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AWS CloudFormation VS aws-cli

Compare AWS CloudFormation VS aws-cli and see what are their differences

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AWS CloudFormation logo AWS CloudFormation

AWS CloudFormation gives developers and systems administrators an easy way to create and manage a...

aws-cli logo aws-cli

Universal Command Line Interface for Amazon Web Services
  • AWS CloudFormation Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-22
  • aws-cli Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-24

AWS CloudFormation features and specs

  • Infrastructure as Code
    CloudFormation allows you to define your infrastructure using code or templates, promoting version control, reviewability, and collaborative planning.
  • Automated Provisioning
    It automates the provisioning and updating of infrastructure, reducing the manual intervention required and minimizing human errors.
  • Consistency and Repeatability
    Ensures consistent configurations by deploying the same template multiple times across different environments, eliminating configuration drift.
  • Integration with Other AWS Services
    Tightly integrated with other AWS services, allowing for comprehensive infrastructure management, security policies, monitoring and logging.
  • Scalability and Flexibility
    Facilitates easy scaling and modifying of resources according to the application requirements without significant downtime.

Possible disadvantages of AWS CloudFormation

  • Complexity
    Large templates can become complex and difficult to manage, making troubleshooting and updating challenging.
  • Learning Curve
    Requires time and effort to learn and master, especially for newcomers to AWS or Infrastructure as Code (IaC) concepts.
  • Limited Cross-Platform Support
    Primarily tailored for AWS services, with limited support for managing infrastructure on other cloud platforms.
  • State Management
    Managing the state of your infrastructure can be complex, as creating or updating resources is highly dependent on the current state of your stack.
  • Debugging Issues
    Error messages and stack traces can sometimes be cryptic, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of deployment failures.

aws-cli features and specs

  • Automation
    The AWS CLI allows for scripting and automation of repetitive tasks, which can save time and reduce manual errors.
  • Comprehensive Control
    Provides complete control over AWS services, enabling detailed management and configuration options that might not be available through the AWS Management Console.
  • Efficiency
    Performing batches of tasks from the command line can be faster than using the web interface, especially for complex operations involving multiple services.
  • Integration
    Easily integrates with other command-line tools and scripts for seamless workflows across different environments and services.
  • Cross-Platform
    Supported on multiple operating systems including Windows, Linux, and MacOS, providing flexibility across different development and operational environments.

Possible disadvantages of aws-cli

  • Complexity
    Steeper learning curve for new users who are not familiar with CLI operations or AWS services, requiring time to understand and effectively use its commands.
  • Error-Prone
    Typing errors or incorrect command options can lead to accidental data loss or service misconfigurations if not handled carefully.
  • Lack of Visualization
    Unlike the AWS Management Console, the CLI lacks visual displays, which may make it difficult for users who prefer graphical interfaces to track resource changes and statuses.
  • Maintenance
    Requires regular updates and maintenance to new versions to ensure compatibility with the newest AWS service features and security enhancements.

AWS CloudFormation videos

What is AWS Cloudformation? Pros and Cons?

More videos:

  • Demo - AWS CloudFormation Tutorial | AWS CloudFormation Demo | AWS Tutorial | AWS Training | Edureka
  • Tutorial - AWS CloudFormation Template Tutorial

aws-cli videos

No aws-cli videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWS CloudFormation and aws-cli)
DevOps Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Weather Apps
0 0%
100% 100
Continuous Integration
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
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100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare AWS CloudFormation and aws-cli

AWS CloudFormation Reviews

5 Best DevSecOps Tools in 2023
There are multiple providers for Infrastructure as Code such as AWS CloudFormation, RedHat Ansible, HashiCorp Terraform, Puppet, Chef, and others. It is advised to research each to determine what is best for any given situation since each has pros and cons. Some of these also are not completely free while others are. There are also some that are specific to a particular...
Do not use AWS CloudFormation
CloudFormation being a layer of indirection makes it difficult to work with in multi-region/multi-account scenarios. With CloudFormation you have to create Stack Sets and IAM policies that allow the CloudFormation service to impersonate other roles. The prerequisite steps you have to take to use CloudFormation across multiple accounts also must be taken just to have...
Why we use Terraform and not Chef, Puppet, Ansible, SaltStack, or CloudFormation
Of course, there are downsides to declarative languages too. Without access to a full programming language, your expressive power is limited. For example, some types of infrastructure changes, such as a rolling, zero-downtime deployment, are hard to express in purely declarative terms. Similarly, without the ability to do “logic” (e.g. if-statements, loops), creating...

aws-cli Reviews

We have no reviews of aws-cli yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS CloudFormation seems to be a lot more popular than aws-cli. While we know about 123 links to AWS CloudFormation, we've tracked only 8 mentions of aws-cli. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWS CloudFormation mentions (123)

  • What is an AWS CloudFormation Template?
    CloudFormation is an IaC AWS-native service that helps you model and configure your resources declaratively. Using CloudFormation, you can manage and operate your AWS infrastructure efficiently, so you can spend less time managing infrastructure. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Master Secure File Uploads to AWS S3 in Node.js with Express and Multer
    Basic knowledge of AWS and CloudFormation. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • AWS Serverless Security: Preventing HTTP Flood DDoS Attack
    AWS WAF Security Automations use AWS CloudFormation to quickly configure AWS WAF rules that help block these common types of attacks:. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Provisioning A Three-Tier Application on AWS using Infrastructure-As-Code (IaC)
    IaC stands for Infrastructure as code and for a while I struggled to understand this concept, and when it seemed like I was starting to get it, I started confusing it with some other thing. IaC allows you to build, change, and manage your infrastructure in a safe, consistent, and repeatable way by defining resource configurations that you can version, reuse, and share. Infrastructure as code is basically... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • How to Migrate AWS Resources from one AWS Account to Another
    1.1 Using AWS CloudFormation If you already use AWS CloudFormation, you can simply bring your existing templates over to the new AWS account. AWS CloudFormation helps you manage and set up your resources easily. You create templates that allow you to quickly and reliably set up services or applications called “stacks.”. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
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aws-cli mentions (8)

  • Top 10 CLI Tools for DevOps Teams
    The AWS CLI is a must-have tool if your team relies on Amazon Web Services. It lets you effortlessly interact with AWS services, orchestrate resource management, and automate tasks from the comfort of your terminal. Once you get used to the tool, you'll notice how convenient and quick it is to fit into your processes – especially compared to going through AWS's web-based user interface. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • s3fs-fuse - allows to mount your s3/minio bucket link to your local directory
    s3fs allows Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD to mount an S3 bucket via FUSE(Filesystem in Userspace). s3fs makes you operate files and directories in S3 bucket like a local file system. s3fs preserves the native object format for files, allowing use of other tools like AWS CLI. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Event Based System with Localstack (Elixir Edition): Uploading files to S3 with PresignedURL's
    And this is the init_localstack.sh file content, a unique thing about localstack its that you can move all strings like an aws-cli tool, also the container deletes all the content and config once the container stops, so the script file must create all the resources that you need from Localstack. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Dev corrupts NPM libs 'colors' and 'faker' breaking thousands of apps
    What makes GitHub's actions shitty? Marak's colors had 22 million downloads, including aws-cli. Blanking out a large repository like that, without so much as a warning, is irresponsible and choosing to partake in conspiracy theories is even more so. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Hosting your blog on AWS
    To upload the website in the public directory to S3, the easy way is to go with the AWS CLI. After installing and configuring the CLI, use following command to upload the website to S3. To get the name of your S3 bucket, head over to the S3 console. You'll see that a new bucket was created by CloudFormation. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWS CloudFormation and aws-cli, you can also consider the following products

AWS Lambda - Automatic, event-driven compute service

LocalStack - LocalStack collects & analyzes the social media activity on every business in America. 

Codeship - Codeship is a fast and secure hosted Continuous Delivery platform that scales with your needs.

AWS Amplify - JavaScript library for app development using cloud services

Terraform - Tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently.

Troposphere - Weather forecast and climate data APIs for developers