Error Message

“User: arn:aws:iam::xxxxxxxxxxxxx:user/xxxxx-xxxxx is not authorized to perform: cloudformation:DescribeStacks on resource: arn:aws:cloudformation:us-xxxx-x:xxxxxxxxx:stack/my-service-dev/*”

Problem

The AWS credentials you are using does not have enough permissions to deploy your service.

Solution

The error message includes the specific IAM permission that is missing to continue the deployment. Go to the IAM console and grant that permission to the IAM user/role you are using to deploy your service.

If you are not familiar with how AWS IAM works and you just want to deploy a test project to see your app in action, you can go with the AdministratorAccess permission. It’s guaranteed to contain all the required permissions to deploy your service.

Note that, it’s not recommended to use AdministratorAccess in a production environment. Instead, figure out the least set of permissions that are required for your app. We have a more detailed article on this here.