Self-managed stack import for Amazon CloudFormation StackSets - Amazon CloudFormation
Import an existing stack into a new StackSet (console)Import an existing stack into an existing StackSet (console)To import a stack into a StackSet (Amazon CLI)
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Self-managed stack import for Amazon CloudFormation StackSets

The CloudFormation stack import operation can import existing stacks into new or existing StackSets, so that you can migrate existing stacks to a StackSet in one operation. By using stack import, you avoid downtime and outages without deleting and recreating those resources. Once the stack is imported into a StackSet, the original stack will become a stack instance of the specified stack set.

Considerations for self-managed stack imports

  • The stack import operation requires an administrator account in which you create a StackSet and a target account that contains a stack.

  • The target account must have permission to use the GetTemplate operation with the input of stack ID or ARN. Because of that, your administrator account must be granted AWSCloudFormationStackSetAdministrationRole or AWSCloudFormationStackSetsExectionRole permissions.

Import an existing stack into a new StackSet (console)

Before you begin, identify the stack that you want to import.

  1. Sign in to the Amazon Web Services Management Console and open the Amazon CloudFormation console at https://console.amazonaws.cn/cloudformation.

  2. From the navigation pane, choose StackSets.

  3. At the top of the StackSets page, choose Create StackSet.

  4. On the Choose a template page, specify a template by one of the following options and choose Next.

    • Choose Amazon S3 URL and specify the URL for your template in the text box.

    • Choose Upload a template file and browse for your template.

    • Choose From stack ID and enter your stack ID.

  5. On the Specify StackSet details page, enter the name of a StackSet you want to create and choose Next.

    (Optional) Enter a description of the StackSet.

  6. On the Configure StackSet options page, review your choices and choose Next.

  7. On the Set deployment options page, choose Import stacks to stack set.

  8. Enter the stack ID of the stack you want to import in the Stacks to import field. For example, arn:aws-cn:cloudformation:us-east-1:123456789012:stack/StackToImport/f449b250-b969-11e0-a185-5081d0136786.

    (Optional) Choose Add another stack ID and enter the stack ID of another stack you want to import. You may add up to 10 stacks per stack import operation.

  9. Review your deployment options and choose Next.

  10. On the Review page, review your choices and your StackSet's properties. When you are ready to import your stack into your StackSet, choose Submit.

Results: The imported stack is now a stack instance of the specified StackSet. To learn more about the stack import status, see StackSets status codes.

Import an existing stack into an existing StackSet (console)

Before you begin, identify the stack that you want to import.

  1. Sign in to the Amazon Web Services Management Console and open the Amazon CloudFormation console at https://console.amazonaws.cn/cloudformation.

  2. From the navigation pane, choose StackSets.

  3. On the StackSets page, choose the StackSet that you want to import a stack into.

  4. With the StackSet selected, choose Add stacks to StackSet from the Actions menu.

  5. On the Set deployment options page, choose Import stacks to stack set and enter the stack ID of the stack you want to import in the Stacks to import field. For example, arn:aws-cn:cloudformation:us-east-1:123456789012:stack/StackToImport/f449b250-b969-11e0-a185-5081d0136786.

    (Optional) Choose Add another stack ID and enter the stack ID of another stack you want to import. You may add up to 10 stacks per stack import operation.

  6. Choose Next.

  7. On the Specify overrides page, review your choices and choose Next.

  8. On the Review page, review your choices and your StackSet's properties. When you are ready to create your StackSet, choose Submit.

Results: The imported stack is now a stack instance of the specified StackSet. To learn more about the stack import status, see StackSets status codes.

Import a stack into a StackSet (Amazon CLI)

To import an existing stack into a new StackSet

The following create-stack-set command creates a StackSet and imports the specified stack. The stack to import is identified by its ARN. Replace the placeholder text with your own information.

aws cloudformation create-stack-set \
  --stack-set-name MyStackSet \
  --stack-id arn:aws:cloudformation:us-east-1:123456789012:stack/StackToImport/466df9e0-0dff-08e3-8e2f-5088487c4896 \
  --administration-role-arn arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/AWSCloudFormationStackSetAdministrationRole \
  --execution-role-name AWSCloudFormationStackSetExecutionRole
To import an existing stack into an existing StackSet

The following import-stacks-to-stack-sets command imports the specified stack into the MyStackSet StackSet. The stack to import is identified by its ARN. Replace the placeholder text with your own information.

aws cloudformation import-stacks-to-stack-set \
  --stack-set MyStackSet \
  --stack-ids arn:aws-cn:cloudformation:us-east-1:123456789012:stack/StackToImport/f449b250-b969-11e0-a185-5081d0136786

To specify more than one stack, use the following format for the value of the --stack-ids option.

--stack-ids "arn_1" "arn_2"
To clone the imported stack into other Regions and accounts

The following create-stack-instances command adds stack instances to your StackSet. Replace the placeholder text with your own information.

aws cloudformation create-stack-instances \
  --stack-set-name MyStackSet \
  --accounts '["account_ID_1","account_ID_2"]' \
  --regions '["region_1","region_2"]'