AWS CDK

What AWS CDK is

AWS CDK is a framework for defining AWS infrastructure in programming languages and deploying it through AWS CloudFormation. Its stable language bindings include TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Java, C#/.NET, and Go. The AWS Construct Library supplies reusable constructs for many AWS services and features, while CDK Pipelines supports CI/CD deployment to testing, integration, and production environments. The tool supports policy as code, drift detection, importing existing resources, and managed state. AWS CDK Explorer is a preview feature in the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio Code for browsing projects, stacks, resources, and policies. AWS CDK itself has no charge, though AWS resources deployed with it can incur charges. Developers need Node.js 22.x or later regardless of the application language. Deployments use configured AWS credentials and IAM roles; AWS recommends managing access according to IAM security best practices. Custom constructs can bypass compliance checks, so AWS CDK cannot guarantee they enforce compliance. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and supports AWS.