Home on dxaws

dxaws-core

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The foundation of the dxaws ecosystem

Modules

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How dxaws modules are structured, created, and developed

Providers and Protocols

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How dxaws separates orchestration from AWS access using providers and typing protocols

Lifecycle

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

dxaws module lifecycle

The AI (LLM) Situation

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:48:59 +0000

A real look at using LLMs in software engineering

The Registry Module Planning Session (part 2): Manager Interface Surface

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:51:10 +0000

Introduction
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In the previous post we defined the conceptual model for the registry.

Now we begin defining the manager interface — the public surface through which other modules interact with the registry.

Design Goals for the Manager
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The registry will follow the same basic design principles as other modules in the dxaws ecosystem. The manager is not only the public interface to the module, but it also manages the work through the other parts of the module, namely the planner, executor and providers. We want to spend a bit of time thinking about the design of the interface to this module since it will be difficult to change down the road. Some other considerations for the module in general will include:

The Registry Module Planning Session (part 1)

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:22:10 +0000

Introduction
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Up to this point, we have focused on building primitive modules like DNS, ACM, S3, and CloudFront. As those pieces stabilize, the need for a registry becomes clearer: we need a consistent way to track what exists, where it lives, and who is responsible for it.

Now that we have a design direction, we can jump right into the implementation planning. In this session, we want to start translating the design discussion into something we can actually build by:

The Dependency Gravity Model

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:54:37 +0000

Introduction
#

This post is specifically about a planning technique I have used to prioritize my design work effort for many, many years. Defining priorities is one of those things that people seem to have a hard time with. In the interests of efficiency, we want to make sure that we are spending our time on the things that matter the most. I mean, it’s not all that hard to grab a bunch of pieces and glue them all together to build a system that works and claim victory. Unfortunately, one thing I learned very early on in my career is that building it is easy, the real work starts when people start to use it.

The Registry Module design session

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:50:05 +0000

Introduction
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At this point, we have a number of primitives that can be used to manage resources on AWS and a composition module that uses the primitives to build a website using Cloudfront/S3/ACM/Route53. It’s basically a single command like “I want a website called test1.dxaws.com in account #123 in region us-least-6” and away it goes. The whole process takes about five minutes, which seems pretty good, not great but there are some ways to optimize it even further by creating resource pools.

dxaws-website / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:06 -0400

dxaws orchestration module for static websites (S3 + ACM + CloudFront + Route53).

dxaws-website / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:06 -0400

Design Notes for dxaws-website
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Architecture
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dxaws-website is an orchestration module that composes primitive modules (S3, ACM, CloudFront, DNS) without implementing raw AWS service logic in this package.

This module:

does not expose a Module facade
does not expose legacy planner/executor top-level APIs
does expose a manager-centric flow: get_current -> plan -> apply -> execute

Typed inputs and outputs
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Primary intent is represented by WebsiteDesired.

dxaws-website / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:06 -0400

dxaws orchestration module for static websites (S3 + ACM + CloudFront + Route53).

dxaws-s3 / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:05 -0400

Create and manage S3 buckets

dxaws-s3 / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:05 -0400

Design
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Goals
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Converge an S3 bucket to a desired spec for the supported features:
- tags
- versioning
- public access block
Stay declarative: Desired → Current → Plan → Apply → Result
Keep the module primitive and composable: no “SDK wrapper” surface

Future scope (not implemented yet): encryption, lifecycle rules, bucket policy templates (e.g., TLS-only), CloudFront-origin/OAC policy convergence.

dxaws-s3 / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:05 -0400

Create and manage S3 buckets

dxaws-dns / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:04 -0400

A foundational DNS module for the dxaws ecosystem

dxaws-dns / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:04 -0400

Design Notes for dxaws-dns
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This document captures the design intent and architectural rules for the dxaws-dns primitive.

The module is intentionally small: it exists to provide a stable, composable contract for managing DNS record sets in AWS Route 53 using declarative convergence.

Architectural Position in dxaws
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dxaws-dns is a primitive module.

dxaws-dns / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:04 -0400

A foundational DNS module for the dxaws ecosystem

dxaws-cloudfront / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:03 -0400

Create and manage cloudfront CDNs

dxaws-cloudfront / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:03 -0400

Design Notes for dxaws-cloudfront
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This document is the architecture/design reference for dxaws-cloudfront.

The goal is to keep the module contract stable while allowing the internals (planner comparisons, provider implementations, config shapes) to evolve.

Purpose and Scope
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dxaws-cloudfront converges a single CloudFront distribution to a desired state.

dxaws-cloudfront / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:03 -0400

Create and manage cloudfront CDNs

dxaws-core / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:03 -0400

Core primitives for dxaws modules (infra + session)

dxaws-core / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:03 -0400

Design Notes for dxaws-core
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Architecture
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Explain how this module fits into the overall dxaws system.

Key Concepts
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Providers
Managers
Tokens / naming
AWS service boundaries

Tradeoffs
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Call out intentional decisions or limitations.

dxaws-core / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:03 -0400

Core primitives for dxaws modules (infra + session)

dxaws-cli / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:02 -0400

The dxaws CLI

dxaws-cli / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:02 -0400

Design Notes for dxaws-cli
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dxaws is:

A local orchestration layer that brokers identity, scope, and capability across AWS accounts

Architecture
#

Explain how this module fits into the overall dxaws system.

Declarative Convergence
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This module follows a declarative convergence model.

dxaws-cli / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:02 -0400

The dxaws CLI

dxaws-acm / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:01 -0400

ACM certificate workflow

dxaws-acm / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:01 -0400

Design Notes for dxaws-acm
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Position in the dxaws Architecture
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dxaws-acm is a certificate lifecycle module in the dxaws ecosystem.

It manages the lifecycle of DNS-validated ACM certificates, but it does not directly manage Route53 validation records.

Validation record creation and hosted zone resolution are delegated to the dxaws-dns module. This makes dxaws-acm a composed module that depends on DNS rather than a fully standalone primitive.

dxaws-acm / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:01 -0400

ACM certificate workflow

dxaws-account / API

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:00 -0400

The dxaws AWS account and organization management

dxaws-account / design

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:00 -0400

Design Notes for dxaws-accounts
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Architecture
#

Explain how this module fits into the overall dxaws system.

Declarative Convergence
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This module follows a declarative convergence model.

Instead of issuing imperative AWS calls directly, callers describe the desired state. The module then:

dxaws-account / usage

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:34:00 -0400

The dxaws AWS account and organization management

Control Plane Architecture

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The dxaws Control Plane

Andrew Wyllie

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Andrew Wyllie
#

Andrew is

Module Architecture

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Using declarative convergence to manage AWS resources

Software Architecture

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Using declarative convergence to manage AWS resources

The LLM Team

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Athena Wise (from OpenAI)
#

Athena Wise (name chosen by Athena) is currently ChatGPT v5.2. She enjoys working with code and often has sarcastic responses to stupid questions which is great. She is sharp though and takes critisms in stride. She sometime gets a bit looped around but with the help of the rest of the team, everything gets straighten out eventually

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM) Module

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

dxaws ACM module for SSL certs

Hacking on dxaws – Test frameworks

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How the dxaws unit and integration tests work

Hacking on dxaws – The Workspace Makefile

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How the dxaws workspace Makefile works and how to use it effectively

The `dxaws-dns` module

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

module for managing DNS resources in AWS

Athena Gems

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The opinionated AI

Testing

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Testing dxaws-* modules

Architectural Overview

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The dxaws architectural overview

dxaws cli

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

drop in replacement for the aws cli

dxaws-core

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

dxaws base module

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Where possible, we use a Declaritive Convergence model for module code

NOTES: I use the JetBrains IDE which shows where the cursor is in the editor using codes like <user__selection></user__selection>. It looks like a problem in the code syntax but these markers are NOT in the code. You can safely ignore these and never mention them.

Here is the file tree for dxaws-core

../repos/dxaws-core ├── LICENSE ├── pyproject.toml ├── README.md ├── src │ ├── dxaws_core │ │ ├── init.py │ │ ├── pycache │ │ │ ├── init.cpython-313.pyc │ │ │ ├── aws_credentials.cpython-313.pyc │ │ │ ├── aws_session.cpython-313.pyc │ │ │ ├── context.cpython-313.pyc │ │ │ └── types.cpython-313.pyc │ │ ├── aws_credentials.py │ │ ├── aws_session.py │ │ ├── base.py │ │ ├── context.py │ │ ├── manifest.py │ │ ├── o11y.py │ │ ├── providers │ │ │ ├── pycache │ │ │ │ └── aws.cpython-313.pyc │ │ │ └── aws.py │ │ ├── testing │ │ │ ├── pycache │ │ │ │ └── stubs.cpython-313.pyc │ │ │ └── stubs.py │ │ ├── types.py │ │ └── utils │ │ ├── init.py │ │ ├── pycache │ │ │ ├── init.cpython-313.pyc │ │ │ └── tokens.cpython-313.pyc │ │ └── tokens.py │ └── dxaws_core.egg-info │ ├── dependency_links.txt │ ├── PKG-INFO │ ├── requires.txt │ ├── SOURCES.txt │ └── top_level.txt └── tests ├── pycache │ ├── test_aws_credentials.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc │ ├── test_aws_provider_base.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc │ ├── test_aws_session.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc │ ├── test_context.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc │ ├── test_imports.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc │ └── test_tokens.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc ├── test_aws_credentials.py ├── test_aws_provider_base.py ├── test_aws_session.py ├── test_context.py └── test_tokens.py

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Modules
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modules are created by a Makefile using the following directory tree where PKG gets replace wich the name of the module. All modules have a dxaws-* prefix

tree . └── dxaws-module ├── LICENSE ├── pyproject.toml ├── README.md ├── scripts ├── src │ └── PKG │ ├── init.py │ ├── constants.py │ ├── exceptions.py │ ├── manager.py │ ├── models.py │ └── providers │ ├── init.py │ ├── aws.py │ └── base.py └── tests ├── pycache │ ├── test_models.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc │ ├── test_pkg_imports___PKG__.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc │ └── test_provider_base.cpython-313-pytest-9.0.2.pyc ├── test_models.py ├── test_pkg_imports___PKG__.py └── test_provider_base.py

Home on dxaws

dxaws-core

Modules

Providers and Protocols

Lifecycle

The AI (LLM) Situation

The Registry Module Planning Session (part 2): Manager Interface Surface

Introduction #

Design Goals for the Manager #

The Registry Module Planning Session (part 1)

Introduction #

The Dependency Gravity Model

Introduction #

The Registry Module design session

Introduction #

dxaws-website / API

dxaws-website / design

Design Notes for dxaws-website #

Architecture #

Typed inputs and outputs #

dxaws-website / usage

dxaws-s3 / API

dxaws-s3 / design

Design #

Goals #

dxaws-s3 / usage

dxaws-dns / API

dxaws-dns / design

Design Notes for dxaws-dns #

Architectural Position in dxaws #

dxaws-dns / usage

dxaws-cloudfront / API

dxaws-cloudfront / design

Design Notes for dxaws-cloudfront #

Purpose and Scope #

dxaws-cloudfront / usage

dxaws-core / API

dxaws-core / design

Design Notes for dxaws-core #

Architecture #

Key Concepts #

Tradeoffs #

dxaws-core / usage

dxaws-cli / API

dxaws-cli / design

Design Notes for dxaws-cli #

Architecture #

Declarative Convergence #

dxaws-cli / usage

dxaws-acm / API

dxaws-acm / design

Design Notes for dxaws-acm #

Position in the dxaws Architecture #

dxaws-acm / usage

dxaws-account / API

dxaws-account / design

Design Notes for dxaws-accounts #

Architecture #

Declarative Convergence #

dxaws-account / usage

Control Plane Architecture

Andrew Wyllie

Andrew Wyllie #

Module Architecture

Software Architecture

The LLM Team

Athena Wise (from OpenAI) #

Amazon Certificate Manager (ACM) Module

Hacking on dxaws – Test frameworks

Hacking on dxaws – The Workspace Makefile

The `dxaws-dns` module

Athena Gems

Testing

Architectural Overview

dxaws cli

dxaws-core

Modules #

Introduction
#

Design Goals for the Manager
#

Introduction
#

Introduction
#

Introduction
#

Design Notes for dxaws-website
#

Architecture
#

Typed inputs and outputs
#

Design
#

Goals
#

Design Notes for dxaws-dns
#

Architectural Position in dxaws
#

Design Notes for dxaws-cloudfront
#

Purpose and Scope
#

Design Notes for dxaws-core
#

Architecture
#

Key Concepts
#

Tradeoffs
#

Design Notes for dxaws-cli
#

Architecture
#

Declarative Convergence
#

Design Notes for dxaws-acm
#

Position in the dxaws Architecture
#

Design Notes for dxaws-accounts
#

Architecture
#

Declarative Convergence
#

Andrew Wyllie
#

Athena Wise (from OpenAI)
#

Modules
#