Prism Multi-Profile Guide¶

Profile management provides context support, secure credential storage, and full API integration.

What are Profiles?¶

Profiles let you use Prism with different AWS accounts. It's like having multiple backpacks - each one carries different things for different activities!

With profiles, you can: - Use your own AWS account (Personal Profile) - Use someone else's AWS account they shared with you (Invitation Profile) - Switch between accounts without logging in and out

When to Use Multiple Profiles¶

You might need multiple profiles when:

• You have your own AWS account AND your teacher invited you to use their class account
• You're working on personal projects AND team projects that use different accounts
• You want to keep work and learning projects separate

Types of Profiles¶

Personal Profiles¶

• Connected to your own AWS account
• You pay for anything you create
• You have full control (based on your AWS permissions)

Invitation Profiles¶

• Connected to someone else's AWS account
• They pay for what you create
• You can only use what they allow you to use
• Perfect for classes, workshops, and team projects

How to Use Profiles¶

In the GUI Application¶

1. See Your Current Profile
2. Look in the sidebar under "AWS Profile"

3. It shows which profile you're currently using

4. Switch Profiles

5. Click the "Switch Profile" button in the sidebar
6. Or go to Settings → Profile Management

7. Choose the profile you want to use

8. Add a Personal Profile

9. Go to Settings → Profile Management
10. Click "Add Personal Profile"
11. Give it a name
12. Choose which AWS profile to use (from your computer)

13. Pick a region (or leave empty to use your default)

14. Add an Invitation

15. Go to Settings → Profile Management
16. Click "Add Invitation"
17. Enter the invitation details your teacher or team leader gave you
18. Give it a name that helps you remember what it's for (like "Biology Class")

In the Terminal (Command Line)¶

Use these commands to manage your profiles:

# List all your profiles
prism profiles list

# Switch to a different profile
prism profiles use biology-class

# Add a personal profile
prism profiles add personal my-aws --aws-profile default --region us-west-2

# Add an invitation profile
prism profiles add invitation biology-class --token ABC123 --owner "Professor Smith" --region us-east-1

# See which profile you're using now
prism profiles current

Seeing What You Can Use¶

Different profiles let you do different things:

• Personal profiles: You can use any template you want
• Invitation profiles: You can only use templates the owner allows

When using an invitation profile, Prism will automatically show you only the templates you're allowed to use.

Costs and Billing¶

• Personal profiles: You pay for everything you create
• Invitation profiles: The account owner pays

Always check which profile you're using before launching new cloud computers!

Need Help?¶

If you're having trouble with profiles:

1. Make sure you entered the invitation information correctly
2. Check that you're using the right AWS region
3. Ask the person who invited you for help if needed

Remember: The profile name shown in the sidebar tells you which account you're currently using.

Technical Reference for Developers¶

Prism includes a comprehensive API for multi-profile management that can be used by developers building extensions or integrating with the platform.

Core Components¶

• profile.ManagerEnhanced: Manages profile operations, switching, and validation
• profile.ProfileAwareStateManager: Isolates state between different profiles
• api.ProfileAwareClient: Provides API access with profile switching capabilities
• SecureCredentialProvider: Platform-specific secure storage for credentials

Using the Profile API¶

import (
    "github.com/scttfrdmn/prism/pkg/profile"
    "github.com/scttfrdmn/prism/pkg/api"
)

// Create profile manager
profileManager, err := profile.NewManagerEnhanced(configPath)
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}

// Create state manager with profile awareness
stateManager := profile.NewProfileAwareStateManager(profileManager)

// Create API client with profile support
client, err := api.NewProfileAwareClient("http://localhost:8080", profileManager, stateManager)
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}

// Switch profiles
err = client.SwitchProfile("work-research")
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}

// Use the client with current profile
instances, err := client.ListInstances(ctx)

Context Integration¶

The profile API integrates with Go's context package:

// Create context with current profile
ctx := context.Background()
ctxWithProfile, err := client.WithProfileContext(ctx)
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}

// Use context-aware API methods
instances, err := client.ListInstances(ctxWithProfile)

Creating Temporary Clients¶

Sometimes you need a client for a specific profile without changing the current one:

// Get client for specific profile without switching
tempClient, err := client.WithProfile("collaborator")
if err != nil {
    // Handle error
}

// Use temporary client
instances, err := tempClient.ListInstances(ctx)

Profile Data Structure¶

type Profile struct {
    Type            ProfileType `json:"type"`
    Name            string      `json:"name"`
    AWSProfile      string      `json:"aws_profile,omitempty"`
    Region          string      `json:"region"`
    InvitationToken string      `json:"invitation_token,omitempty"`
    OwnerAccount    string      `json:"owner_account,omitempty"`
    S3ConfigPath    string      `json:"s3_config_path,omitempty"`
    LastUsed        time.Time   `json:"last_used"`
}

Performance Considerations¶

• Profile switching is designed to be lightweight (<1ms operation)
• Credential loading is lazy (only happens when needed)
• State files are isolated to prevent cross-profile contamination
• API clients maintain connection pools per profile

See the API documentation for more details on using profiles in your code.¶

Prism's profile export/import lets you:

1. Back up your Prism profiles
2. Share profile configurations between machines
3. Transfer profiles to team members

Exports are ZIP (default) or JSON, optionally password-encrypted, and can include AWS credentials or be limited to specific profiles. This document explains how to use these features effectively.

Profile Export¶

You can export your profiles to a file using the command line interface:

prism profiles export my-profiles.zip

This creates a ZIP file containing your profile configurations.

Export Options¶

Several options are available for customizing your exports:

Example Uses¶

Export all profiles without credentials (safest option):

prism profiles export my-profiles.zip

Export specific profiles:

prism profiles export personal-profiles.zip --profiles personal,work

Export with credentials (only for personal backups):

prism profiles export full-backup.zip --include-credentials

Export in JSON format:

prism profiles export profiles.json --format json

Profile Import¶

You can import profiles from a previously exported file:

prism profiles import my-profiles.zip

Import Options¶

Several options control how imports are handled:

Handling Profile Conflicts¶

When importing profiles, conflicts can occur if profiles with the same ID already exist. Three resolution modes are available:

1. rename (default): Rename imported profiles to avoid conflicts
2. skip: Skip importing profiles that would conflict
3. overwrite: Replace existing profiles with imported ones

Example Uses¶

Import all profiles, renaming any conflicts:

prism profiles import my-profiles.zip

Import only specific profiles:

prism profiles import team-profiles.zip --profiles team-project,shared

Import and skip any profiles that already exist:

prism profiles import my-profiles.zip --mode skip

Import with credentials:

prism profiles import my-profiles.zip --import-credentials

Security Considerations¶

Credential Handling¶

By default, credentials are not included in exports for security reasons. This prevents accidental sharing of AWS access keys.

For personal backups only, you can include credentials with the --include-credentials flag. However, this should be used with caution:

• Always store export files with credentials securely
• Consider using password protection (--password)
• Never share exports containing credentials with others

Password Protection¶

For sensitive exports, particularly those including credentials, you can add password protection:

prism profiles export secure-backup.zip --include-credentials --password "my-secure-password"

When importing, provide the same password:

prism profiles import secure-backup.zip --password "my-secure-password"

Sharing with Teams¶

The export/import functionality is particularly useful for teams who need to share common Prism configurations.

Best practice for sharing with teams:

1. Create profiles without credentials
2. Export without credentials
3. Share the export file with team members
4. Team members import the profiles
5. Each team member configures their own credentials

# Team lead:
prism profiles export team-profiles.zip --profiles team-project,shared

# Team members:
prism profiles import team-profiles.zip

Working with Invitation Profiles¶

When exporting invitation profiles:

• The invitation token is exported
• The invitation's expiration status is preserved
• The recipient's ability to use the invitation depends on whether the invitation is still valid

To exclude invitation profiles from export:

prism profiles export personal-only.zip --include-invitations=false

File Formats¶

ZIP Format¶

The default export format is ZIP, which includes:

• profiles.json - Profile configurations
• credentials/ directory (if credentials included)
• Metadata files

JSON Format¶

For simpler integration with other tools, you can export in plain JSON format:

prism profiles export profiles.json --format json

Note that JSON exports cannot include credentials.

Troubleshooting¶

Common Issues¶

1. Import fails with "invalid profiles format": The import file may be corrupted or created with an incompatible version.

2. Credentials not imported: Credentials are only imported if:

3. They were included in the export (--include-credentials)

4. The import was run with --import-credentials

5. Profiles missing after import: Check if:

6. The profiles were filtered out during export/import
7. There were naming conflicts and the chosen mode (--mode) skipped the profiles

Getting Help¶

For additional assistance with profile export/import:

prism profiles export --help
prism profiles import --help

Version Compatibility¶

Profile export/import is available in Prism v0.4.2 and later. Exports created with newer versions may not be compatible with older versions of Prism.