AWS Deploy (CI/CD)
Works best with the AWS MCP server for running CLI commands and validating configurations directly. All guidance also works with standard AWS CLI.
Critical Warnings
CodeConnections PENDING trap: Connections created via CLI/CloudFormation remain PENDING indefinitely — MUST complete OAuth in the AWS Console. No API-only path exists.
Cross-account triple requirement: Cross-account deploys need ALL THREE: (1) KMS key policy granting target account (use key ID, not alias), (2) S3 bucket policy for target account, (3) cross-account IAM role with trust policy. Missing any one = cryptic Access Denied.
CodeDeploy ApplicationStop uses PREVIOUS revision: Broken stop scripts in a prior deployment block ALL future deploys. Make stop scripts idempotent (exit 0 if service absent). Unblock with --ignore-application-stop-failures.
CodeBuild VPC without NAT: Builds in VPC subnets without NAT gateway hang at DOWNLOAD_SOURCE silently. Private subnets MUST have NAT gateway or VPC endpoints.
CodeConnections IAM: Use codeconnections: prefix for API calls and IAM policy Actions. Resource ARNs must match exactly — new resources use codeconnections prefix, existing resources may use codestar-connections prefix. Specify both in Resource if you have mixed-age resources.
UseConnection is over-permissive: codeconnections:UseConnection grants access to ALL repositories the connection can reach. MUST specify condition keys (codeconnections:FullRepositoryId, codeconnections:ProviderAction, codeconnections:BranchName) to limit CodeBuild to only the required repository.
How These Services Compose
CodeConnections → CodeBuild → CodeDeploy, orchestrated by CodePipeline.
| Layer | Service | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Source | CodeConnections | Authenticates to GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket, delivers code |
| Packages | CodeArtifact | Private package registry, dependency caching from public registries |
| Build/Test | CodeBuild | Compiles, tests, packages artifacts |
| Deploy | CodeDeploy | Deploys to EC2/ECS/Lambda with traffic shifting strategies |
| Orchestrator | CodePipeline | Chains stages, manages transitions, approval gates |
Default: V2 pipeline type with QUEUED execution mode. Use PARALLEL only when executions are fully independent.
Quick Navigation
| You want to... | Go to |
|---|---|
| Create a pipeline (V2, triggers, variables, modes) | codepipeline.md |
| Connect GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket source | codeconnections.md |
| Write buildspec.yml / configure builds | codebuild.md |
| Set up private package registry for builds | codeartifact.md |
| Configure deployment strategy (blue/green, canary) | codedeploy.md |
| Cross-account or cross-region deployment | codepipeline.md |
| Fix failing pipeline, build, or deployment | troubleshooting.md |
Common Workflows
| Task | Action | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline from GitHub to ECS | Create connection → CodeBuild Docker stage → CodeDeploy ECS blue/green | codepipeline, codedeploy |
| Pipeline stuck at source | Check connection status; if PENDING, complete OAuth in AWS Console | troubleshooting |
| Build timing out | Check VPC/NAT, increase timeoutInMinutes, verify Docker privileged mode | codebuild |
| Deploy to another account | Configure KMS + S3 bucket policy + cross-account role, add RoleArn to action | codepipeline |
| Roll back failed deployment | Auto-rollback on alarm/failure; manual: stop-deployment --auto-rollback-enabled | codedeploy |
| Lambda canary deployment | CodeBuild packages → CodeDeploy Lambda with canary traffic shifting | codedeploy |
Troubleshooting
| Error/Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
YAML_FILE_ERROR in CodeBuild | Missing or malformed runtime-versions in buildspec (recommended for standard images) | Add runtime-versions block in install phase |
file already exists on CodeDeploy | Redeployment without overwrite config | Set file_exists_behavior: OVERWRITE |
| Pipeline trigger not firing | File path filter checks only first 100 files in diff | Reduce path filter scope or merge smaller |
| PARALLEL mode wrong revision | Race between event and source action | Use QUEUED mode for sequential consistency |
Docker: Cannot connect to daemon | Missing privileged mode | Set privilegedMode: true AND start dockerd in buildspec |
CODEBUILD_CLONE_REF permission error | CodeBuild role missing UseConnection | Add codeconnections:UseConnection to CodeBuild service role |
| Deployment never completes | MinimumHealthyHosts too high for instance count | Ensure healthy threshold < total instances |
| ECS deployment stuck | Health check failing on new task set | Verify target group health check path/port |
Security
- MUST store secrets in Secrets Manager or Parameter Store; reference via CodeBuild
type: SECRETS_MANAGER— MUST NOT embed in buildspec as PLAINTEXT - MUST use customer-managed KMS keys for cross-account artifact encryption (default encryption does not support cross-account)
- SHOULD scope CodeBuild/CodeDeploy service roles to specific resource ARNs; MUST NOT use
*fors3:GetObjectorkms:Decrypt - MUST use CodeConnections (not personal access tokens) for source connections; OAuth tokens cannot be rotated automatically
- See CodePipeline security best practices for comprehensive guidance
Not Covered
| Topic | Use instead |
|---|---|
CDK Pipelines (aws-cdk-lib/pipelines) | aws-cdk |
sam deploy / SAM CLI | aws-serverless |
| ECS service deployment config (circuit breaker, rolling params) | aws-containers |
| GitHub Actions / GitLab CI | Third-party tools, not covered |
