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AWS CDK Infrastructure in code

Version 2.1146 · source

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Start here

cdk init app --language typescript
New project
cdk bootstrap
Prepare account/region
cdk ls
List stacks
cdk synth
Print template
cdk diff
Preview changes
cdk deploy
Create or update
cdk watch
Deploy on save
cdk destroy
Delete the stack

Concepts

  1. App code constructs
  2. cdk.out cloud assembly
  3. CloudFormation change set
  4. AWS resources per stack

Project

cdk init app --language <lang>
Create an empty app here
Run in an empty directory. Languages include typescript, python, java, go, csharp.
cdk init --list
List available templates
cdk init sample-app --language <lang>
App with an example queue and topic
cdk doctor
Check the local setup
cdk docs
Open the reference docs
cdk --version
Show the CLI version
npx aws-cdk <command>
Run the project-local CLI
Uses the version pinned in package.json instead of a global install.

Stacks

cdk ls
List stack IDs
Add -l for account and region, -d for dependencies.
cdk ls --long
Show stack names and environments
cdk ls --show-dependencies
Show stack dependencies
cdk deploy <stack>
Deploy a single stack
cdk deploy --all
Deploy every stack
cdk deploy "Prod/*"
Deploy stacks matching a pattern
? matches one character, * any number, ** a whole hierarchy.
cdk deploy -e <stack>
Skip the stack's dependencies

Synthesize & Diff

cdk synth
Print the CloudFormation template
Needs a stack name when the app has more than one.
cdk synth <stack> --json
Template as JSON
cdk synth -q
Synthesize without printing
cdk synth -o <dir>
Write output to another folder
cdk diff
Compare code with the deployed stack
cdk diff <stack> --template <file>
Compare with a saved template
cdk diff --security-only
Only show security-relevant changes
cdk diff --fail
Exit 1 if anything differs
Useful as a CI gate; --fail-on broadening narrows it to security changes.

Deploy

cdk deploy
Deploy the only stack
cdk deploy --require-approval never
Skip the security prompt
Other values: any-change, broadening (default), destructive.
cdk deploy --outputs-file <file>
Save stack outputs as JSON
cdk deploy --parameters <Name>=<value>
Set a CloudFormation parameter
Repeat the flag; prefix Stack: to target one stack.
cdk deploy -c <key>=<value>
Pass a context value
cdk deploy --no-rollback
Keep resources after a failed deploy
Handy in development; the next deploy resumes from the failure.
cdk deploy --hotswap
Update Lambda and ECS directly
Dev only. Without a fallback flag it fails on non-swappable changes; --hotswap-fallback falls back to CloudFormation.
cdk deploy --method prepare-change-set
Create the change set, do not run it
cdk deploy --concurrency <n>
Deploy independent stacks in parallel
cdk deploy -t <key>=<value>
Tag the stack
cdk deploy --profile <name>
Use a named AWS profile
cdk deploy -y
Answer prompts with yes

Watch & Destroy

cdk watch
Redeploy on file changes
Uses hotswap by default; add --no-hotswap for full deploys. Not for production.
cdk deploy --watch
Same as cdk watch
cdk watch --logs
Stream logs while watching
cdk destroy
Delete the only stack
cdk destroy --all
Delete every stack
cdk destroy <stack> -f
Delete without confirming
Resources with a retain policy survive the delete.

Bootstrap

cdk bootstrap
Bootstrap the app's environments
cdk bootstrap aws://<account>/<region>
Bootstrap a specific environment
cdk bootstrap --profile <name>
Bootstrap using a profile
cdk bootstrap --trust <account>
Allow another account to deploy
cdk bootstrap --cloudformation-execution-policies <arn>
Limit what deploys may create
Default grants broad rights; restrict it for shared accounts.
cdk bootstrap --qualifier <name>
Use a custom resource prefix
cdk bootstrap --show-template
Print the bootstrap template

Context & Config

cdk context
List cached context values
cdk context --reset <key>
Drop one cached value
Key may also be its index from the list.
cdk context --clear
Drop all cached values
cdk --context <key>=<value>
Set context for one run
cdk --app "<cmd>" ls
Run with an explicit app command
cdk --profile <name> --region <region>
Pick credentials and region
cdk.json keys
Key Purpose
app Command that runs your app
build Pre-synth build command
watch include / exclude globs for cdk watch
context Fixed context values and feature flags
requireApproval Default approval level
output Synth folder (default cdk.out)
profile Default AWS profile
outputsFile Default for --outputs-file

Adopt & Inspect

cdk import <stack>
Bring existing resources into a stack
Needs a clean cdk diff and constructs matching the live resource.
cdk drift <stack>
Detect out-of-band changes
cdk rollback <stack>
Return a failed stack to stable state
cdk migrate
Generate an app from existing resources
cdk metadata <stack>
Show a stack's metadata
cdk notices
List relevant CLI notices
cdk gc
Clean up unused bootstrap assets
cdk validate
Check templates against policy

Recipes

Safe deploy pipeline
cdk synth -qcdk diff --failcdk deploy --require-approval never --outputs-file out.json
First deploy in a new account
aws sso login --profile devcdk bootstrap aws://<account>/<region> --profile devcdk deploy --all --profile dev
Fast Lambda iteration
cdk deploy <stack>cdk watch <stack># edit code: changes hotswap on save
Per-environment context
# cdk.json{  "app": "npx ts-node bin/app.ts",  "context": { "stage": "dev" }}# override: cdk deploy -c stage=prod