CDKTF Management Skill

Manage CDK for Terraform projects, synthesize HCL, deploy stacks, and inspect outputs.

MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern

Always inspect the CDKTF project structure and synthesized output before deploying.

Phase 1: Discovery

#!/bin/bash
echo "=== CDKTF Version ==="
cdktf --version 2>/dev/null

echo ""
echo "=== Project Structure ==="
cat cdktf.json 2>/dev/null | jq '{language, app, terraformProviders: (.terraformProviders // [] | length), terraformModules: (.terraformModules // [] | length)}'

echo ""
echo "=== Stacks ==="
cdktf list 2>/dev/null | head -15

echo ""
echo "=== Generated Providers ==="
ls .gen/providers/ 2>/dev/null | head -10 || echo "No generated providers found"

echo ""
echo "=== Dependencies ==="
if [ -f package.json ]; then
  jq '.dependencies // {} | keys' package.json 2>/dev/null | head -15
elif [ -f requirements.txt ]; then
  head -15 requirements.txt
fi

Phase 2: Analysis

#!/bin/bash
STACK="${1:-}"

echo "=== Synth Output ==="
cdktf synth 2>&1 | tail -10

echo ""
echo "=== Synthesized Stacks ==="
ls cdktf.out/stacks/ 2>/dev/null

echo ""
if [ -n "$STACK" ]; then
  echo "=== Stack Plan ($STACK) ==="
  cdktf diff "$STACK" 2>&1 | tail -30
else
  echo "=== Default Stack Plan ==="
  cdktf diff 2>&1 | tail -30
fi

Output Rules

• TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target <=50 lines per output
• Always synth before diff or deploy
• Show resource counts from synthesized output, not full HCL
• Summarize provider versions rather than listing all bindings

Safety Rules

• NEVER run cdktf deploy without cdktf diff first
• Always run cdktf synth to validate before deployment
• Review generated Terraform in cdktf.out/ before applying
• Pin provider versions in cdktf.json for reproducibility
• Use --auto-approve only when explicitly confirmed

Output Format

Present results as a structured report:

Managing Cdktf Report
═════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]

Resource       Status    Key Metric    Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name]         [ok/warn] [value]       [findings]

Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]

Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.

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