reads skills/<skill>/SKILL.md.
Network · Retrieve a specialised skill
A list of known traps with SQS, SNS, EventBridge, Firehose and Amazon MQ
Examples: DLQ queue policies, source conditions on service principals, and credentials belonging in Secrets Manager.
Integration gotchas

From the official docs

Permissions

Low risk

What it can do

Read your data
Create and change things
Delete things
Read-only mode

Watch out for

The plugin route adds an MCP server
plugins/aws-core/.mcp.json runs uvx mcp-proxy-for-aws-cli==1.7.0 against https://aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws/mcp with --skip-auth and --metadata INSTALL_SOURCE=agent-toolkit-core. The README says it can call AWS services and run sandboxed Python scripts. Use the skills-only route if you do not want that. github.com
The plugin installs a Claude Code hook
hooks.json registers two PreToolUse hooks, one matching Bash and one matching use_aws, mcp__aws* and mcp__plugin_*aws-mcp* tool names. Each runs secret-safety.py (python3, python or py -3, 5 second timeout). The script reads tool_name and tool_input from stdin and, for AWS CLI, SDK or MCP calls that would fetch Secrets Manager values (get-secret-value, batch-get-secret-value), prints a deny decision that points to asm-exec. Other calls pass through. github.com
The plugin installs 25 skill folders
The README lists 14 default skills, and the plugin tree has 25 skill folders. Some skills in the toolkit cover billing, databases and deployment. github.com
It points to other skills
For channel setup it tells the agent to load amazon-ses, aws-social-messaging or aws-sms-voice. These are different skills with their own behaviour. github.com

Security advisories

No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.

Technical details

Talks to	aws-mcp.us-east-1.api.aws (AWS MCP Server, only with the plugin or your own MCP config)
Sign-in and keys	The plugin .mcp.json uses mcp-proxy-for-aws-cli with --skip-auth. The plugin README says documentation search and skill retrieval need no authentication, and that call_aws gives authenticated access to AWS services.
Scopes	The skill alone bundles no scripts; it tells the agent to look up other skills and AWS documentation The aws-core plugin adds the AWS MCP Server, which can call AWS APIs when you sign in

Questions

What does aws-messaging-and-streaming do?

It makes your coding agent reason about AWS messaging and streaming: queues, topics, event buses, brokers and streams. It helps pick a service and flags common integration mistakes.

Is it official?

Yes. It lives in AWS's own repo, aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws, and the plugin manifest names Amazon Web Services as author.

How do I install it?

Use the install box above. In Claude Code, the README gives /plugin install aws-core@claude-plugins-official, which installs the aws-core plugin with the AWS MCP Server config and more skills. npx skills add aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws/skills installs the skills only.

Do I need the AWS MCP Server?

No. The README says skills do not require the MCP server and the MCP server does not serve locally installed skills. With it, the skill can load other skills with retrieve_skill and search AWS docs. The aws-core plugin configures it for you.

Will it set up SES, SMS or WhatsApp?

No. SKILL.md says it does not configure customer communication channels. It names the service and the skill to load for each channel, and for mobile push it names no skill.

Does it work in the Claude app?

The README documents plugins for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Devin, and the skills CLI for others. The Claude app is not named; the skill is one Markdown file, so the install box includes a zip upload route.

What does the aws-core plugin add that I should know about?

It adds the AWS MCP Server config, 25 skill folders in the plugin tree, and a Claude Code hook that blocks direct fetching of Secrets Manager values. Details are in the safety section.

Is it safe?

This skill is one text file. It does tell the agent to load other skills and to look up AWS docs. The plugin route adds an MCP server and a hook, described in the safety section. Our advice: install only this skill if that is all you need.

Information

updated Nov 2, 2026

Repository: aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws
Folder: skills/core-skills/aws-messaging-and-streaming

aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws skills.sh

Sources

Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.

Show all 8

README.md · github.com
README.md · github.com
marketplace.json · github.com
SKILL.md · github.com
.mcp.json · github.com
hooks.json · github.com
secret-safety.py · github.com
plugin.json · github.com