name

cloudformation

description

AWS CloudFormation infrastructure as code for stack management. Use when writing templates, deploying stacks, managing drift, troubleshooting deployments, or organizing infrastructure with nested stacks.

metadata

last_updated	doc_source
2026-01-07	https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/

AWS CloudFormation

Common Patterns

Basic Template Structure

AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Description: My infrastructure template

Parameters:
  Environment:
    Type: String
    AllowedValues: [dev, staging, prod]
    Default: dev

Mappings:
  EnvironmentConfig:
    dev:
      InstanceType: t3.micro
    prod:
      InstanceType: t3.large

Conditions:
  IsProd: !Equals [!Ref Environment, prod]

Resources:
  MyBucket:
    Type: AWS::S3::Bucket
    Properties:
      BucketName: !Sub 'my-app-${Environment}-${AWS::AccountId}'
      VersioningConfiguration:
        Status: !If [IsProd, Enabled, Suspended]

Outputs:
  BucketName:
    Description: S3 bucket name
    Value: !Ref MyBucket
    Export:
      Name: !Sub '${AWS::StackName}-BucketName'

Deploy a Stack

AWS CLI:

# Create stack
# Validate template first
aws cloudformation validate-template --template-body file://template.yaml

aws cloudformation create-stack \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --template-body file://template.yaml \
  --parameters ParameterKey=Environment,ParameterValue=prod \
  --capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM

# Wait and verify
aws cloudformation wait stack-create-complete --stack-name my-stack
aws cloudformation describe-stacks --stack-name my-stack --query "Stacks[0].StackStatus"

# Wait for completion
aws cloudformation wait stack-create-complete --stack-name my-stack

# Update stack
aws cloudformation update-stack \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --template-body file://template.yaml \
  --parameters ParameterKey=Environment,ParameterValue=prod

# Delete stack
aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name my-stack

Use Change Sets

# Create change set
aws cloudformation create-change-set \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --change-set-name my-changes \
  --template-body file://template.yaml \
  --parameters ParameterKey=Environment,ParameterValue=prod

# Describe changes
aws cloudformation describe-change-set \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --change-set-name my-changes

# Execute change set
aws cloudformation execute-change-set \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --change-set-name my-changes

Lambda Function

Resources:
  LambdaFunction:
    Type: AWS::Lambda::Function
    Properties:
      FunctionName: !Sub '${AWS::StackName}-function'
      Runtime: python3.12
      Handler: index.handler
      Role: !GetAtt LambdaRole.Arn
      Code:
        ZipFile: |
          def handler(event, context):
              return {'statusCode': 200, 'body': 'Hello'}
      Environment:
        Variables:
          ENVIRONMENT: !Ref Environment

  LambdaRole:
    Type: AWS::IAM::Role
    Properties:
      AssumeRolePolicyDocument:
        Version: '2012-10-17'
        Statement:
          - Effect: Allow
            Principal:
              Service: lambda.amazonaws.com
            Action: sts:AssumeRole
      ManagedPolicyArns:
        - arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/service-role/AWSLambdaBasicExecutionRole

VPC with Subnets

Resources:
  VPC:
    Type: AWS::EC2::VPC
    Properties:
      CidrBlock: 10.0.0.0/16
      EnableDnsHostnames: true
      Tags:
        - Key: Name
          Value: !Sub '${AWS::StackName}-vpc'

  PublicSubnet1:
    Type: AWS::EC2::Subnet
    Properties:
      VpcId: !Ref VPC
      AvailabilityZone: !Select [0, !GetAZs '']
      CidrBlock: 10.0.1.0/24
      MapPublicIpOnLaunch: true

  PrivateSubnet1:
    Type: AWS::EC2::Subnet
    Properties:
      VpcId: !Ref VPC
      AvailabilityZone: !Select [0, !GetAZs '']
      CidrBlock: 10.0.10.0/24

  InternetGateway:
    Type: AWS::EC2::InternetGateway

  AttachGateway:
    Type: AWS::EC2::VPCGatewayAttachment
    Properties:
      VpcId: !Ref VPC
      InternetGatewayId: !Ref InternetGateway

  PublicRouteTable:
    Type: AWS::EC2::RouteTable
    Properties:
      VpcId: !Ref VPC

  PublicRoute:
    Type: AWS::EC2::Route
    DependsOn: AttachGateway
    Properties:
      RouteTableId: !Ref PublicRouteTable
      DestinationCidrBlock: 0.0.0.0/0
      GatewayId: !Ref InternetGateway

  PublicSubnet1RouteTableAssociation:
    Type: AWS::EC2::SubnetRouteTableAssociation
    Properties:
      SubnetId: !Ref PublicSubnet1
      RouteTableId: !Ref PublicRouteTable

DynamoDB Table

Resources:
  OrdersTable:
    Type: AWS::DynamoDB::Table
    Properties:
      TableName: !Sub '${AWS::StackName}-orders'
      AttributeDefinitions:
        - AttributeName: PK
          AttributeType: S
        - AttributeName: SK
          AttributeType: S
        - AttributeName: GSI1PK
          AttributeType: S
        - AttributeName: GSI1SK
          AttributeType: S
      KeySchema:
        - AttributeName: PK
          KeyType: HASH
        - AttributeName: SK
          KeyType: RANGE
      GlobalSecondaryIndexes:
        - IndexName: GSI1
          KeySchema:
            - AttributeName: GSI1PK
              KeyType: HASH
            - AttributeName: GSI1SK
              KeyType: RANGE
          Projection:
            ProjectionType: ALL
      BillingMode: PAY_PER_REQUEST
      PointInTimeRecoverySpecification:
        PointInTimeRecoveryEnabled: true

CLI Reference

Stack Operations

Command	Description
`aws cloudformation create-stack`	Create stack
`aws cloudformation update-stack`	Update stack
`aws cloudformation delete-stack`	Delete stack
`aws cloudformation describe-stacks`	Get stack info
`aws cloudformation list-stacks`	List stacks
`aws cloudformation describe-stack-events`	Get events
`aws cloudformation describe-stack-resources`	Get resources

Change Sets

Command	Description
`aws cloudformation create-change-set`	Create change set
`aws cloudformation describe-change-set`	View changes
`aws cloudformation execute-change-set`	Apply changes
`aws cloudformation delete-change-set`	Delete change set

Template

Command	Description
`aws cloudformation validate-template`	Validate template
`aws cloudformation get-template`	Get stack template
`aws cloudformation get-template-summary`	Get template info

Best Practices

Template Design

Use parameters for environment-specific values
Use mappings for static lookup tables
Use conditions for optional resources
Export outputs for cross-stack references
Add descriptions to parameters and outputs

Security

Use IAM roles instead of access keys
Enable termination protection for production
Use stack policies to protect resources
Never hardcode secrets — use Secrets Manager

# Enable termination protection
aws cloudformation update-termination-protection \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --enable-termination-protection

Organization

Use nested stacks for complex infrastructure
Create reusable modules
Version control templates
Use consistent naming conventions

Reliability

Use DependsOn for explicit dependencies
Configure creation policies for instances
Use update policies for Auto Scaling groups
Implement rollback triggers

Troubleshooting

Stack Creation Failed

# Get failure reason
aws cloudformation describe-stack-events \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --query 'StackEvents[?ResourceStatus==`CREATE_FAILED`]'

# Common causes:
# - IAM permissions
# - Resource limits
# - Invalid property values
# - Dependency failures

Stack Stuck in DELETE_FAILED

# Identify resources that couldn't be deleted
aws cloudformation describe-stack-resources \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --query 'StackResources[?ResourceStatus==`DELETE_FAILED`]'

# Retry with resources to skip
aws cloudformation delete-stack \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --retain-resources ResourceLogicalId1 ResourceLogicalId2

Drift Detection

# Detect drift
aws cloudformation detect-stack-drift --stack-name my-stack

# Check drift status
aws cloudformation describe-stack-drift-detection-status \
  --stack-drift-detection-id abc123

# View drifted resources
aws cloudformation describe-stack-resource-drifts \
  --stack-name my-stack

Rollback Failed

# Continue update rollback
aws cloudformation continue-update-rollback \
  --stack-name my-stack \
  --resources-to-skip ResourceLogicalId1

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AWS CloudFormation

Common Patterns

Basic Template Structure

Deploy a Stack

Use Change Sets

Lambda Function

VPC with Subnets

DynamoDB Table

CLI Reference

Stack Operations

Change Sets

Template

Best Practices

Template Design

Security

Organization

Reliability

Troubleshooting

Stack Creation Failed

Stack Stuck in DELETE_FAILED

Drift Detection

Rollback Failed

References

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SKILL.md

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SKILL.md

File metadata and controls

AWS CloudFormation

Common Patterns

Basic Template Structure

Deploy a Stack

Use Change Sets

Lambda Function

VPC with Subnets

DynamoDB Table

CLI Reference

Stack Operations

Change Sets

Template

Best Practices

Template Design

Security

Organization

Reliability

Troubleshooting

Stack Creation Failed

Stack Stuck in DELETE_FAILED

Drift Detection

Rollback Failed

References