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Install on AWS

When to use this page

Use this guide when deploying SkyCMS on AWS with the interactive CDK script or a manual S3-backed setup.

Prerequisites

  • AWS account and IAM permissions for CloudFormation, ECS, RDS, S3, CloudFront, IAM, Secrets Manager, ACM, and EC2.
  • AWS CLI configured.
  • Node.js and npm.
  • Docker.
  • PowerShell.

From the SkyCMS repository:

cd InstallScripts/AWS
./cdk-deploy.ps1

The script prompts for:

  • Region and stack names.
  • Editor deployment settings.
  • Optional custom domains.
  • Optional Publisher deployment (S3 + CloudFront).
  • Optional SES SMTP settings.

Post-deployment steps

  1. Open the Editor URL from deployment output.
  2. Complete setup at /___setup.
  3. Verify upload and publishing flows.
  4. If Publisher stack was enabled, sync website assets to S3.

Manual S3-only option

If you only need object storage integration:

  1. Create S3 bucket.
  2. Create IAM user/access keys with least-privilege S3 access.
  3. Set ConnectionStrings__StorageConnectionString using S3 format.
  4. Continue with standard setup wizard flow.

Troubleshooting

  • CDK deploy fails: confirm permissions and AWS CLI identity.
  • CloudFront not reachable: wait for distribution propagation.
  • Email issues with SES: verify sender identity and sandbox restrictions.
  • Storage failures: verify Bucket, Region, KeyId, and Key values.