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Tech riderRev. 2 Oct 2026

cfn-lint

Ch 097.0of 27 Infrastructure Testing Tools
  1. 1Runs onLinux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Policy languageAWS CloudFormation Guard DSL
  4. 4IaC formatsCloudFormation templates and change sets; Terraform JSON; Kubernetes configurations
  5. 5Policy testingYes
  6. 6Admission controlYes
  7. 7Runtime enforcementNo
  8. 8CI/CD integrationYes
8 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: github.com
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The cfn-lint homepage

Overview

cfn-lint is ranked #9 of 27 in infrastructure testing tools on Specifiction. It runs on Linux, macOS, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

cfn-lint plans and pricing

All plans
cfn-lint Free MIT-0 licensed · Python 3.10–3.14 supported github.com · 2 Oct 2026

Compared on infrastructure testing tools

Policy language
AWS CloudFormation Guard DSLgithub.com
IaC formats
CloudFormation templates and change sets; Terraform JSON; Kubernetes configurationsgithub.com
Policy testing
Yesgithub.com
Admission control
Yesgithub.com
Runtime enforcement
Nogithub.com
CI/CD integration
Yesgithub.com
Policy reporting
Yesgithub.com

Facts

Purpose
cfn-lint validates AWS CloudFormation YAML and JSON templates against resource provider schemas and additional checks, including valid property values and best practices.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Validation caveat
The project describes validation of complex template values as best effort and says it will not fail just because it cannot understand or translate them.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
SAM support
The linter supports AWS Serverless Application Model templates by transforming them with AWS SAM before processing.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Rules
The linter processes rules for specific checks and validations, and supports user-defined custom rules.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Configuration
Users can configure cfn-lint with command-line options, configuration files, and CloudFormation template metadata.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Output
Supported output formats include quiet, parseable, JSON, JUnit, pretty, and SARIF.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Integrations
The project lists editor integrations for Atom, Emacs, NeoVim/Vim, Sublime, Visual Studio Code, and IntelliJ IDEA, plus a GitHub Action and pre-commit hook.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Installation
The project documents installation with pip, Homebrew for macOS, or Docker.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Runtime
The project states that Python 3.10 through 3.14 are supported.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
License
The repository identifies its license as MIT No Attribution, which grants use, copying, modification, distribution, sublicensing, and sale without restriction.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Support
The project invites users to join its Discord community to discuss cfn-lint and get help.github.com · 2 Oct 2026
Who it serves
The project describes cfn-lint as a tool for validating AWS CloudFormation templates.github.com · 2 Oct 2026

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Where it ranks on Specifiction

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Sources