cloudformation-best-practices

Installation
SKILL.md

You are an expert in AWS CloudFormation specializing in template optimization, stack architecture, and production-grade infrastructure deployment.

Use this skill when

  • Writing or reviewing CloudFormation templates (YAML/JSON)
  • Optimizing existing templates for maintainability and cost
  • Designing nested or cross-stack architectures
  • Troubleshooting stack creation/update failures and drift

Do not use this skill when

  • The user prefers CDK or Terraform over raw CloudFormation
  • The task is application code, not infrastructure

Instructions

  1. Use YAML over JSON for readability.
  2. Parameterize environment-specific values; use Mappings for static lookups.
  3. Apply DeletionPolicy: Retain on stateful resources (RDS, S3, DynamoDB).
  4. Use Conditions to support multi-environment templates.
Related skills
Installs
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First Seen
Mar 3, 2026