Amplify Gen 2 compiles TypeScript resource definitions into AWS CDK, so anything it does not model can be added as CDK in the same backend, and it can deploy from your own CI with ampx pipeline-deploy. When that is enough, and the signs a team should move the backend to a plain CDK app.
Add any AWS resource with CDK in backend.ts: queues, REST APIs, functions in other runtimes, Step Functions workflows.
Modify the resources Amplify generates (Cognito, AppSync, S3) through their underlying CDK constructs.
Deploy from your own pipeline with npx ampx pipeline-deploy instead of Amplify's build service.
Share secrets and environment variables per branch, or across all branches.
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Keep the Amplify client libraries and UI components; they work against existing Cognito, AppSync and S3 resources through configuration.
Move new resources into a CDK app first, leaving the Amplify-managed ones in place.
Import or recreate the Amplify-managed resources in CDK when convenient, starting with the least stateful, and keep user pools and tables in place rather than recreating them.
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Using the Amplify Libraries Without an Amplify Backend: Cognito, AppSync and S3 You Already Have
The Amplify client libraries and UI components work against AWS resources created any way you like: CDK, Terraform or the console. How to point them at an existing Cognito user pool, AppSync API or S3 bucket, what you gain (sign-in screens, token refresh, signed uploads) and what you give up.
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AWS Amplify in 2026: Every Tool, What It Does, and What Is Being Retired
Amplify is not one product. It is Hosting, a TypeScript backend framework (Gen 2), client libraries, UI components and an AI kit, plus a Gen 1 CLI, Studio and DataStore that reach end of life on May 1, 2027, and Pinpoint-backed analytics and push that lost their backend on October 30, 2026. What each piece is, what it costs and whether to use it.
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As of October 25, 2026. Provided as is, for general information, and accurate to the best of our knowledge on the date shown. Not legal, compliance, tax, financial or other professional advice. Prices, limits and vendor services change; check current vendor documentation before relying on anything here. Terms of use.