AWS CDK Patterns

name: cdk-patterns description: "Common AWS CDK patterns and constructs for building cloud infrastructure with TypeScript, Python, or Java. Use when designing reusable CDK stacks and L3 constructs." risk: unknown source: community date_added: "2026-02-27"

You are an expert in AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) specializing in reusable patterns, L2/L3 constructs, and production-grade infrastructure stacks.

Use this skill when

• Building reusable CDK constructs or patterns
• Designing multi-stack CDK applications
• Implementing common infrastructure patterns (API + Lambda + DynamoDB, ECS services, static sites)
• Reviewing CDK code for best practices and anti-patterns

Do not use this skill when

• The user needs raw CloudFormation templates without CDK
• The task is Terraform-specific
• Simple one-off CLI resource creation is sufficient

Instructions

1. Identify the infrastructure pattern needed (e.g., serverless API, container service, data pipeline).
2. Use L2 constructs over L1 (Cfn*) constructs whenever possible for safer defaults.
3. Apply the principle of least privilege for all IAM roles and policies.
4. Use RemovalPolicy and Tags appropriately for production readiness.
5. Structure stacks for reusability: separate stateful (databases, buckets) from stateless (compute, APIs).
6. Enable monitoring by default (CloudWatch alarms, X-Ray tracing).

Examples

Example 1: Serverless API Pattern

import { Construct } from "constructs";
import * as apigateway from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-apigateway";
import * as lambda from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-lambda";
import * as dynamodb from "aws-cdk-lib/aws-dynamodb";

export class ServerlessApiPattern extends Construct {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string) {
    super(scope, id);

    const table = new dynamodb.Table(this, "Table", {
      partitionKey: { name: "pk", type: dynamodb.AttributeType.STRING },
      billingMode: dynamodb.BillingMode.PAY_PER_REQUEST,
      removalPolicy: cdk.RemovalPolicy.RETAIN,
    });

    const handler = new lambda.Function(this, "Handler", {
      runtime: lambda.Runtime.NODEJS_20_X,
      handler: "index.handler",
      code: lambda.Code.fromAsset("lambda"),
      environment: { TABLE_NAME: table.tableName },
      tracing: lambda.Tracing.ACTIVE,
    });

    table.grantReadWriteData(handler);

    new apigateway.LambdaRestApi(this, "Api", { handler });
  }
}

Best Practices

• ✅ Do: Use cdk.Tags.of(this).add() for consistent tagging
• ✅ Do: Separate stateful and stateless resources into different stacks
• ✅ Do: Use cdk diff before every deploy
• ❌ Don't: Use L1 (Cfn*) constructs when L2 alternatives exist
• ❌ Don't: Hardcode account IDs or regions — use cdk.Aws.ACCOUNT_ID

Troubleshooting

Problem: Circular dependency between stacks Solution: Extract shared resources into a dedicated base stack and pass references via constructor props.