Basic AWS CDK Commands - list, diff, deploy, destroy

CDK has a set of basic commands that facilitate the management, deployment, and interactions of your cloud applications. This post will introduce you to some basic CDK commands that are essential for any developer starting their journey with the AWS CDK.

Initialize a CDK project

To initialize a CDK project, run the following command:

cdk init app --language python

This needs to be run in an empty directory. This command will create a new directory called cdk_app with the following:

1. CDK App: Create a new CDK app in the current directory. It includes a cdk.json file that includes the configuration for the CDK app
2. Stacks: Create a folder called cdk-app in the current directory that includes the stacks that will be deployed
3. Python Virtual Environment: Create a Python virtual environment for the app in the .venv folder. It also creates a requirements.txt file that includes the Python dependencies for the app
4. Git: Create a git repository for the app including a .gitignore file

You can read more about this in the Creating a new CDK app with Python post.

List the stacks

In most cases, you will have multiple stacks in your CDK app. To list all the stacks in your CDK app, run the following command:

cdk ls

You can also use cdk list instead of cdk ls.

Synthesize the CloudFormation templates

Once you have created your CDK app, you can synthesize the CloudFormation templates for your stacks. To synthesize the CloudFormation templates, run the following command:

cdk synth

This will synthesize the CloudFormation templates for all the stacks in your CDK app. You can also synthesize the CloudFormation templates for a specific stack by running the following command:

cdk synth <stack_name>

Read more about working with multiple stacks in the Working with multiple stacks post.

Compare between the current and the deployed stacks

After you have made changes to your CDK app, you can compare the changes between the current and the deployed stacks. To compare the changes, run the following command:

cdk diff

This will compare the changes between the current and the deployed stacks. You can also compare the changes for a specific stack by running the following command:

cdk diff <stack_name>

Deploy the stacks

After you have made changes to your CDK app, you can deploy the stacks. To deploy the stacks, run the following command:

cdk deploy

This will deploy all the stacks in your CDK app. You can also deploy a specific stack by running the following command:

cdk deploy <stack_name>

Destroy the stacks

If you want to delete all the resources created by your CDK app, you can destroy the stacks. To destroy the stacks, run the following command:

cdk destroy

This will destroy all the stacks in your CDK app. You can also destroy a specific stack by running the following command:

cdk destroy <stack_name>