cdkd

Use cdkd Safely

Use cdkd for rapid iteration in development and test environments. It complements the AWS CDK CLI; it is not the default production deployment engine.

Install cdkd

Before installing or upgrading, verify the current release and runtime requirement from the npm registry:

npm view @go-to-k/cdkd version engines --json

cdkd requires Node.js 20 or later. If the user asks to install it, prefer an explicit version so the action is reproducible:

npm install --global @go-to-k/cdkd@<version>
cdkd --version

Do not silently upgrade an existing installation during an unrelated deployment.

Establish the deployment boundary

Before any AWS-changing command:

1. Read the CDK project's cdk.json, package scripts, stack definitions, and local instructions.

2. Identify the AWS profile, account ID, region, CDK app, named stack, and environment classification.

3. Verify the active identity explicitly:

   AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> aws sts get-caller-identity
   

4. State the resolved account, region, stack, and intended operation before proceeding.

5. Confirm that the credentials have direct permissions for every deployed resource. cdkd calls AWS service APIs directly; the CDK bootstrap deploy role alone is not sufficient.

Keep these ownership rules:

• Use cdkd by default only for development and test workloads. Upstream explicitly describes it as not yet production-ready. For production, keep the existing AWS CDK CLI or another established production workflow unless the user explicitly approves cdkd after that limitation and the workload-specific risks are explained.
• Do not run cdkd deploy against an existing CloudFormation-managed stack as an implicit migration. Continue using cdk deploy, or plan an explicit cdkd import --migrate-from-cloudformation operation.
• Treat cdkd import, cdkd export, cdkd orphan, and cdkd state orphan as changes to the system of record. Explain the ownership change and obtain explicit confirmation before running them.
• Never edit the S3 state object by hand. Use cdkd state and recovery commands.

To stop managing something WITHOUT deleting it from AWS, orphan it: cdkd orphan <stack/ConstructPath> drops one resource from cdkd state (the AWS resource stays), and cdkd state orphan <stack> removes the whole stack's state record (all AWS resources stay). Remove the corresponding construct from the CDK app in the same change — otherwise the next cdkd deploy re-creates what the template still declares.

For a proposed CloudFormation migration, read the deployed CloudFormation template and compare its logical IDs with the current synthesized template so local changes do not accidentally leave retained resources unmanaged. Preview resource matching with the non-migrating form:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd import <stack> --dry-run

--migrate-from-cloudformation itself is intentionally incompatible with --dry-run: it writes cdkd state, adds retain policies, and retires the CloudFormation stack record. Do not bootstrap, import, or migrate until the user approves that ownership-change plan.

Reference CloudFormation-managed stacks (mixed estates)

A cdkd-deployed stack can consume values from a producer stack that stays managed by CloudFormation (cdk deploy): when an Fn::ImportValue or Fn::GetStackOutput reference is not found in cdkd state, cdkd falls back to CloudFormation (ListExports / stack outputs). Use this for the common split — shared infrastructure stays on the CDK CLI while dev/test app stacks deploy via cdkd — WITHOUT migrating or re-deploying the producer. Keep these boundaries:

• The active credentials need cloudformation:ListExports and cloudformation:DescribeStacks for the fallback. Without them cdkd logs a warning and fails with the ordinary not-found error.
• Such references are weak: neither engine blocks deleting the CloudFormation producer while cdkd consumers reference it (CloudFormation's export-in-use protection cannot see cdkd consumers). Check downstream cdkd consumers explicitly before deleting or exporting a producer stack.
• Pass --no-cfn-fallback on cdkd deploy / cdkd diff when the user wants cdkd-state-only resolution (minimal IAM, or fail-fast on export-name typos).

Check compatibility and bootstrap

Have cdkd synthesize the app:

cdkd synth

cdkd synth validates the synthesized app and does not accept a stack selector.

If it fails, isolate the cause by running the project's normal synthesis (cdk synth or the project's own build/test scripts): if that also fails, fix the CDK app first; if it succeeds, the difference is a cdkd issue worth reporting upstream.

Check supported resources and any property-level preflight errors before deployment. Do not add --allow-unsupported-properties merely to bypass a security-relevant encryption, IAM, networking, or TLS warning.

For a new cdkd-managed stack, bootstrap cdkd once per target AWS account after the preflight checks:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd bootstrap

This creates cdkd's S3 state storage and cdkd-owned asset storage. It does not replace or remove the normal CDK bootstrap resources. The current default state bucket is account-scoped; older region-suffixed buckets are handled as a legacy layout. Use a custom --state-bucket or CDKD_STATE_BUCKET only when the project has an intentional isolation or naming requirement.

Preview before deployment

Use an explicit stack name when more than one stack exists or whenever ambiguity would be risky:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd diff <stack>
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd deploy <stack> --dry-run

Review the complete plan for replacements, deletions, IAM changes, unsupported properties, retained resources, and state-bucket selection. Do not hide confirmation prompts with --yes or force flags by default.

Deploy and choose what "done" means

For an ordinary development deployment:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd deploy <stack>

Choose the wait mode from what happens after deployment:

• Default: normal interactive development when no immediate consumer needs every asynchronous resource fully serving.
• --full-wait: use before smoke tests, DNS cutovers, or follow-on jobs that require CloudFormation-like completion, including CloudFront Deployed and ECS service steady state.
• --no-wait: use only when the user accepts background stabilization and nothing immediately depends on completion. Never combine it with --full-wait.

For example, a deploy followed by a website smoke test should use:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd deploy <stack> --full-wait

Do not report success solely because resources appeared in AWS. Require a zero command exit status and complete the relevant verification.

Verify and diagnose

After deployment, inspect cdkd's state and recorded deployment events:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd state info
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd state show <stack> --stack-region <region>
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd events <stack> --stack-region <region>

Also verify the stack outputs, the critical AWS resource state, and an application-level smoke test when applicable. Treat a non-zero exit as an unsuccessful command, but interpret it per command: exit 1 normally indicates failure, while diff --fail and drift also use it to report detected changes; exit 2 indicates partial failure for commands that support it. Inspect state and events, then follow the command-specific recovery guidance.

For an interrupted or failed deployment:

1. Read the original error and cdkd events <stack>.
2. Inspect cdkd state show <stack> before retrying.
3. Re-run the same command when the failure is safely retryable.
4. Use cdkd rollback <stack> for a failed --no-rollback or interrupted deployment when rollback is appropriate.
5. Use cdkd force-unlock <stack> only after proving no deployment is still running.

Detect and reconcile drift

cdkd drift <stack> compares each managed resource's live AWS configuration against cdkd state (state-driven; no synth) and exits 1 when drift is detected. Reconcile in one of two explicit directions:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd drift <stack>            # detect only
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd drift <stack> --accept   # state <- AWS (keep the live change)
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd drift <stack> --revert   # AWS <- state (undo the live change)

--accept and --revert are mutually exclusive; both honor --dry-run. --revert changes live AWS resources — treat it as a destructive operation (see below).

State secret hygiene (clean + audit)

cdkd resolves CloudFormation dynamic references ({{resolve:secretsmanager:...}}) and, when persisting state, stores the UNRESOLVED expression rather than the resolved plaintext — the value never lands in state.json, cdkd state show, cdkd diff, or cdkd drift output. A normal cdkd deploy already scrubs state this way as a side effect.

cdkd scrub <stack> is the permanent state secret-hygiene command — clean and audit, not incident-only tooling. It synthesizes the app to learn which values are secrets, then rewrites the state record so each plaintext secret becomes its {{resolve:...}} expression, WITHOUT a redeploy. It performs no AWS mutation — only state.json is rewritten. Use it to clean state written by an older cdkd, and use --dry-run --fail as a STANDING CI gate that continuously asserts no plaintext secret lives in state (secrets landing in IaC state is a structural, recurring concern, so it is worth checking on every build rather than once).

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd scrub <stack>              # scrub in place
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd scrub <stack> --dry-run    # report only, no write
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd scrub <stack> --dry-run --fail  # CI gate: exit 1 if plaintext remains

Scrubbing needs the CDK app (--app / CDKD_APP / cdk.json) because state records the resolved value with no marker of which values are secrets — only the template carries the references. IMPORTANT: a secret that was ever stored in plaintext should be treated as compromised and ROTATED in Secrets Manager; scrub only stops it being re-read out of state going forward.

Reclaim asset storage

Content-addressed assets are deliberately kept on cdkd destroy (another stack or a future rollback may reference the same hash), so cdkd-owned asset storage grows over time. cdkd gc deletes only assets no state file references, one region per invocation, and never touches CDK's own bootstrap storage:

AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd gc --dry-run   # print the reclaim plan first
AWS_PROFILE=<profile> AWS_REGION=<region> cdkd gc             # delete after reviewing the plan

Keep the default --older-than 30d age guard unless the user explicitly accepts a shorter window; it protects in-flight publishes and recent rollback targets.

Guard destructive and migration commands

Before destroy, state destroy, orphan, import, export, drift --accept, drift --revert, or gc:

1. Re-resolve the AWS identity, region, stack name, and current owner.
2. Show the exact command and explain which resources or state records change.
3. Check retention, snapshots, backups, and downstream consumers.
4. Obtain explicit user confirmation immediately before execution.

Do not use --force, --yes, --purge-events, or other confirmation-bypassing flags unless the user approved that exact destructive scope.

Use cdkd in CI (per-PR environments)

cdkd's main CI use case is per-PR preview environments: deploy on PR open/sync, destroy on close. Deploy time is CI job time, so the speedup compounds across every push. Key rules when authoring such workflows:

• Swap only the PR-environment workflow to cdkd; production and staging can stay on the CDK CLI (zero CDK code changes, one-line revert).
• One stack per PR: pass the PR number as CDK context (-c prNumber=...) and suffix the stack name in the app. State is keyed by (stack name, region) and locks are per-stack, so PR environments deploy concurrently.
• Credentials: have the workflow's OIDC base role hold ONLY sts:AssumeRole on a dedicated deploy role, switch into it with --role-arn / CDKD_ROLE_ARN, and pin the deploy role's trust policy to that base role. The deploy role needs direct permissions for every deployed resource — CDK's cdk-hnb659fds-* roles do not work with cdkd. Run cdkd bootstrap once per account beforehand.
• Non-interactive exception: in a CI workflow, --yes on deploy / destroy / state destroy is the sanctioned confirmation mechanism — the approval happened when a human reviewed the workflow. The interactive-confirmation rules above still apply whenever a human is driving the session.
• Destroy on PR close with cdkd state destroy <stack> --yes: it works from the state record alone (no checkout, npm ci, or synth — works even after the branch is deleted). When the environment contains protection-enabled resources (RDS / DynamoDB deletion protection, EC2 termination protection, and more), add --remove-protection so the teardown completes in one pass — appropriate for ephemeral PR environments; do not default it for long-lived stacks.
• Resources with DeletionPolicy: Snapshot leave a final snapshot behind on every close by default; add --skip-final-snapshot ONLY when the user confirms the environment's data is disposable (it is an explicit data-loss opt-out). To leave the state bucket fully empty, cdkd destroy --purge-events also removes the event history (after a state destroy, use cdkd events prune <stack> --all).
• A cancelled mid-deploy job can leave a stack lock; it expires after its TTL (30 minutes), or clear it with cdkd force-unlock <stack>.
• Housekeeping: sweep stale environments via cdkd state list --json on a schedule; reclaim unreferenced assets with cdkd gc outside deploy hours (it aborts while any stack is locked). Read outputs for PR comments with cdkd state show <stack> --json.

See the README's CI section for a complete GitHub Actions example.

Run workloads locally

cdkd local * runs Lambda functions, API Gateway APIs, ECS tasks and services, ALBs, CloudFront distributions, and Bedrock AgentCore runtimes on the developer's machine via Docker — no AWS deploy involved, so the deployment-boundary steps above do not apply to these commands:

cdkd local invoke <function>       # one-shot Lambda invoke
cdkd local start-api               # long-running local API Gateway
cdkd local run-task <task>         # one-shot ECS task
cdkd local start-service <service> # long-running ECS service emulator

The most important choice is the environment source: --from-state or --from-cfn-stack. A workload whose environment variables reference other resources (Ref / Fn::GetAtt table names, queue URLs — the common case) runs with those variables dropped unless one of the two fills them with the REAL values of the already-deployed resources — the physical IDs and attributes of the tables, queues, and buckets actually running in the AWS account:

cdkd local invoke <function> --from-state       # env vars <- the deployed resources' real values, when the stack was deployed with cdkd deploy
cdkd local invoke <function> --from-cfn-stack   # env vars <- the deployed resources' real values, when the stack was deployed with cdk deploy

--from-state and --from-cfn-stack are mutually exclusive — pick the one matching how the stack was deployed. Both make read-only AWS calls, so they need credentials; a plain local run without them does not.

With the environment source resolved, a local run is a hybrid: the handler executes on the developer's machine (edit and re-invoke — no deploy round-trip), while talking to the real deployed dev resources. That removes the usual local-testing overhead — no hand-maintained .env files mirroring resource names, and no local emulators to install and seed with test data, because the code reads and writes the actual dev-environment tables, queues, and buckets.

Most cdkd local commands require Docker, and the first run pulls base images (up to ~600 MB). See the local execution guide for the full subcommand list (ALB, CloudFront, AgentCore) and flags.

Command reference

Use the same verified profile, region, state bucket, and binary form throughout a workflow:

cdkd bootstrap
cdkd synth
cdkd diff <stack>
cdkd deploy <stack> --dry-run
cdkd deploy <stack>
cdkd deploy <stack> --full-wait
cdkd state info
cdkd state show <stack> --stack-region <region>
cdkd events <stack> --stack-region <region>
cdkd drift <stack>
cdkd scrub <stack>
cdkd gc --dry-run
cdkd destroy <stack>

Options such as --app, --state-bucket, and context values may come from CLI flags, environment variables, or cdk.json. Inspect the project instead of assuming defaults.

For current command behavior, consult the README, CLI reference, state management, and import guidance.