# cloudformation

A skill for deploying AWS resources with CloudFormation: stacks, change sets, nested stacks and drift detection.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 310 installs · ★ 1177
- Author: devops-skills
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills/tree/HEAD/infrastructure/cloud-aws/cloudformation/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-05-22
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/cloudformation

## What it does

The skill gives your agent a working grip on AWS-native IaC. It creates stacks from templates, previews updates through change sets, splits large infrastructure into nested stacks, and tracks configuration drift. Inside is a YAML template with parameters, conditions, a region-to-AMI mapping and an autoscaling group, plus the `aws cloudformation` commands for validating, creating, waiting on and deleting stacks.

You need AWS CLI v2 configured with `cloudformation:*` permissions and rights for every resource in the template. Templates over 51,200 bytes must live in an S3 bucket. Run `cfn-lint` for validation — it catches more than the built-in check. Editing a template and applying it straight away skips the change set preview; rollback then depends on `--on-failure ROLLBACK`.

One template covers several environments. The `Environment` parameter switches between dev, staging and prod, and conditions like `IsProd` change instance size and capacity. Values move between stacks through `Outputs` with `Export`.

## Requirements
- Works with: AWS

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill cloudformation -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/cloudformation/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/cloudformation/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill cloudformation -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/cloudformation/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill cloudformation -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/cloudformation/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills cloudformation
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/cloudformation/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill cloudformation -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --path infrastructure/cloud-aws/cloudformation
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/cloudformation/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills --skill cloudformation -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/BagelHole/DevOps-Security-Agent-Skills/tree/HEAD/infrastructure/cloud-aws/cloudformation/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- create a stack from a parameterized template
- preview changes with a change set before applying
- split large infrastructure into nested stacks
- detect configuration drift from the template
- pass values between stacks with Export

## Example prompts
- validate `template.yaml` with `cfn-lint` and list the errors
- create a change set `update-instance-type` for the `production-web` stack and show the change table
- break this template into nested stacks for network and app

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: da32e7a6e4eb733b.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE da32e7a6e4eb733b
````text
---
name: cloudformation
description: Deploy AWS resources with CloudFormation templates. Create stacks, use nested stacks, and implement drift detection. Use when deploying AWS-native IaC.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: devops-skills
  version: "1.0"
---

# CloudFormation

Deploy AWS infrastructure with native CloudFormation templates, change sets, nested stacks, and drift detection.

## When to Use This Skill

- Deploying AWS resources using AWS-native Infrastructure as Code
- Creating repeatable, parameterized infrastructure templates
- Managing multi-environment deployments (dev, staging, prod) with the same template
- Implementing safe deployments with change sets and rollback protection
- Detecting and remediating configuration drift
- Organizing large infrastructure into nested stacks
- Exporting/importing values between stacks

## Prerequisites

- AWS CLI v2 installed and configured
- IAM permissions: `cloudformation:*`, plus permissions for all resources in the template
- (Optional) `cfn-lint` installed for template validation (`pip install cfn-lint`)
- S3 bucket for storing templates larger than 51,200 bytes

## Template Structure

```yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Description: Production web application infrastructure

Metadata:
  AWS::CloudFormation::Interface:
    ParameterGroups:
      - Label: { default: "Environment" }
        Parameters: [Environment, InstanceType]
      - Label: { default: "Network" }
        Parameters: [VpcId, SubnetIds]

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

  InstanceType:
    Type: String
    Default: t3.micro
    AllowedValues: [t3.micro, t3.small, t3.medium, t3.large]

  VpcId:
    Type: AWS::EC2::VPC::Id
    Description: VPC to deploy into

  SubnetIds:
    Type: List<AWS::EC2::Subnet::Id>
    Description: Subnets for the application

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

Mappings:
  RegionAMI:
    us-east-1:
      AL2023: ami-0abcdef1234567890
    us-west-2:
      AL2023: ami-0fedcba9876543210

Resources:
  SecurityGroup:
    Type: AWS::EC2::SecurityGroup
    Properties:
      GroupDescription: !Sub '${Environment}-web-sg'
      VpcId: !Ref VpcId
      SecurityGroupIngress:
        - IpProtocol: tcp
          FromPort: 443
          ToPort: 443
          CidrIp: 0.0.0.0/0
      Tags:
        - Key: Name
          Value: !Sub '${Environment}-web-sg'

  LaunchTemplate:
````
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