Hands-On Introduction to IaC with AWS CloudFormation

Name: Hands-On Introduction to IaC with AWS CloudFormation
Rating: 5.0 (2 reviews)

Hands-on guide to Infrastructure as Code on AWS using CloudFormation and YAML

Created byLukasz Kallas

Last updated 8/2026

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Understand what CloudFormation is and when to use it
Write CloudFormation templates in YAML from scratch
Deploy and manage CloudFormation stacks using AWS Console and CLI
Define AWS resources including EC2, S3, VPC using templates
Use Parameters, Outputs, Mappings, and Conditions in templates
Work with intrinsic functions to create dynamic templates
Implement cross-stack references and nested stacks
Use change sets to preview infrastructure changes safely

Course content

3 sections • 19 lectures • 4h 26m total length

Welcome!4:20
Join Our Community0:04
What is CloudFormation & Why to Use it6:26
Define infrastructure as code with CloudFormation templates in yaml or json to declaratively describe resources, automate provisioning, manage dependencies, and support versioning, change sets, and safe rollbacks.
Setup10:06
Set up your IaC environment for AWS CloudFormation by installing the AWS CLI, configuring credentials, and preparing VS Code with the CloudFormation extension for deploying your first stack.

First Template15:48
Create your first AWS CloudFormation template in YAML, define an S3 bucket in the resources, and deploy it with the AWS CloudFormation CLI, learning template structure and stack debug.
Template Anatomy10:55
Explore the anatomy of AWS CloudFormation templates, from template format version to outputs, and master YAML syntax essentials, sections, parameters, mappings, conditions, resources, and intrinsic functions.
Resources18:04
Create a multi-resource CloudFormation template that defines two S3 buckets and an EC2 instance, applying versioning configuration, block public access configuration, and tags, and deploy them as a single stack.
Parameters17:11
Define parameters in CloudFormation templates to replace hard-coded values, enabling reusable S3 bucket and EC2 deployments by configuring bucket prefix, instance type, environment, and constraints.
Outputs22:56
Explore the outputs section in AWS CloudFormation to export values like VPC ID and security group ID, and reference them across stacks.
Mappings & Pseudo Parameters12:16
Learn how mappings and pseudo parameters power CloudFormation templates by using region and environment maps to select region-specific AMI IDs and instance types, with find map and substitution for outputs.
Functions14:33
Explore core CloudFormation functions such as ref, getAt, findInMap, sub, and join to build dynamic, reusable templates, reference resources, and generate parameter-driven configurations in a hands-on IaC course.
Conditions26:54
Explore how to use conditions and if-then logic in AWS CloudFormation templates to tailor resources based on environment parameters, enabling prod, dev, and staging configurations.
Deploying VPC17:27
Updates & Change Sets19:01
Policies & Protection18:40
Cross-Stack References18:19
Nested Stacks29:39

Requirements

Basic understanding of AWS core services (EC2, S3, VPC)
Familiarity with YAML syntax helpful but not required
Basic command line knowledge
AWS account with admin access or CloudFormation permissions (if you like to follow along)

Description

This hands-on course provides a practical introduction to AWS CloudFormation, the Infrastructure as Code service that allows you to define, provision, and manage AWS resources using templates.

If you’ve ever wanted to automate your cloud infrastructure, deploy environments consistently, or manage AWS resources as code instead of clicking through the console manually, this course is for you.

We focus on learning by doing. There are no theory-heavy slides. Instead, we will work directly with CloudFormation templates and AWS resources from the very beginning.

At the beginning we will go through understanding what Infrastructure as Code is, why it matters in modern cloud environments, and how CloudFormation helps automate and standardise deployments across AWS.

Then we’ll set up our environment using VS Code and the AWS CLI before diving into writing CloudFormation templates in YAML.

Throughout the course, you’ll build and manage real AWS infrastructure including:

S3 buckets
EC2 instances
VPCs and networking resources
Security groups

You’ll also learn how to work with:

Parameters and Outputs
Mappings and Conditions
Intrinsic Functions
Stack updates and lifecycle management
Change Sets to preview infrastructure changes
Nested Stacks for organizing larger projects

Everything is explained through practical examples.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to confidently write CloudFormation templates, deploy infrastructure stacks, manage updates safely, and apply Infrastructure as Code principles in your own AWS projects.

This course is a great fit if you are:

A developer working with AWS infrastructure
A DevOps engineer implementing Infrastructure as Code
A cloud engineer automating deployments
Anyone wanting to learn CloudFormation in a practical way

Basic familiarity with AWS services and the command line will be helpful, but no prior CloudFormation experience is required.

If you want a clear, beginner-friendly, and hands-on introduction to AWS CloudFormation, this course is for you.

Who this course is for:

Developers with basic AWS knowledge wanting to learn infrastructure as code
DevOps engineers looking to automate AWS infrastructure provisioning
System administrators transitioning to cloud infrastructure management
Anyone interested in learning CloudFormation and infrastructure automation

Hands-On Introduction to IaC with AWS CloudFormation

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Welcome & Setup4 lectures • 21min

CloudFormation Basics13 lectures • 4hr 2min

Ending2 lectures • 4min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: