How do I troubleshoot the error I receive when I fail to create a nested stack?

Short description

You might receive the following error when you try to create a nested stack: "Embedded stack <NESTED_STACK_ARN> was not successfully created: The following resource(s) failed to create: [LogicalID]."

When a nested stack fails, it moves to a DELETE_COMPLETE state if Stack failure options is set to "Roll back all stack resources." You don't see the failed nested stack in the AWS CloudFormation console because the stack's filter status is set to ACTIVE, by default. As a result, the console doesn't include the stacks that are in DELETE_COMPLETE state.

Note: If you set Stack failure options to "Preserve successfully provisioned resources," then the console displays "CREATE_FAILED" for the nested stack that failed to create.

Resolution

To identify the cause of the error, complete the following steps:

1. Open the AWS CloudFormation console.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Stacks, and then find the stack that failed with the above error.
3. Go to the Events tab, and then copy the Logical ID corresponding to the failed event.
4. Go to the Resources tab, and then search for the nested stack using the Logical ID that you copied in step 2.
5. Open the Physical ID link to open the nested stack that failed.
6. Go to the Events tab, and then check for the reason why the nested stack failed.

Note: If you have multiple nested levels, then follow steps 3 through 6 until you find the resource in the failed nested stack.

Related information

Troubleshooting CloudFormation

How do I use the AWSSupport-TroubleshootCfnCustomResource runbook to diagnose why my CloudFormation stack failed?