I've been struggling for days trying to set up a React app on AWS using Cognito for authentication, and it feels like I'm going in circles. I managed to get close to what I want, but now I can't seem to make any progress. The Cognito quick start guide was hard to understand and, even though I've gotten authentication working, I'm stuck with the redirect URI issues and I keep finding typos in the documentation that just add to my frustration. On top of that, I can't figure out what the incoming JSON for API Gateway should look like—it's all very vague. I feel like the documentation is written for an entirely different audience than people trying to use it in 2025. And when I look at the Amplify guide, it feels like it's just another dead end. Am I really missing something here? How can I learn to navigate through this mess without tearing my hair out?
4 Answers
Honestly, I found ChatGPT super helpful when I was in a similar situation. It didn’t teach me step-by-step, but it provided the commands I needed to facilitate login and logout using Cognito instead of Amplify. I didn’t rely on documentation too much—if I had questions about an API, I’d just log the responses. It's not perfect, but it helped me move quickly.
I totally get where you're coming from! AWS documentation can feel like a maze, and I've faced similar struggles. It took me days of grinding through topics to really understand things. The structure of the documents often leads you back to where you started, making it feel really inefficient. But hang in there, others might have some better tips for you!
I’ve got to say, Amplify can be really problematic for production applications. If you’re dealing with authentication, cookie management and OIDC might be a better, more cloud-agnostic approach. Avoiding the convenience of tools like Amplify might feel daunting at first, but building things from scratch can give you more control and understanding.
AWS's higher-level tools like Amplify often just cloud the real issue. The closer you get to bare metal, usually the smoother everything runs. Once you do it a couple of times, it becomes less intimidating. Plus with the availability of LLMs, getting set up is even easier!
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