# Connecting to Amazon
The following sections describe how to get started with the Amazon Toolkit for Visual Studio with Amazon Q. The first time you launch Visual Studio after installing the extension, a **Getting Started** displays in the editor window. From the **Getting Started** tab you can complete the following actions.
+ Enable or disable Amazon Q and the Amazon Toolkit.
+ Add and authenticate with new credentials.
+ Authenticate with existing credentials.
+ Access documentation and tutorials to help you get started working with Amazon Q and the Amazon Toolkit.
## Prerequisites
To get started working with Amazon Q and the Amazon Toolkit, you need to authenticate with Amazon credentials. If you've previously set up an Amazon account and authentication through another Amazon tool or service (such as the Amazon Command Line Interface), then the Amazon Toolkit automatically detects your credentials. If you're new to Amazon or haven't created an account, then you can sign up for an Amazon account from the [Amazon sign up portal]( https://portal.aws.amazon.com/billing/signup). For detailed information on setting up a new Amazon account, see the [Overview](https://docs.amazonaws.cn//SetUp/latest/UserGuide/setup-overview.html) topic in the *Amazon Setup User Guide*.
## Connecting to Amazon from the Toolkit
To connect to your Amazon accounts from the Amazon Toolkit, open the **Getting Started** tab at any time by completing the following.
**Opening the **Getting Started** tab in Visual Studio**
1. From Visual Studio, expand **Extensions** from the main menu and then expand the **Amazon Toolkit** sub-menu.
1. Choose **Getting started**.
1. The **Getting Started** tab opens in the Visual Studio editor window.
From the **Getting Started** tab, there are 2 main sections:
+ **Features:** In this section you can enable or disable features like Amazon Q and the Amazon Toolkit.
+ **Documentation and Tutorials:** A collection of references to your enabled features.
**Note**
The Documentation and Tutorials section is only visible when one or more features is enabled.
## Amazon Q Developer
From the Amazon Q section in the **Getting Started** tab, you can enable or disable Amazon Q, add a new connection, or switch to a different Amazon connection. Before you can view or access any of these actions, Amazon Q must be enabled. To enable Amazon Q click the **Enable** button.
When Amazon Q is disabled, all Amazon Q features and functions are completely removed from Visual Studio. Enabling Amazon Q automatically opens the **Setup authentication for Amazon Q** in the **Getting Started** tab. To proceed, you must authenticate with your Amazon IAM Identity Center credentials to access the **Professional Tier** or your Amazon Builder ID to access the **Free Tier**. For detailed information about each of the tier options, see the [Understanding tiers of service for Amazon Q Developer](https://docs.amazonaws.cn//amazonq/latest/qdeveloper-ug/q-tiers.html) topic in the *Amazon Q Developer* User Guide.
To proceed complete one of the following procedures.
**Professional tier authentication with IAM Identity Center**
**Note**
The **Profile Name**, **Start URL**, **Profile Region**, or **SSO Region** fields that are required to authenticate with the Professional tier are typically provided by an administrator at your company or organization. For detailed information about IAM Identity Center credentials, see the [What is IAM Identity Center](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/singlesignon/latest/userguide/what-is.html) topic in the *Amazon IAM Identity Center* User Guide.
1. From the **Getting Started: Amazon Toolkit with Amazon Q** screen, choose the **Sign in** button in the Amazon Q tile to navigate to the **Setup authentication for Amazon Q** screen.
1. From the **Setup authentication for Amazon Q** screen, navigate to the **Professional tier** section, fill in the required fields and choose the **Connect** button.
1. Confirm that you want to open the Amazon Authorize request portal in your default web browser.
1. Complete the steps required by the Amazon Authorize request portal, you're notified when it's safe to close your browser and return to Visual Studio
1. In the **Getting Started** tab, Amazon Q updates to show you're connected with IAM Identity Center when the process is complete.
**Free tier authentication with Amazon Builder ID**
**Note**
For additional details about Amazon Builder ID, see the [Sign in with Amazon Builder ID](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/signin/latest/userguide/sign-in-aws_builder_id.html) topic in the *Amazon Sign-in* User Guide.
1. From the **Getting Started: Amazon Toolkit with Amazon Q** screen, choose the **Sign in** button in the Amazon Q tile to navigate to the **Setup authentication for Amazon Q** screen.
1. From the **Setup authentication for Amazon Q** screen, navigate to the **Free Tier** section and choose the **Sign up or Sign in** button.
1. Confirm that you want to open the Amazon Authorize request portal in your default web browser.
1. Complete the steps required by the Amazon Authorize request portal, you're notified when it's safe to close your browser and return to Visual Studio.
1. In the **Getting Started** tab, Amazon Q updates to show you're connected with your Amazon Builder ID when the process is complete.
After you've authenticated with either your IAM Identity Center or Amazon Builder ID credentials, you can access Amazon Q in Visual Studio. Additionally, you're able to perform the following actions in the **Getting Started** tab:
+ **Sign out**: disconnects your current credential connection from all Amazon Q functions. Amazon Q remains enabled, but most features don't work.
+ **Disable Amazon Q**: Completely disables all Amazon Q features in Visual Studio.
## Amazon Toolkit
From the Amazon Toolkit section in the **Getting Started with the Amazon Toolkit** tab, you can enable or disable the Amazon Toolkit, add a new connection, or switch to a different Amazon connection. Before you can view or access any of these actions, the Amazon Toolkit must be enabled. To enable the Amazon Toolkit, click the **Enable** button.
When the Amazon Toolkit is enabled, **Setup authentication for Amazon Toolkit** automatically loads in the **Getting Started with the Amazon Toolkit** tab. To proceed, you must authenticate with either your **Amazon IAM Identity Center** credentials or your **IAM User Role** credentials.
**Note**
For detailed information about IAM Identity Center credentials, see the [What is IAM Identity Center](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/singlesignon/latest/userguide/what-is.html) topic in the *Amazon IAM Identity Center* User Guide. For detailed information about IAM User Role credentials, see the [Amazon Access keys: Long-term credentials](https://docs.amazonaws.cn//sdkref/latest/guide/access-iam-users.html) topic in the *Amazon SDKs and Tools* reference guide.
**Authenticate and connect with IAM Identity Center**
1. From the **Getting Started: Amazon Toolkit with Amazon Q** screen, choose the **Sign in** button in the Amazon Toolkit tile to navigate to the **Setup authentication for Amazon Toolkit** screen.
1. From the **Setup Authentication for Amazon Toolkit** screen, choose **IAM Identity Center (Successor to Single Sign-on)** from the **Profile Type** drop-down menu.
1. From the **Choose from an existing Profile or add new** drop-down menu, choose an existing profile or select **Add new profile** to add new profile information.
**Note**
If you choose an existing profile, go to step 7.
1. In the **Profile Name** field, enter the **profile name** associated with the IAM Identity Center account that you want to authenticate with.
1. In the **Start URL** text field, enter the **Start URL** that's attached to your IAM Identity Center credentials.
1. From the **Profile Region (defaults to us-east-1)** drop-down menu, choose the **Profile Region** that's defined by the IAM Identity Center user profile you're authenticating with.
1. From the **SSO Region (defaults to us-east-1)** drop-down menu, choose the **SSO Region** that's defined by your IAM Identity Center credentials.
1. Choose the **Connect** button to open the **Amazon Authorize request** site in your default web browser.
1. Follow the prompts in your default web browser, you're notified when the authorization process is complete, it's safe to close your browser, and return to Visual Studio.
1. In the **Getting Started** tab, the Amazon Toolkit section updates to show you're connected with IAM Identity Center when the process is complete.
**Authenticate and connect with IAM User Role credentials**
1. From the **Getting Started: Amazon Toolkit with Amazon Q** screen, choose the **Sign in** button in the Amazon Toolkit tile to navigate to the **Setup authentication for Amazon Toolkit** screen.
1. From the **Setup authentication for Amazon Toolkit** screen, choose **IAM User Role** from the **Profile Type** drop-down menu.
1. In the **Choose from an existing Profile or add new** drop-down menu, choose **Add new profile**.
**Note**
If you're choosing an existing profile name from the list, skip to **Step 8**.
1. In the **Profile Name** text field, enter a name for your new profile.
1. In the **Access Key ID** text field, enter the **Access Key ID** for the profile you want to authenticate with.
1. In the **Secret Key** text field, enter the **Secret Key** for the profile you want to authenticate with.
1. From the **Storage Location (defaults to Shared Credentials File)** drop-down menu, specify whether you want to store your credentials with a **Shared Credentials** file or with **.NET Encrypted Store**.
1. From the **Profile Region (defaults to us-east-1)** drop-down menus, choose the **Partition** and **Profile Region** that are attached to the profile you want to authenticate with.
1. Choose the **Connect** button to add this profile to your Amazon storage location and/or authenticate with Amazon.
1. In the **Getting Started** tab, the Amazon Toolkit section updates to show you're connected with your IAM User role credentials when the process is complete.
After you've authenticated with either your IAM Identity Center or IAM User Role credentials, you can access the Amazon Explorer in the Toolkit for Visual Studio. Additionally, you're able to **Sign out** and **Disable the Amazon Toolkit for Visual Studio with Amazon Q** from the **Getting Started** tab.
## Documentation and Tutorials
The documentation and Tutorials section automatically updates with documentation and tutorial suggestions based on your Amazon service and feature preferences. These references are only visible when at least one feature has been enabled.