Session Manager is a fully managed AWS Systems Manager capability that lets you manage your Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, on-premises instances and virtual machines. Session Manager provides secure and auditable instance management without the need to open inbound ports. When you use the Session Manager plugin with the AWS CLI to start a session, the plugin builds the WebSocket connection to your managed instances.
Publisher’s description
What is Session Manager Plugin?
Session Manager Plugin by Amazon Web Services is open-source Windows software in the containers & devops category. It is written in Go.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (WiX Burn) installers for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows. The main installer is 8.9 MB. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 1.2.896.0, released on October 10, 2026. The version history goes back to December 28, 2021: 20 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 4.2 releases a year. The last update is less than a month old.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (aws/session-manager-plugin) has 326 stars. Similar programs include Helm, Pulumi and Serverless Framework.
Project description on GitHub: “This plugin helps you to use the AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) to start and end sessions to your managed instances”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Updated in the last two months
- Small download (8.9 MB)
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Session Manager Plugin is an open-source containers & devop tool for 64-bit and 32-bit PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Session Manager Plugin safe to download?
- The file is served by s3.amazonaws.com; check that it is the publisher’s official mirror
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
116A121CA6A781B7985D0C9FA3C5C9143440ACDE7822DE2E32733665EED30347· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link answered when we last checked it (October 22, 2026)
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the aws/session-manager-plugin repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- Licence declared10
- Security policy10
- Fuzzing10
- No binaries in the repository8
- Actively maintained5
- Code review0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Static code analysis0
- Branch protection0
- Pinned dependencies0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 20 versions ›20 versions over 5 years · about 4.2 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2.896.0Latest | October 10, 2026 | 8.9 MB | 32-bit EXE (WiX Burn)64-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
| 1.2.889.0 | October 9, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (WiX Burn)32-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
| 1.2.835.0 | June 17, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (WiX Burn)32-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
| 1.2.814.0 | April 23, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (WiX Burn)32-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
| 1.2.804.0 | April 2, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (WiX Burn)32-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
| 1.2.792.0 | March 17, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (WiX Burn)32-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
| 1.2.779.0 | February 12, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (WiX Burn)32-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
| 1.2.764.0 | November 20, 2025 | — | 32-bit EXE (WiX Burn)64-bit EXE (WiX Burn) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Amazon.SessionManagerPlugin -escoop install extras/aws-session-manager-pluginSessionManagerPluginSetup.exe /quiet /norestartmsiexec /x {CEF0D74C-33BC-432B-941F-6E17BEA1F9D3} /qn /norestartProgram files (.exe): session-manager-plugin.exe
Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install --cask session-manager-pluginInformation
- Publisher
- Amazon Web Services
- Category
- Containers & DevOps
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/aws/session-manager-plugin
- Written in
- Go
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE (WiX Burn)
- Version
- 1.2.896.0
- Released
- October 10, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- December 28, 2021
- Versions listed
- 20
- Updates / year
- 4.2
- GitHub stars
- 326
- GitHub forks
- 98
- Website
- docs.aws.amazon.com
- winget ID
- Amazon.SessionManagerPlugin
- Scoop package
- extras/aws-session-manager-plugin
- MSI product code
- {cef0d74c-33bc-432b-941f-6e17bea1f9d3}
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Session Manager Plugin free?
Yes. Session Manager Plugin is open-source software under the Apache-2.0 licence.
Is Session Manager Plugin safe to download?
The download comes from s3.amazonaws.com; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Session Manager Plugin with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Session Manager Plugin be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Session Manager Plugin run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit and 32-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Session Manager Plugin?
The versions page lists all 20 versions with links to their official installer files, back to December 28, 2021.
What are alternatives to Session Manager Plugin?
Helm, Pulumi, Serverless Framework, Docker Desktop and Kubernetes - Minikube - A Local Kubernetes Development Environment. The alternatives page compares them.
