AWS CloudFormation Sample Templates

Use sample AWS CloudFormation templates to learn how to declare specific AWS resources or solve a particular use case. We recommend that you use sample templates as a starting point for creating your own templates, not for launching production-level environments. Before launching a template, always review the resources that it will create and the permissions it requires.

About the Repository

The AWS CloudFormation team and approved contributors provide and maintain sample templates in the aws folder.

We also collect and make available templates developed by the community. These sample templates are located in the community folder and its subfolders. We encourage your contributions to these templates. Note, however, that we don't test, maintain, or support community templates.

Submitting Templates

Before you submit a template, we suggest that you follow these guidelines to help maintain consistency between templates.

• Test your template. Can you successfully create a stack with it? When you create a stack, AWS CloudFormation uses the ValidateTemplate API to check your template. When you delete a stack, is the stack (and all of its resources) successfully deleted? Make sure users aren't left with stray resources or stacks that have deletion errors.
• In the Description section, add a brief description of your template. The description should indicate what the template does and why it's useful. For example: Description: "Create a LAMP stack using a single EC2 instance and a local MySQL database for storage. This template demonstrates using the AWS CloudFormation bootstrap scripts to install the packages and files necessary to deploy the Apache web server, PHP, and MySQL when the instance is launched."
• Format your template to make it human readable:
  • Err on the side of human readability. If it makes your template easier to read, do it.
  • Use a linter. There isn't one specific tool that we use. Whatever you use, make sure it also checks for syntax errors.
  • Consider using two-space indents to reduce line wrapping.
• Review IAM resources. If you include IAM resources, follow the standard security advice of granting least privilege (granting only the permissions required to do a task).
• Remove secrets/credentials from your template. You might hardcode credentials or secrets in your template when you're testing. Don't forget to remove them before submitting your template. You can use this tool to help you scrub secrets: https://github.com/awslabs/git-secrets.
• Add your template to the correct folder so that others can discover it. If your template demonstrates a particular service, add it to the Services folder. If it uses multiple services to address a particular use case, add it to the Solutions folder.

When your template is ready, submit a pull request. A member of the AWS organization will review your request and might suggest changes. We review templates to check for general security issues, but we won't test or maintain them. If we don't get back to you within a week of your submission, use your pull request to send us a message.

Additional Resources

In the AWS CloudFormation User Guide, you can view more information about the following topics:

• Learn how to use templates to create AWS CloudFormation stacks using the AWS Management Console or AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI).
• To view all the supported AWS resources and their properties, see the Template Reference.