aws-solution-architect
Design AWS architectures for startups using serverless patterns and IaC templates. Use when asked to design serverless architecture, create CloudFormation templates, optimize AWS costs, set up CI/CD pipelines, or migrate to AWS. Covers Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, ECS, Aurora, and cost optimization.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill aws-solution-architect- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads aws-solution-architect automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
AWS Solution Architect
Design scalable, cost-effective AWS architectures for startups with infrastructure-as-code templates.
Workflow
Step 1: Gather Requirements
Collect application specifications:
- Application type (web app, mobile backend, data pipeline, SaaS)
- Expected users and requests per second
- Budget constraints (monthly spend limit)
- Team size and AWS experience level
- Compliance requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2)
- Availability requirements (SLA, RPO/RTO)
Step 2: Design Architecture
Run the architecture designer to get pattern recommendations:
python scripts/architecture_designer.py --input requirements.json
Example output:
{
"recommended_pattern": "serverless_web",
"service_stack": ["S3", "CloudFront", "API Gateway", "Lambda", "DynamoDB", "Cognito"],
"estimated_monthly_cost_usd": 35,
"pros": ["Low ops overhead", "Pay-per-use", "Auto-scaling"],
"cons": ["Cold starts", "15-min Lambda limit", "Eventual consistency"]
}
Select from recommended patterns:
- Serverless Web: S3 + CloudFront + API Gateway + Lambda + DynamoDB
- Event-Driven Microservices: EventBridge + Lambda + SQS + Step Functions
- Three-Tier: ALB + ECS Fargate + Aurora + ElastiCache
- GraphQL Backend: AppSync + Lambda + DynamoDB + Cognito
See references/architecture_patterns.md for detailed pattern specifications.
Validation checkpoint: Confirm the recommended pattern matches the team's operational maturity and compliance requirements before proceeding to Step 3.
Step 3: Generate IaC Templates
Create infrastructure-as-code for the selected pattern:
# Serverless stack (CloudFormation)
python scripts/serverless_stack.py --app-name my-app --region us-east-1
Example CloudFormation YAML output (core serverless resources):
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Transform: AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
Parameters:
AppName:
Type: String
Default: my-app
Resources:
ApiFunction:
Type: AWS::Serverless::Function
Properties:
Handler: index.handler
Runtime: nodejs20.x
MemorySize: 512
Timeout: 30
Environment:
Variables:
TABLE_NAME: !Ref DataTable
Policies:
- DynamoDBCrudPolicy:
TableName: !Ref DataTable
Events:
ApiEvent:
Type: Api
Properties:
Path: /{proxy+}
Method: ANY
DataTable:
Type: AWS::DynamoDB::Table
Properties:
BillingMode: PAY_PER_REQUEST
AttributeDefinitions:
- AttributeName: pk
AttributeType: S
- AttributeName: sk
AttributeType: S
KeySchema:
- AttributeName: pk
KeyType: HASH
- AttributeName: sk
KeyType: RANGE
Full templates including API Gateway, Cognito, IAM roles, and CloudWatch logging are generated by
serverless_stack.pyand also available inreferences/architecture_patterns.md.
Example CDK TypeScript snippet (three-tier pattern):
import * as ecs from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-ecs';
import * as ec2 from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-ec2';
import * as rds from 'aws-cdk-lib/aws-rds';
const vpc = new ec2.Vpc(this, 'AppVpc', { maxAzs: 2 });
const cluster = new ecs.Cluster(this, 'AppCluster', { vpc });
const db = new rds.ServerlessCluster(this, 'AppDb', {
engine: rds.DatabaseClusterEngine.auroraPostgres({
version: rds.AuroraPostgresEngineVersion.VER_15_2,
}),
vpc,
scaling: { minCapacity: 0.5, maxCapacity: 4 },
});
Step 4: Review Costs
Analyze estimated costs and optimization opportunities:
python scripts/cost_optimizer.py --resources current_setup.json --monthly-spend 2000
Example output:
{
"current_monthly_usd": 2000,
"recommendations": [
{ "action": "Right-size RDS db.r5.2xlarge → db.r5.large", "savings_usd": 420, "priority": "high" },
{ "action": "Purchase 1-yr Compute Savings Plan at 40% utilization", "savings_usd": 310, "priority": "high" },
{ "action": "Move S3 objects >90 days to Glacier Instant Retrieval", "savings_usd": 85, "priority": "medium" }
],
"total_potential_savings_usd": 815
}
Output includes:
- Monthly cost breakdown by service
- Right-sizing recommendations
- Savings Plans opportunities
- Potential monthly savings
Step 5: Deploy
Deploy the generated infrastructure:
# CloudFormation
aws cloudformation create-stack \
--stack-name my-app-stack \
--template-body file://template.yaml \
--capabilities CAPABILITY_IAM
# CDK
cdk deploy
# Terraform
terraform init && terraform apply
Step 6: Validate and Handle Failures
Verify deployment and set up monitoring:
# Check stack status
aws cloudformation describe-stacks --stack-name my-app-stack
# Set up CloudWatch alarms
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm --alarm-name high-errors ...
If stack creation fails:
- Check the failure reason:
aws cloudformation describe-stack-events \ --stack-name my-app-stack \ --query 'StackEvents[?ResourceStatus==`CREATE_FAILED`]' - Review CloudWatch Logs for Lambda or ECS errors.
- Fix the template or resource configuration.
- Delete the failed stack before retrying:
aws cloudformation delete-stack --stack-name my-app-stack # Wait for deletion aws cloudformation wait stack-delete-complete --stack-name my-app-stack # Redeploy aws cloudformation create-stack ...
Common failure causes:
- IAM permission errors → verify
--capabilities CAPABILITY_IAMand role trust policies - Resource limit exceeded → request quota increase via Service Quotas console
- Invalid template syntax → run
aws cloudformation validate-template --template-body file://template.yamlbefore deploying
Tools
architecture_designer.py
Generates architecture patterns based on requirements.
python scripts/architecture_designer.py --input requirements.json --output design.json
Input: JSON with app type, scale, budget, compliance needs Output: Recommended pattern, service stack, cost estimate, pros/cons
serverless_stack.py
Creates serverless CloudFormation templates.
python scripts/serverless_stack.py --app-name my-app --region us-east-1
Output: Production-ready CloudFormation YAML with:
- API Gateway + Lambda
- DynamoDB table
- Cognito user pool
- IAM roles with least privilege
- CloudWatch logging
cost_optimizer.py
Analyzes costs and recommends optimizations.
python scripts/cost_optimizer.py --resources inventory.json --monthly-spend 5000
Output: Recommendations for:
- Idle resource removal
- Instance right-sizing
- Reserved capacity purchases
- Storage tier transitions
- NAT Gateway alternatives
Quick Start
MVP Architecture (< $100/month)
Ask: "Design a serverless MVP backend for a mobile app with 1000 users"
Result:
- Lambda + API Gateway for API
- DynamoDB pay-per-request for data
- Cognito for authentication
- S3 + CloudFront for static assets
- Estimated: $20-50/month
Scaling Architecture ($500-2000/month)
Ask: "Design a scalable architecture for a SaaS platform with 50k users"
Result:
- ECS Fargate for containerized API
- Aurora Serverless for relational data
- ElastiCache for session caching
- CloudFront for CDN
- CodePipeline for CI/CD
- Multi-AZ deployment
Cost Optimization
Ask: "Optimize my AWS setup to reduce costs by 30%. Current spend: $3000/month"
Provide: Current resource inventory (EC2, RDS, S3, etc.)
Result:
- Idle resource identification
- Right-sizing recommendations
- Savings Plans analysis
- Storage lifecycle policies
- Target savings: $900/month
IaC Generation
Ask: "Generate CloudFormation for a three-tier web app with auto-scaling"
Result:
- VPC with public/private subnets
- ALB with HTTPS
- ECS Fargate with auto-scaling
- Aurora with read replicas
- Security groups and IAM roles
Input Requirements
Provide these details for architecture design:
| Requirement | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Application type | What you're building | SaaS platform, mobile backend |
| Expected scale | Users, requests/sec | 10k users, 100 RPS |
| Budget | Monthly AWS limit | $500/month max |
| Team context | Size, AWS experience | 3 devs, intermediate |
| Compliance | Regulatory needs | HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2 |
| Availability | Uptime requirements | 99.9% SLA, 1hr RPO |
JSON Format:
{
"application_type": "saas_platform",
"expected_users": 10000,
"requests_per_second": 100,
"budget_monthly_usd": 500,
"team_size": 3,
"aws_experience": "intermediate",
"compliance": ["SOC2"],
"availability_sla": "99.9%"
}
Output Formats
Architecture Design
- Pattern recommendation with rationale
- Service stack diagram (ASCII)
- Monthly cost estimate and trade-offs
IaC Templates
- CloudFormation YAML: Production-ready SAM/CFN templates
- CDK TypeScript: Type-safe infrastructure code
- Terraform HCL: Multi-cloud compatible configs
Cost Analysis
- Current spend breakdown with optimization recommendations
- Priority action list (high/medium/low) and implementation checklist
Reference Documentation
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
references/architecture_patterns.md | 6 patterns: serverless, microservices, three-tier, data processing, GraphQL, multi-region |
references/service_selection.md | Decision matrices for compute, database, storage, messaging |
references/best_practices.md | Serverless design, cost optimization, security hardening, scalability |
FAQ
What does the aws-solution-architect skill do?
Design AWS architectures for startups using serverless patterns and IaC templates. Use when asked to design serverless architecture, create CloudFormation templates, optimize AWS costs, set up CI/CD pipelines, or migrate to AWS. Covers Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, ECS, Aurora, and cost optimization.
How do I install aws-solution-architect?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills --skill aws-solution-architect in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/aws-solution-architect/ (personal) or .claude/skills/aws-solution-architect/ (project).
Which AI agents can use aws-solution-architect?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is aws-solution-architect safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains aws-solution-architect?
It is published by alirezarezvani in alirezarezvani/claude-skills. It has 1,589 recorded installs.
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