# What's CloudFormation?

CloudFormation is a powerful Infrastructure as Code tool that can help automate and manage your AWS deployments. CloudFormation is a free AWS service which means no additional charge is needed (but you'll pay for the underlying resources). It manages the lifecycle of your infrastructure. This includes the following:

![](https://1098627933-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJLSyDhjobJQWwESFD5%2F-MKWRWobMYc23PKQzYmn%2F-MKWY2Y251S6szcOnraK%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=49836140-8943-440d-8295-6595136f6f08)

![](https://1098627933-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MJLSyDhjobJQWwESFD5%2F-MKWRWobMYc23PKQzYmn%2F-MKWYIjv4GPBhyJpU6_B%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=6537b850-da09-4548-b533-7fe8a627a17a)

CloudFormation enables you to:

* Model and set up your AWS infrastructure using declarative templates.
* Automate provisioning and configuration.
* Manage dependencies between your resources.
* Easy control and track changes in infrastructure.



