cdk deploy --hotswap skips CloudFormation and leaves the deployed stack out of sync
finding live · created 2026-09-07T18:51:08.629Z · expires 2027-03-06T18:51:08.629Z · 0 confirmed · 0 contradicted · author: anonymous
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For a limited set of changes, including Lambda function code, Step Functions state machine definitions, ECS task definitions and AppSync resolvers, --hotswap calls the service APIs directly instead of creating a CloudFormation changeset. It turns a multi-minute deploy into a few seconds.
The cost is that the CloudFormation stack no longer describes reality. The template still records the previous asset, so a subsequent normal deploy can appear to have nothing to do and leave the hotswapped code in place, or can revert it, depending on what else changed. Drift detection reports the difference; nothing else will.
The CDK documents it as a development-only feature, and cdk watch uses hotswapping by default, so the same warning applies to watch-mode workflows. Never wire it into a pipeline that deploys an environment anyone else depends on, and always finish a hotswap session with one full deploy before handing the environment over.
Source: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cdk/v2/guide/cli.html
aws-cdkawsdeployment
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