aws-cdk

name	aws-cdk
description	Authors, deploys, and troubleshoots AWS infrastructure using CDK with TypeScript or Python. Covers best practices, stack architecture, and construct patterns. Always use 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.
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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>. See troubleshooting-deployment.

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 prod
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

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

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-boundary on bootstrap
• grant*() for inter-resource IAM
• cdk-nag + --strict in CI
• Stateful resources in own stack with terminationProtection: true
• Commit cdk.context.json