AWS AppConfig Management Skill

Analyze and manage AWS AppConfig applications, configurations, and deployments.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always list applications and environments before querying specific resources.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
export AWS_PAGER=""

echo "=== AppConfig Applications ==="
aws appconfig list-applications --output text \
  --query 'Items[].[Id,Name,Description]'

echo ""
echo "=== Environments ==="
for app_id in $(aws appconfig list-applications --output text --query 'Items[].Id'); do
  aws appconfig list-environments --application-id "$app_id" --output text \
    --query "Items[].[\"$app_id\",Id,Name,State]" &
done
wait

echo ""
echo "=== Configuration Profiles ==="
for app_id in $(aws appconfig list-applications --output text --query 'Items[].Id'); do
  aws appconfig list-configuration-profiles --application-id "$app_id" --output text \
    --query "Items[].[\"$app_id\",Id,Name,Type,LocationUri]" &
done
wait

echo ""
echo "=== Deployment Strategies ==="
aws appconfig list-deployment-strategies --output text \
  --query 'Items[].[Id,Name,DeploymentDurationInMinutes,GrowthFactor,FinalBakeTimeInMinutes,ReplicateTo]'

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
export AWS_PAGER=""

echo "=== Active Deployments ==="
for app_id in $(aws appconfig list-applications --output text --query 'Items[].Id'); do
  for env_id in $(aws appconfig list-environments --application-id "$app_id" --output text --query 'Items[].Id'); do
    aws appconfig list-deployments --application-id "$app_id" --environment-id "$env_id" --output text \
      --query "Items[:3].[\"$app_id\",\"$env_id\",DeploymentNumber,ConfigurationName,State,PercentageComplete,StartedAt]" &
  done
done
wait

echo ""
echo "=== Hosted Configuration Versions ==="
for app_id in $(aws appconfig list-applications --output text --query 'Items[].Id'); do
  for profile_id in $(aws appconfig list-configuration-profiles --application-id "$app_id" --output text --query 'Items[].Id'); do
    aws appconfig list-hosted-configuration-versions --application-id "$app_id" --configuration-profile-id "$profile_id" \
      --output text --query "Items[:3].[\"$app_id\",\"$profile_id\",VersionNumber,ContentType]" 2>/dev/null &
  done
done
wait

Output Format

• Target ≤50 lines per output
• Use --output text --query for all commands
• Tab-delimited fields: AppId, EnvId, ProfileName, State
• Summarize deployment status with percentage complete
• Never dump full configuration content -- show metadata only

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations

Shortcut	Counter	Why
"I'll skip discovery and check known resources"	Always run Phase 1 discovery first	Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors
"The user only asked for a quick check"	Follow the full discovery → analysis flow	Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures
"Default configuration is probably fine"	Audit configuration explicitly	Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled
"Metrics aren't needed for this"	Always check relevant metrics when available	API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues
"I don't have access to that"	Try the command and report the actual error	Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative

Common Pitfalls

• Deployment state: States are BAKING, VALIDATING, DEPLOYING, COMPLETE, ROLLING_BACK -- only COMPLETE is stable
• Configuration profile types: AWS.Freeform for custom configs, AWS.AppConfig.FeatureFlags for feature flags
• Hosted vs external: Hosted configurations are stored in AppConfig; external use SSM Parameter Store or S3
• Validators: Profiles can have JSON Schema or Lambda validators -- check before deployment
• Rollback triggers: CloudWatch alarms can trigger automatic rollback -- check environment monitors
• Growth factor: Linear deployment grows by this percentage each interval -- 100% means instant deployment