Building an AWS C++ S3 Program on Windows with vcpk

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Building an AWS C++ S3 Program on Windows with vcpkg

This guide shows how to set up a working C++ project on Windows that uses the AWS SDK to list S3 buckets. We will use vcpkg as the package manager to handle the AWS SDK installation and dependencies.

Step 1: Install vcpkg

If you haven't installed vcpkg yet, download it from the official repository and bootstrap it:

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vcpkg.git C:\Users\YourName\CDK\vcpkg
cd C:\Users\YourName\CDK\vcpkg
.\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat

Note: On Windows, you must run bootstrap-vcpkg.bat in the Command Prompt.

---

Step 2: Install the AWS SDK for C++ using vcpkg

Install the core and S3 components for 64-bit Windows:

vcpkg install aws-sdk-cpp[core,s3]:x64-windows

This will install the required libraries and headers under installed\x64-windows\. vcpkg will handle dependencies like aws-c-common, aws-crt-cpp, and others.

---

Step 3: Set up your C++ project

Create a project folder, e.g., C:\AWS_CPP_S3, and add your main.cpp:

#include <iostream>
#include <aws/core/Aws.h>
#include <aws/s3/S3Client.h>
#include <aws/s3/model/ListBucketsRequest.h>

int main() {
    Aws::SDKOptions options;
    Aws::InitAPI(options);
    {
        Aws::S3::S3Client s3_client;
        auto outcome = s3_client.ListBuckets();
        if (outcome.IsSuccess()) {
            std::cout << "Buckets:\n";
            for (auto const &bucket : outcome.GetResult().GetBuckets()) {
                std::cout << " - " << bucket.GetName() << "\n";
            }
        } else {
            std::cerr << "Error listing buckets: " << outcome.GetError().GetMessage() << "\n";
        }
    }
    Aws::ShutdownAPI(options);
    return 0;
}
---

Step 4: Create CMakeLists.txt

Use CMake to build your project and integrate with vcpkg. Here’s a working CMakeLists.txt for Windows:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
project(HelloS3 LANGUAGES CXX)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

# vcpkg toolchain
set(CMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE "C:/Users/YourName/CDK/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake" CACHE STRING "")

# Find individual AWS SDK components
find_package(aws-cpp-sdk-core REQUIRED)
find_package(aws-cpp-sdk-s3 REQUIRED)

# Executable
add_executable(HelloS3 main.cpp)

# Include directories and link libraries
target_include_directories(HelloS3 PRIVATE
    "C:/Users/YourName/CDK/vcpkg/installed/x64-windows/include"
)
target_link_libraries(HelloS3 PRIVATE aws-cpp-sdk-core aws-cpp-sdk-s3)

Note: Replace YourName with your actual Windows username.

---

Step 5: Build the project using CMake

Open the x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 2022, navigate to your project folder, and run:

cd C:\AWS_CPP_S3
rmdir /s /q build
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE="C:/Users/YourName/CDK/vcpkg/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake"
cmake --build . --config Release

This will generate a HelloS3.exe in build\Release.

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Step 6: Run your program

Make sure your AWS credentials are configured (either in %USERPROFILE%\.aws\credentials or environment variables). Then run:

Release\HelloS3.exe

You should see a list of your S3 buckets, confirming that your program can communicate with AWS S3.

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Troubleshooting Tips

  • If CMake cannot find the AWS SDK targets, make sure you specify the vcpkg toolchain with -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE.
  • If you switch architectures (e.g., from Win32 to x64), delete the build folder to clear the CMake cache.
  • On Windows, the vcpkg AWS SDK does not provide AWSSDKConfig.cmake — use the individual component targets like aws-cpp-sdk-core and aws-cpp-sdk-s3.
  • Always build from the Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt to ensure the correct compiler environment.
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Conclusion

Using vcpkg simplifies dependency management for AWS SDK C++ on Windows. Following these steps, you can compile, link, and run a working AWS S3 program with C++ and CMake. From here, you can expand to other AWS services by installing additional components through vcpkg.

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