# Install cloudformation-cli with Homebrew CloudFormation Provider Development Toolkit. Version 0.2.39 via Homebrew; verified 2026-05-20. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:cloudformation-cli ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install cloudformation-cli ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:cloudformation-cli - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.2.39 - **Source summary:** CloudFormation Provider Development Toolkit - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** Apache-2.0 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-05-20T12:13:54Z - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - cfn (cli) - cfn-cli (cli) - cfn (alias) - cfn-cli (alias) ## Dependencies - certifi - libyaml - pydantic - python@3.13 ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Caveats: cloudformation java, go, python plugins are installed, but the Go and Java are not bundled with the installation. - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.2.39 - Package-manager updated: 2026-05-20 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/aws-cloudformation/cloudformation-cli - info: No cached GitHub release or tag data was available. ## Project history and usage AWS CloudFormation CLI is the provider development toolkit for authoring, testing, and registering CloudFormation resource providers and modules. It matters less as an everyday deploy CLI and more as the toolchain behind CloudFormation Registry extension development. ### Project history AWS created the cloudformation-cli repository in 2018 and released early public versions in 2019 as CloudFormation's extension model became public. The official AWS docs position the CLI as the tool used to model, develop, test, and submit resource providers for CloudFormation. The project sits in the aws-cloudformation GitHub organization alongside language plugins and related extension tooling, reflecting a design where the core CLI coordinates schemas, handlers, contract tests, and registry publication. ### Adoption history Unlike general-purpose AWS CLIs, CloudFormation CLI is adopted mostly by provider authors, platform teams, and vendors that need first-class CloudFormation resource types. Homebrew packaging gives macOS users a simple install path, but the package is inherently narrower than awscli or cdk. Its adoption is tied to the CloudFormation Registry ecosystem: as organizations add private or third-party resource types, the cfn/cfn-cli package becomes part of build pipelines for extension development and contract testing. ### How it is used Developers use cfn init, generate, test, submit, and related commands to create a provider project, run contract tests, and register or update a resource type or module in CloudFormation. typeConfiguration.json under ~/.cfn-cli is used by the toolkit for type configuration during contract testing and development workflows. AWS credentials normally come from the broader AWS SDK/CLI credential chain rather than a CloudFormation CLI-specific credential file. ### Why package nerds care cloudformation-cli is package-nerd significant because it exposes AWS's extension-development workflow as a Python CLI in Homebrew. It is not a high-volume shell utility, but it is the canonical local tool for a specialized infrastructure-as-code authoring loop. The formula also illustrates a common cloud-tooling packaging pattern: a narrow vendor CLI with a small user base but high importance for the teams that need reproducible IaC extension builds. ### Timeline - 2018: Official cloudformation-cli GitHub repository was created. - 2019: Early public v0.1.x releases were published as CloudFormation extension tooling emerged. - 2019: AWS documented the CloudFormation CLI and Registry workflow for provider development. - 2020s: The CLI continued as the toolkit behind CloudFormation resource provider and module development. ### Related projects - AWS CloudFormation Registry is the service surface where generated providers and modules are registered. - Language plugins such as cloudformation-cli-python-plugin and other aws-cloudformation tooling extend the provider-development workflow. - AWS CDK, SAM, cfn-lint, and CloudFormation Guard are adjacent IaC tools, but they solve different authoring, deployment, validation, or policy problems. ### Sources - - ## Security Notes infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal. - **Geiger risk:** orange / medium - infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal ## Configuration and credential file locations These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval. ## Configuration files - Unix: ~/.cfn-cli/typeConfiguration.json ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** cloudformation-cli - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 13 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Related links - [Cloud CLI packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/cloud-clis/) - Belongs to a cloud or infrastructure command family. - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Has protected-tool coverage, approval-gate, or non-low Geiger security signals. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [python@3.13](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/python-3-13/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [cfn-format](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cfn-format/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation, infrastructure-as-code. - [cfnctl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cfnctl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation, infrastructure-as-code. - [cfv](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cfv/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation, infrastructure-as-code. - [org-formation](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/org-formation/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation, infrastructure-as-code. - [rain](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/rain/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation, infrastructure-as-code. - [sceptre](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/sceptre/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation, infrastructure-as-code. - [cfn-flip](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cfn-flip/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation. - [eksctl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/eksctl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: aws, cli, cloud-infrastructure, cloudformation. - [cf2tf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cf2tf/) - Both packages touch the same language runtime or ecosystem. Shared terms: aws, certifi, cli, cloud, cloud-infrastructure. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/cloudformation-cli.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/cloudformation-cli.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - cross-ecosystem install command graph