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Install on AWS

Summary

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.

Outcome

After completing this guide, SkyCMS should be deployed on AWS, the setup wizard should be finished, and storage or publisher integrations should be working for the selected path.

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.

Verification

This installation is complete when the editor is reachable, setup finishes successfully, uploads work, and published output is reachable through the expected AWS path.

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.