cfn-lint vs TaskCat
cfn-lint
github.com
TaskCat
aws-ia.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | cfn-lint | TaskCat |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Infrastructure Testing Tools | 8.1 (#8) | 6.6 (#26) |
| Installation | The project documents installation with pip, Homebrew for macOS, or Docker. | The guide offers installation through PyPI, a development install from GitHub, or the official Docker image. |
| 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. | The documentation describes CI/CD integration with GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and AWS CodePipeline. |
| License | The repository identifies its license as MIT No Attribution, which grants use, copying, modification, distribution, sublicensing, and sale without restriction. | The GitHub repository lists an Apache-2.0 license. |
| Purpose | cfn-lint validates AWS CloudFormation YAML and JSON templates against resource provider schemas and additional checks, including valid property values and best practices. | TaskCat tests AWS CloudFormation templates by deploying them across multiple AWS Regions and reporting pass or fail for each Region. |
| Support | The project invites users to join its Discord community to discuss cfn-lint and get help. | The documentation directs users to its guides, GitHub issues, and community discussions for help. |
Plans
In their own words
cfn-lint
cfn-lint is a free, open-source validator for AWS CloudFormation YAML and JSON templates. It checks templates against resource provider schemas and applies additional rules, including validation of property values and best practices. AWS Serverless Application Model templates are processed after transformation with AWS SAM. Users can configure built-in checks through command-line options, configuration files, or CloudFormation template metadata, and can add custom rules. Results can be emitted as quiet, parseable, JSON, JUnit, pretty, or SARIF output. Installation options documented by the project include pip, Homebrew for macOS, and Docker; supported Python versions are 3.10 through 3.14. Listed integrations include Atom, Emacs, NeoVim/Vim, Sublime, Visual Studio Code, IntelliJ IDEA, GitHub Actions, and pre-commit. The project treats complex template-value validation as best effort and does not fail merely because it cannot interpret or translate a value. The repository identifies its license as MIT No Attribution, and the plan costs nothing.