macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install cfnctllocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 9524
Install cfnctl with Homebrew
Brings the Terraform cli experience to AWS Cloudformation. Version 0.1.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-27.
install
Additional install commands
overview
Package summary
Brings the Terraform cli experience to AWS Cloudformation
Project links
Commands and aliases
- cfnctl
history
Project history and usage
cfnctl is a Go command-line tool that brings a Terraform-like workflow to AWS CloudFormation. Its README presents familiar commands such as apply, plan, destroy, output, and validate for users who still need to manage CloudFormation stacks.
Project history
The official repository was created in September 2021 and frames the tool around a specific workflow problem: teams that like Terraform's CLI experience but are required to use CloudFormation. The README describes the project as early in development and explicitly lists missing features such as large-template S3 upload and drift detection.
The first public GitHub releases in March 2023 were v0.1.0 and v0.1.1. The README continues to invite feature requests and pull requests and notes planned terminal UI work around the Charm stack.
Adoption history
cfnctl is a niche infrastructure tool rather than a broad AWS standard utility. Official distribution is through GitHub releases, and the package metadata in this batch shows it packaged in Homebrew.
Its adoption story is best read as package-manager convenience for CloudFormation-heavy users who want plan/apply style stack operations without switching their template language.
How it is used
The documented commands are apply, plan, destroy, output, validate, and version. The README example uses `cfnctl apply --template-file mycfntmpl.yaml --auto-approve`.
Because the official README does not document a persistent application config file or credentials file, those locations are left null. AWS credential handling may be inherited from the AWS SDK or environment, but that is not named in the project documentation used here.
Why package nerds care
cfnctl is interesting to package people because it is a small single-purpose CLI that imports the workflow vocabulary of one infrastructure tool into another ecosystem. That kind of tool often lives or dies by whether it is easy to install as a binary.
The Homebrew formula matters here: it turns a GitHub-release-only CloudFormation helper into a one-command install for macOS operators.
Timeline
- 2021: The rogerwelin/cfnctl repository is created on GitHub.
- 2023: v0.1.0 and v0.1.1 are published as GitHub releases.
- 2026: The README still describes planned improvements and early-development gaps.
Related projects
- AWS CloudFormation is the stack system cfnctl operates against.
- Terraform is the workflow model named directly by the README.
- Charm's Bubble Tea, Lip Gloss, and Huh are listed in the README as planned terminal UI migration targets.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: orange
infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.
Risk classifier
orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure
Why
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal
Signals
- text:cloud
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
cfnctl | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version0.1.1
manager updated2026-07-27
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:cfnctl |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.1.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/rogerwelin/cfnctl |
| Repository | https://github.com/rogerwelin/cfnctl |
| Last updated | 2026-07-27T19:20:58+02:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation