cloudX

AWS CloudFormation templates for setting up Amazon Linux 2023 EC2 instances as remote development backends for VSCode.

Introduction

cloudX is a worthy successor to AWS Cloud9, providing a modern remote development environment using VSCode with Amazon Linux 2023. With Cloud9 no longer available for new customers, cloudX offers a flexible alternative for cloud-based development.

This repository contains the AWS-side CloudFormation templates. For client-side setup (SSH configuration and proxy management), see the cloudX-proxy repository.

Quick Deploy

Deploy the CloudFormation templates directly to your AWS account:

1. Environment Setup (Required - Once Per Environment)

Creates IAM resources, security groups, and stores environment configuration in Parameter Store.

2. Instance Deployment (Required - Per Developer Per Environment)

Deploys an EC2 instance with development tools configured via UserData.

3. User Setup (Optional - Per Developer Per Environment)

Creates a dedicated IAM user with access keys for instance management.

CloudFormation Templates

Multiple Environments Support

cloudX supports multiple isolated environments within a single AWS account. Each environment has its own:

• VPC subnet for instance placement
• IAM group for user permissions
• Security group configuration
• SSO domain settings

This allows you to separate development, testing, and production environments, or create isolated workspaces for different teams or projects.

cloudX-environment.yaml

Deploy this template once per environment (e.g., "OTA", "Prod", "Dev").

Creates the core infrastructure for a cloudX environment:

• IAM instance profile with SSM access and necessary AWS service permissions
• Security group for instance networking
• IAM group with ABAC policies for user access control
• Parameter Store configuration storing all environment settings

Parameters:

• EnvironmentName: Unique name for this environment (e.g., "OTA", "Prod") - used to isolate resources
• Subnet: The VPC subnet ID where instances will be deployed
• SSODomain: Your AWS SSO domain (e.g., "mycompany.awsapps.com") for SSO tools configuration
• AbacTag: The tag key used for attribute-based access control (default: ez2:cloudx:user)

All configuration is stored in SSM Parameter Store at /cloudX/{EnvironmentName}/... for use by instance and user templates.

cloudX-instance.yaml

Deploy this template for each developer instance within an environment.

Creates an EC2 instance configured as a development backend:

• Amazon Linux 2023 (latest AMI, automatically updated)
• Configurable instance type (default: t3.large) and volume size
• Automatic software installation via UserData (embedded in template)
• Tagged with environment and username for ABAC permissions
• SSM-enabled for secure connections without SSH keys in AWS

Parameters:

• UserName: Username without prefix (e.g., "john") - will be combined with environment for ABAC
• EnvironmentName: Name of the cloudX environment (must match an existing environment)
• InstanceType: EC2 instance type (default: t3.large)
• VolumeSize: Root volume size in GB (default: 16)
• Software packages: BREW, DIRENV, ZSH, UV, NVM, PIP, DOCKER, ANACONDA, PRIVPAGE, FORTOOLS

The instance automatically retrieves configuration from the environment's SSM parameters. Software selection can be controlled via template parameters.

cloudX-user.yaml

Optional: Deploy for each developer per environment if dedicated IAM credentials are needed.

Recommendation: We strongly prefer users to be identified via an SSO Role with appropriate permissions. This template is provided for scenarios where IAM users are strictly required.

If using SSO, ensure your permission set matches the permissions defined in the IAM group created by the environment template.

This template creates a dedicated IAM user with environment-scoped access:

• IAM username format: cloudX-{EnvironmentName}-{UserName} (e.g., "cloudX-OTA-john")
• Automatic membership in the environment's IAM group
• Access key pair automatically generated
• Credentials stored securely in Parameter Store at /cloudX/{EnvironmentName}/{UserName}/CloudXUserAccessKey*
• Email notification support for credential distribution

Parameters:

• UserName: Username without prefix (e.g., "john")
• EnvironmentName: Name of the cloudX environment (must match an existing environment)
• EmailAddress: Email address for credential notification (optional)

Client-Side Setup

For setting up your local machine to connect to cloudX instances, please refer to the cloudX-proxy repository. It handles:

• SSH configuration and proxy management
• Automatic instance startup via SSM
• SSH key management and deployment
• VSCode Remote Development integration
• Support for both Unix-like systems and Windows

Software Installation on Instances

Software installation is handled automatically via UserData and CloudFormation Init metadata embedded directly in the template. Software selection can be controlled via CloudFormation parameters during stack deployment.

Available Software Packages

Package	Description	Default
UV	UV package manager - extremely fast pip/venv alternative	✓ Mandatory
BREW	Homebrew package manager	✓ Mandatory
DIRENV	Automatic environment variable management	✓ Mandatory
ZSH	Zsh + Oh My Zsh with easytocloud theme	✓ Mandatory
PRIVPAGE	AWS CLI output privacy tool	✓ Mandatory
FORTOOLS	Multi-account AWS iteration tools	✓ Mandatory
SSO	AWS SSO configuration (adds ssostart alias)	✓ Mandatory
NVM	Node Version Manager	Optional
PIP	Python pip package manager	Optional
DOCKER	Docker container runtime	Optional

Note: The SSODomain is automatically retrieved from the environment configuration.

Repository Contents

.
├── templates/
│   ├── cloudX-environment.yaml    # Environment setup (deploy once)
│   ├── cloudX-instance.yaml       # Instance template (per developer)
│   └── cloudX-user.yaml           # Optional IAM user creation
├── install.sh                     # UserData installation script (Legacy support)
└── archive/                       # Archived scripts (proxies, ec2cloudx.sh)

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. For client-side proxy functionality, please contribute to the cloudX-proxy repository instead.

---

Legacy Note

The legacy proxy scripts (cloudX-proxy.sh and cloudx-proxy.ps1) have been moved to the archive/ directory. They are no longer maintained or published to Homebrew. Please use the dedicated cloudX-proxy tool for all client-side connectivity.