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.
Default: V2 pipeline type with QUEUED execution mode. Use PARALLEL only when executions are fully independent.
Quick Navigation
Common Workflows
Troubleshooting
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


