Amazon CloudFormation website screenshot

Amazon CloudFormation

AWS CloudFormation is an infrastructure-as-code service that speeds up cloud provisioning by enabling developers to define and manage AWS resources programmatically through templates. Scale infrastructure globally and manage resources across all AWS accounts and regions through a single operation.

Amazon CloudFormation publishes 4 APIs on the APIs.io network, including Change Sets API, Resources API, Stacks API, and 1 more. Tagged areas include CloudFormation, Infrastructure as Code, DevOps, and IaC.

The Amazon CloudFormation catalog on APIs.io includes 1 JSON-LD context and 2 Spectral governance rulesets.

Amazon CloudFormation’s developer surface includes authentication, developer portal, documentation, support, engineering blog, developer console, signup flow, and 17 more developer resources.

🌐 Visit website 📡 Source on GitHub
58.9/100 strong ▬ flat Agent 34/100 agent aware Full breakdown ↓
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
AccessSelf serve
4 APIs 5 Features 4 Use Cases
CloudFormationInfrastructure as CodeDevOpsIaC

Kin Score

Kin Score Kin Score How this is scored →
scored 2026-07-28 · rubric v0.6
Composite quality — 58.9/100 · strong
Contract Quality 19.9 / 25
Developer Ergonomics 8.3 / 20
Commercial Clarity 10.0 / 20
Operational Transparency 2.7 / 13
Governance 9.6 / 12
Discoverability 8.3 / 10
Agent readiness — 34/100 · agent aware
Machine-Readable Contract 18 / 18
Agentic Access Contract 10 / 10
MCP Server 0 / 12
Machine-Readable Auth 10 / 10
Idempotency 0 / 9
Stable Error Semantics 0 / 8
Request/Response Examples 0 / 7
Rate-Limit Signaling 0 / 7
Typed Event Surface 0 / 6
Agent Skills 0 / 5
Well-Known Catalog 4 / 4
Consent & Bot Identity 3 / 3
A2A Agent Card 0 / 8
Dry-Run / Simulate Mode 0 / 4
Improve this rating by publishing the missing artifacts — every area above can be raised, and the full rubric is at apis.io/rating/. This rating is computed from github.com/api-evangelist/amazon-cloudformation: open an issue to ask a question, or submit a pull request to add artifacts. Want it done for you? Prioritized profiling — $2,500 →

APIs 4

Individual APIs this provider publishes, each with its own machine-readable definition.

Amazon CloudFormation Change Sets API

Operations for managing CloudFormation change sets

Amazon CloudFormation Resources API

Operations for managing stack resources

Amazon CloudFormation Stacks API

Operations for managing CloudFormation stacks

Amazon CloudFormation Templates API

Operations for working with CloudFormation templates

Features 5

Notable capabilities this provider offers.

Infrastructure as Code

Define AWS resources in JSON or YAML templates for repeatable, version-controlled deployments.

Multi-Account Stack Sets

Deploy stacks across multiple AWS accounts and regions with a single operation.

Change Sets

Preview changes to running stacks before executing them to avoid unintended updates.

Drift Detection

Detect when deployed infrastructure has drifted from the CloudFormation template definition.

Registry Extensions

Extend CloudFormation to manage third-party and community resources through the Registry.

Semantic Vocabularies 1

JSON-LD contexts and semantic vocabularies used across these APIs.

Amazon Cloudformation Context

16 classes · 50 properties

JSON-LD

Spectral Rules 2

Spectral governance rulesets for linting and validating these APIs.

Amazon CloudFormation API Rules

6 rules · 5 warnings 1 info

SPECTRAL

Amazon CloudFormation API Rules

24 rules · 12 errors 11 warnings 1 info

SPECTRAL

JSON Schema 16

Standalone JSON Schema definitions for this provider's data models.

Amazon CloudFormation Stack

21 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Change

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

ChangeSet

10 properties

JSON SCHEMA

CreateChangeSetOutput

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

CreateStackOutput

1 properties

JSON SCHEMA

DescribeStacksOutput

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

ListStacksOutput

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Output

4 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Parameter

4 properties

JSON SCHEMA

RollbackConfiguration

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

StackDriftInformation

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

StackResourceDriftInformation

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

StackResource

10 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Stack

20 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Tag

2 properties

JSON SCHEMA

UpdateStackOutput

1 properties

JSON SCHEMA

Scroll for all 16

JSON Structure 15

JSON Structure definitions describing this provider's data shapes.

Cloudformation Change Set Structure

10 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Change Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Create Change Set Output Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Create Stack Output Structure

1 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Describe Stacks Output Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation List Stacks Output Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Output Structure

4 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Parameter Structure

4 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Rollback Configuration Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Stack Drift Information Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Stack Resource Drift Information Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Stack Resource Structure

10 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Stack Structure

20 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Tag Structure

2 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Cloudformation Update Stack Output Structure

1 properties

JSON STRUCTURE

Scroll for all 15

Examples 15

Example request and response payloads for these APIs.

Cloudformation Change Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Change Set Example

10 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Create Change Set Output Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Create Stack Output Example

1 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Describe Stacks Output Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation List Stacks Output Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Output Example

4 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Parameter Example

4 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Rollback Configuration Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Stack Drift Information Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Stack Example

20 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Stack Resource Drift Information Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Stack Resource Example

10 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Tag Example

2 fields

EXAMPLE

Cloudformation Update Stack Output Example

1 fields

EXAMPLE

Scroll for all 15

Security Posture 4

Authentication, domain security, vulnerability disclosure, and trust-center signals.

Amazon Cloudformation Authentication

apiKey · 1 scheme

SECURITY

Amazon Cloudformation Domain Security

TLSv1.3 · HSTS · DMARC

SECURITY

Amazon Cloudformation Vulnerability Disclosure

security.txt · contact published

SECURITY

Amazon Cloudformation Trust Center

PCI DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, GDPR, FIPS 140

SECURITY

Agentic Access 1

Recommended x-agentic-access execution contracts for AI agents.

Amazon Cloudformation Agentic Access

13 operations

13 operations · 0 acting

AGENTIC

Use Cases 4

What developers build with this provider.

DevOps Automation

Automate infrastructure testing and deployment through CI/CD pipelines.

Multi-Region Deployment

Deploy consistent infrastructure across multiple AWS regions.

Compliance Governance

Enforce organizational infrastructure standards through template guardrails.

Disaster Recovery

Rapidly rebuild infrastructure from templates after failures.

Integrations 5

Pre-built integrations with other platforms and tools.

AWS CodePipeline

Automate CloudFormation deployments in CI/CD pipelines.

AWS Config

Track infrastructure changes and detect drift with Config integration.

AWS IAM

Control who can create and update CloudFormation stacks.

AWS Service Catalog

Publish approved CloudFormation templates as self-service products.

Amazon SNS

Receive stack event notifications via SNS topics.

Resources

Get Started 3

Portal, sign-up, and the first successful call

Portal
Portal
 Console
Console
 SignUp
SignUp

Documentation 1

Reference material describing how the API behaves

Documentation
Documentation

Agent Surfaces 2

MCP servers, agent skills, and machine-readable catalogs

AgenticAccess
AgenticAccess
 WellKnown
WellKnown

Design & Contract 2

Pagination, idempotency, versioning, errors, and events

SpectralRules
SpectralRules
 Vocabulary
Vocabulary

Build 1

SDKs, sample code, and the tooling you integrate with

GitHubOrganization
GitHubOrganization

Access & Security 6

Authentication, authorization, and security posture

TrustCenter
TrustCenter
 VulnerabilityDisclosure
VulnerabilityDisclosure
 DomainSecurity
DomainSecurity
 Authentication
Authentication
 SecurityTxt
SecurityTxt
 Compliance
Compliance

Learn 1

Tutorials, courses, talks, and written guidance

YouTube
YouTube

Operate 4

Status, limits, changes, and where to get help

Support
Support
 StatusPage
StatusPage
 StackOverflow
StackOverflow
 Contact
Contact

Commercial 2

Pricing, plans, and the legal terms of use

TermsOfService
TermsOfService
 PrivacyPolicy
PrivacyPolicy

Company 2

The organization behind the API

Website
Website
 Blog
Blog

Source (apis.yml)

apis.yml Raw ↑ 
aid: amazon-cloudformation
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/amazon-cloudformation/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
name: Amazon CloudFormation
tags:
- AWS
- CloudFormation
- Infrastructure as Code
- DevOps
- IaC
type: Index
accessModel:
  pricing: unknown
  onboarding: self-serve
  trial: false
  try_now: false
  public: false
  label: Self-serve signup
  confidence: medium
  source:
  - authentication
  generated: '2026-07-22'
  method: derived
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/icons/amazon-cloudformation.png
description: AWS CloudFormation is an infrastructure-as-code service that speeds up cloud provisioning by enabling developers
  to define and manage AWS resources programmatically through templates. Scale infrastructure globally and manage resources
  across all AWS accounts and regions through a single operation.
created: '2024-01-01'
modified: '2026-06-20'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: amazon-cloudformation:amazon-cloudformation-change-sets-api
  name: Amazon CloudFormation Change Sets API
  description: Operations for managing CloudFormation change sets
  humanURL: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
  baseURL: https://cloudformation.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
  tags:
  - Change Sets
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/amazon-cloudformation-change-sets-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/getting-started/
  - type: Pricing
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/
  - type: FAQ
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/faqs/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: CLI
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudformation/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-change-set-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-resource-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-parameter-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-output-schema.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/amazon-cloudformation-context.jsonld
  - type: Packages
    url: packages/amazon-cloudformation-packages.yml
  - type: LLMsTxt
    url: llms/amazon-cloudformation-llms.txt
  - type: ErrorCatalog
    url: errors/amazon-cloudformation-problem-types.yml
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/amazon-cloudformation-conformance.yml
  - type: Lifecycle
    url: lifecycle/amazon-cloudformation-lifecycle.yml
- aid: amazon-cloudformation:amazon-cloudformation-resources-api
  name: Amazon CloudFormation Resources API
  description: Operations for managing stack resources
  humanURL: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
  baseURL: https://cloudformation.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
  tags:
  - Resources
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/amazon-cloudformation-resources-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/getting-started/
  - type: Pricing
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/
  - type: FAQ
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/faqs/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: CLI
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudformation/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-change-set-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-resource-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-parameter-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-output-schema.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/amazon-cloudformation-context.jsonld
  - type: Packages
    url: packages/amazon-cloudformation-packages.yml
  - type: LLMsTxt
    url: llms/amazon-cloudformation-llms.txt
  - type: ErrorCatalog
    url: errors/amazon-cloudformation-problem-types.yml
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/amazon-cloudformation-conformance.yml
  - type: Lifecycle
    url: lifecycle/amazon-cloudformation-lifecycle.yml
- aid: amazon-cloudformation:amazon-cloudformation-stacks-api
  name: Amazon CloudFormation Stacks API
  description: Operations for managing CloudFormation stacks
  humanURL: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
  baseURL: https://cloudformation.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
  tags:
  - Stacks
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/amazon-cloudformation-stacks-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/getting-started/
  - type: Pricing
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/
  - type: FAQ
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/faqs/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: CLI
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudformation/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-change-set-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-resource-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-parameter-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-output-schema.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/amazon-cloudformation-context.jsonld
  - type: Packages
    url: packages/amazon-cloudformation-packages.yml
  - type: LLMsTxt
    url: llms/amazon-cloudformation-llms.txt
  - type: ErrorCatalog
    url: errors/amazon-cloudformation-problem-types.yml
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/amazon-cloudformation-conformance.yml
  - type: Lifecycle
    url: lifecycle/amazon-cloudformation-lifecycle.yml
- aid: amazon-cloudformation:amazon-cloudformation-templates-api
  name: Amazon CloudFormation Templates API
  description: Operations for working with CloudFormation templates
  humanURL: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
  baseURL: https://cloudformation.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
  tags:
  - Templates
  properties:
  - type: OpenAPI
    url: openapi/amazon-cloudformation-templates-api-openapi.yml
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/getting-started/
  - type: Pricing
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/pricing/
  - type: FAQ
    url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/faqs/
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
  - type: CLI
    url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/cloudformation/
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-change-set-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-stack-resource-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-parameter-schema.json
  - type: JSONSchema
    url: json-schema/cloudformation-output-schema.json
  - type: JSONLD
    url: json-ld/amazon-cloudformation-context.jsonld
  - type: Packages
    url: packages/amazon-cloudformation-packages.yml
  - type: LLMsTxt
    url: llms/amazon-cloudformation-llms.txt
  - type: ErrorCatalog
    url: errors/amazon-cloudformation-problem-types.yml
  - type: Conformance
    url: conformance/amazon-cloudformation-conformance.yml
  - type: Lifecycle
    url: lifecycle/amazon-cloudformation-lifecycle.yml
common:
- type: AgenticAccess
  url: agentic-access/amazon-cloudformation-agentic-access.yml
- type: TrustCenter
  url: security/amazon-cloudformation-trust-center.yml
- type: VulnerabilityDisclosure
  url: security/amazon-cloudformation-vulnerability-disclosure.yml
- type: DomainSecurity
  url: security/amazon-cloudformation-domain-security.yml
- type: Authentication
  url: authentication/amazon-cloudformation-authentication.yml
- type: WellKnown
  url: well-known/amazon-cloudformation-well-known.yml
- type: SecurityTxt
  url: well-known/amazon-cloudformation-security.txt
- type: Portal
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/
- type: Website
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
- type: Documentation
  url: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/APIReference/
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/
- type: PrivacyPolicy
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/
- type: Support
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/premiumsupport/
- type: Blog
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/devops/
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/aws
- type: Console
  url: https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
- type: SignUp
  url: https://signin.aws.amazon.com/signup?request_type=register
- type: StatusPage
  url: https://health.aws.amazon.com/health/status
- type: YouTube
  url: https://www.youtube.com/user/AmazonWebServices
- type: StackOverflow
  url: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/aws-cloudformation
- type: Contact
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/contact-us/
- type: Compliance
  url: https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/
- type: SpectralRules
  url: rules/amazon-cloudformation-spectral-rules.yml
- type: Vocabulary
  url: vocabulary/amazon-cloudformation-vocabulary.yaml
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Infrastructure as Code
    description: Define AWS resources in JSON or YAML templates for repeatable, version-controlled deployments.
  - name: Multi-Account Stack Sets
    description: Deploy stacks across multiple AWS accounts and regions with a single operation.
  - name: Change Sets
    description: Preview changes to running stacks before executing them to avoid unintended updates.
  - name: Drift Detection
    description: Detect when deployed infrastructure has drifted from the CloudFormation template definition.
  - name: Registry Extensions
    description: Extend CloudFormation to manage third-party and community resources through the Registry.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: DevOps Automation
    description: Automate infrastructure testing and deployment through CI/CD pipelines.
  - name: Multi-Region Deployment
    description: Deploy consistent infrastructure across multiple AWS regions.
  - name: Compliance Governance
    description: Enforce organizational infrastructure standards through template guardrails.
  - name: Disaster Recovery
    description: Rapidly rebuild infrastructure from templates after failures.
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: AWS CodePipeline
    description: Automate CloudFormation deployments in CI/CD pipelines.
  - name: AWS Config
    description: Track infrastructure changes and detect drift with Config integration.
  - name: AWS IAM
    description: Control who can create and update CloudFormation stacks.
  - name: AWS Service Catalog
    description: Publish approved CloudFormation templates as self-service products.
  - name: Amazon SNS
    description: Receive stack event notifications via SNS topics.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com