GitHub Actions configure-aws-credentials "Credentials could not be loaded, no provider"

By Kaveh Alemi·Latchkey

configure-aws-credentials needs at least one credential source: static access keys, an OIDC role-to-assume, or pre-existing environment credentials. With none provided, the provider chain is empty.

What this error means

A configure-aws-credentials step (or a later AWS CLI call) fails saying credentials could not be loaded from any provider.

Error: Credentials could not be loaded, please check your action inputs:
Could not load credentials from any providers

Common causes

No inputs supplied

Neither aws-access-key-id/secret nor role-to-assume was set, so the action has nothing to configure.

Secrets empty on this trigger

Static keys mapped to empty/unavailable secrets (e.g. forked PR) leave the chain empty.

How to fix it

Provide a credential source

1. Prefer OIDC: set role-to-assume plus id-token: write.
2. Or set aws-access-key-id and aws-secret-access-key from non-empty secrets.
3. Always set aws-region.

- uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v4
  with:
    aws-access-key-id: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
    aws-secret-access-key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
    aws-region: us-east-1

How to prevent it

• Standardize on OIDC role assumption to avoid long-lived keys.
• Verify secret names and that they are available on the trigger.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions