feat(core): failSynthOnValidationErrors context key to suppress console output and exit code by kaizencc · Pull Request #37909 · aws/aws-cdk

kaizencc · 2026-05-18T17:56:38Z

Reason for this change

The CDK CLI's validate command runs synthesis and then reads the validation report JSON from the cloud assembly to handle display and failure reporting itself. Currently, synthesis both prints validation results to stderr and sets process.exitCode = 1 on failure — duplicating what the CLI does and causing premature process exit.

The CLI needs a way to tell synthesis: "just write the report, I'll handle the rest."

Description of changes

Introduces @aws-cdk/core:failSynthOnValidationErrors context key in cx-api (so the CLI can depend on it):

Default (unset or true): Writes JSON report to cloud assembly, prints human-readable report to stderr, sets process.exitCode = 1 on failure.
false: Only writes the JSON report to the cloud assembly. No console output. No exit code. The caller handles reporting and failure.

Other changes:

Removes the "Policy Validation Successful!" message — no news is good news.
Updates the failure message to: Validation failed. A copy of this report can be found in '<path>'

The JSON report shape is compatible with the new PolicyValidationReportJson types defined in aws/aws-cdk-cli#1515.

Describe any new or updated permissions being added

N/A

Description of how you validated changes

All 45 validation unit tests pass
Added tests for failSynthOnValidationErrors=false behavior (JSON written, no exit code, no console output)

Checklist

My code adheres to the CONTRIBUTING GUIDE and DESIGN GUIDELINES

By submitting this pull request, I confirm that my contribution is made under the terms of the Apache-2.0 license

github-actions · 2026-05-18T17:59:22Z

👋 It looks like your PR description references an issue, but not in the expected location.

The issue number must appear in the first section of the description (the first two lines), following the template format:

### Issue # (if applicable)

Closes #123.

Please move your issue reference to the top of the description.

aws-cdk-automation

(This review is outdated)

rix0rrr · 2026-05-19T09:57:38Z


 const POLICY_VALIDATION_FILE_PATH = 'policy-validation-report.json';
-const VALIDATION_REPORT_PRETTY_CONTEXT = '@aws-cdk/core:validationReportPrettyPrint';
+const VALIDATION_REPORT_ONLY_CONTEXT = '@aws-cdk/core:validationReportOnly';


Suggested change

const VALIDATION_REPORT_ONLY_CONTEXT = '@aws-cdk/core:validationReportOnly';

const FAIL_SYNTH_ON_VALIDATION_ERRORS_CONTEXT = '@aws-cdk/core:failSynthOnValidationErrors';

?

Put this in cx-api so that the CLI can officially depend on it.

rix0rrr · 2026-05-19T09:58:36Z

+        process.exitCode = 1;
+      } else {
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.error('Policy Validation Successful!');


Not necessary. No news is good news.

Btw, why stderr?

This is another instance of me trying to preserve what existed before. It's also the second time you've flagged it, so I'll just remove it :)

rix0rrr · 2026-05-19T09:59:00Z

+      const failed = reports.some(r => !r.success);
+      if (failed) {
+        // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
+        console.error(`Validation failed. See the validation report in '${reportFile}' and above for details`);


Suggested change

console.error(`Validation failed. See the validation report in '${reportFile}' and above for details`);

console.error(`Validation failed. A copy of this report can be found in '${reportFile}'`);

✅ Updated pull request passes all PRLinter validations. Dismissing previous PRLinter review.

kaizencc

is there a test to show with the flag unset and validation errors the resulting error code i 1?

kaizencc · 2026-05-19T18:02:46Z

  });

-  test('JSON format only', () => {
+  test('reportOnly writes JSON but does not print or fail', () => {


not called reportOnly anymore

kaizencc · 2026-05-19T18:03:14Z

  });

-  test('JSON report is always written regardless of context', () => {
+  test('reportOnly succeeds even with validation failures', () => {


not called reportOnly anymore

…onsole output and exit code Move the validation report context key to cx-api as FAIL_SYNTH_ON_VALIDATION_ERRORS_CONTEXT so the CLI can depend on it. When set to false, validation failures only write the JSON report without printing to stderr or setting a non-zero exit code. Always write the JSON report to the cloud assembly regardless of the context key value. Remove the success message ("Policy Validation Successful!") — no news is good news.

mergify · 2026-05-20T06:59:07Z

Thank you for contributing! Your pull request will be updated from main and then merged automatically (do not update manually, and be sure to allow changes to be pushed to your fork).

mergify · 2026-05-20T06:59:10Z

mergify · 2026-05-20T07:46:37Z

Thank you for contributing! Your pull request will be updated from main and then merged automatically (do not update manually, and be sure to allow changes to be pushed to your fork).

github-actions · 2026-05-20T07:47:00Z

Comments on closed issues and PRs are hard for our team to see.
If you need help, please open a new issue that references this one.

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feat(cli): cdk validate command (behind --unstable flag) aws/aws-cdk-cli#1527

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kaizencc changed the title ~~feat(core): validationReportOnly context key to suppress console output and exit failures~~ feat(core): failSynthOnValidationErrors context key to suppress console output and exit code May 19, 2026

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Merge branch 'main' into conroy/suppress-validation-exit

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Merge branch 'main' into conroy/suppress-validation-exit

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	const VALIDATION_REPORT_ONLY_CONTEXT = '@aws-cdk/core:validationReportOnly';
	const FAIL_SYNTH_ON_VALIDATION_ERRORS_CONTEXT = '@aws-cdk/core:failSynthOnValidationErrors';

	console.error(`Validation failed. See the validation report in '${reportFile}' and above for details`);
	console.error(`Validation failed. A copy of this report can be found in '${reportFile}'`);

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