aws-cdk
Authors, deploys, and troubleshoots AWS infrastructure using CDK with TypeScript or Python. Covers best practices, stack architecture, and construct patterns. Applies when writing CDK constructs, bootstrapping environments, running cdk deploy/synth/diff, fixing CDK or CloudFormation errors, planning stack structure, importing existing resources, resolving drift, or refactoring stacks without resource replacement.
AWS CDK
Overview
Domain expertise for CDK construct authoring, deployment workflows, compliance, drift, importing resources, safe refactoring, and troubleshooting CDK CLI / CloudFormation errors.
When NOT to use: Raw CloudFormation YAML/JSON. SAM. Terraform/Pulumi. CI/CD beyond CDK Pipelines. Use builtin knowledge or specialized skills for these.
Critical Warnings
Deadly embrace: Removing a cross-stack reference deadlocks deployment (Export ... cannot be deleted as it is in use by ...). Preferred fix: weaken the reference first — CrossStackReferences.of($RESOURCE).produce(ReferenceStrength.BOTH) then WEAK, then remove (three deploys). Legacy fallback: two-deploy this.exportValue() recipe. See troubleshooting-deployment.
Construct ID changes cause replacement: Renaming/moving a construct changes its logical ID → CloudFormation replaces the resource (data loss for stateful resources). Always cdk diff before deploy. See refactor-and-prevent-replacement.
UPDATE_ROLLBACK_FAILED: Stack is stuck. Fix with cdk rollback $STACK or cdk rollback $STACK --orphan <LogicalId>. Express mode stacks are the exception — they cannot be rolled back at all. See troubleshooting-deployment.
Hotswap and express mode are development-only: --hotswap / --hotswap-fallback bypass CloudFormation and create drift on purpose; --express reports success before resources stabilize and disables automatic rollback. You MUST NOT use either in production. A failed --express deployment cannot be rolled back — recover by rolling forward with another --express deploy. See fast-deployments.
Non-empty S3 buckets persist after destroy: You MUST set both removalPolicy: DESTROY and autoDeleteObjects: true. Versioned buckets are worse — delete markers persist even after apparent deletion.
Common Workflows
| Task | Quick Command | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Bootstrap | cdk bootstrap aws://$ACCOUNT/$REGION | bootstrap-and-project-setup |
| New TS project | cdk init app --language typescript — use tsx, eslint-plugin-awscdk | bootstrap-and-project-setup |
| New Python project | cdk init app --language python — pin deps, use virtualenv | bootstrap-and-project-setup |
| Deploy | cdk synth --strict → cdk diff → cdk deploy | Always diff before deploy to production |
| Fast dev iteration | cdk deploy --hotswap-fallback, cdk watch, or cdk deploy --express — dev only, never production | fast-deployments |
| cdk-nag | Aspects.of(app).add(new AwsSolutionsChecks()) | compliance-and-drift |
| Drift | cdk drift $STACK (use --fail in CI) | compliance-and-drift |
| Import resource | cdk import (interactive or --resource-mapping for CI), cdk deploy --import-existing-resources | import-and-migrate |
| Refactor safely | cdk refactor --unstable=refactor — no property changes in same deploy | refactor-and-prevent-replacement |
Fast Deployments — Hotswap vs Express (dev only)
Both trade safety for speed and you MUST NOT use either in production.
Choosing between them: Use --hotswap / --hotswap-fallback for the fastest loop when you work mostly with hotswappable resources and drift does not matter. Use --express when drift is unacceptable, or your resources are not hotswappable.
Recovery workflows (hotswap drift via --revert-drift, rolling a failed --express deploy forward), the hotswappable-resource rules, and IAM/monitoring enforcement of the prod prohibition are all in the full guide: fast-deployments.
Troubleshooting
| Error | Cause → Fix |
|---|---|
| DeployFailed / DeploymentError | CDK error isn't the root cause. cdk deploy $STACK --verbose, then cdk --unstable=diagnose diagnose $STACK (CLI ≥ 2.1120.0); else aws cloudformation describe-events --stack-name $STACK --filters FailedEvents=true — the first _FAILED event is the cause. Details |
| NoCredentials / ExpiredToken / AssumeRoleFailed | aws sts get-caller-identity + cdk doctor. Expired SSO, missing env, missing sts:AssumeRole. Details |
| Asset errors (CannotFindAsset, FailedToBundleAsset, AssetBuildFailed, AssetPublishFailed) | Path wrong, Docker not running, or bootstrap bucket perms. Use path.join(__dirname, ...). Details |
| AppRequired | Add "app": "npx tsx bin/my-app.ts" to cdk.json. Details |
| AnnotationErrors | Fix the underlying issue; suppress with NagSuppressions only as last resort. Details |
| ConcurrentReadLock / ConcurrentWriteLock | rm -rf cdk.out then re-run. Parallel CI: --output ./cdk.out.$BUILD_ID. Details |
| BootstrapVersionValidation | Re-bootstrap. Match --qualifier everywhere. Details |
| DependencyCycle | Extract shared resource into third stack or use SSM for late-binding. Details |
| UnresolvedAccount | Set explicit env: { account, region } on stack. Commit cdk.context.json. Details |
| NoStacksMatched | CDK uses logical ID (2nd constructor arg), not CFN name. cdk list to find IDs. Details |
| Cannot find module (synth time) | Run npx tsc --noEmit, check cdk.json app path matches tsconfig.json outDir, delete stale .js files. Python: activate venv. Details |
| V1 import paths / duplicate aws-cdk-lib | V1 @aws-cdk/* imports, wrong Construct import, duplicate lib copies in monorepos. Details |
| Lambda Cannot find module (runtime) | Wrong handler value, missing AWS SDK v3 migration, Python deps not bundled. Details |
| API Gateway multi-stage conflicts | Set deploy: false on RestApi, create Deployment and Stage explicitly. Details |
Change didn't deploy under --hotswap | Changes to non-hotswappable resources are silently ignored and only logged — the command still reports success. Read the output; use --hotswap-fallback to force a CloudFormation deployment instead. Details |
Failed --express deploy / can't roll back | Express mode cannot use the Rollback Stack API, and a standard deploy MUST NOT be used to recover it. Roll forward: fix the cause, then cdk deploy $STACK --express. Details |
| Unexpected drift on a dev stack | Hotswap and cdk watch create drift by design. Until reverted, the live resources — not CloudFormation's records — are authoritative. Reconcile with cdk deploy $STACK --revert-drift, which uses Drift Aware Changesets to bring live resources in line with the template (updates reality to match desired state; does NOT rewrite CF records to match drifted resources). Details |
Construct Patterns
Prefer L2. Use L1 with Mixins/Facades when L2 lacks a property. Escape hatches: node.defaultChild → addPropertyOverride. See construct-patterns.
Additional Resources
- Search AWS documentation for "CDK Developer Guide", "CDK API Reference" and "CDK Pipelines" respectively
Security Considerations
- OIDC for CI/CD credentials (no static keys)
--custom-permissions-boundaryon bootstrapgrant*()for inter-resource IAMcdk-nag+--strictin CI- Stateful resources in own stack with
terminationProtection: true - Commit
cdk.context.json
- Repository
- aws/agent-toolkit-for-aws
- Commit
57ce9ed
- Last updated
- First committed
Also appears in
since Aug 16, 2026
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