Add Your Own Stack

When you need a construct beyond the framework’s surface, you don’t wait for a framework release — you add a sibling stack in raw CDK and compose it alongside the Axis stacks. The framework never blocks this.

The pattern

cdk/lib/stacks/my-custom-stack.ts

import * as cdk from "aws-cdk-lib";
import { Construct } from "constructs";

export class MyCustomStack extends cdk.Stack {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props: cdk.StackProps) {
    super(scope, id, props);
    // …raw CDK constructs here…
  }
}

Then compose it in cdk/bin/app.ts next to the Axis stacks.

Wire it through SSM

Cross-stack references go through SSM Parameter Store, never CloudFormation exports — that’s the framework convention, and following it keeps your stack decoupled from the Axis stacks’ lifecycles. The framework’s BaseStack.params is the helper Axis stacks use; in your own cdk.Stack you read/write SSM directly (or extend BaseStack to inherit the registry).

When to reach for this

• A resource type Axis doesn’t model as a first-class construct.
• A CMK-encrypted table or a rule → Lambda target (the two tracked DataStack gaps).
• Any bespoke wiring you want kept out of the framework surface.

Where to go next

• Extend an Abstract Stack when a framework subclass would do.
• Custom Mode in the Composer to substitute a whole stack in a composer app.