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###  [ Table of Contents ](../../index.html)

  * describe-stacks 
    * Description 
    * Synopsis 
    * Options 
    * Global Options 
    * Examples 
    * Output 

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#  describe-stacks  Â¶

##  Description  Â¶

Returns the description for the specified stack; if no stack name was
specified, then it returns the description for all the stacks created. For
more information about a stackâs event history, see [ CloudFormation stack
creation events
](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/stack-
resource-configuration-complete.html) in the _CloudFormation User Guide_ .

###  Note

If the stack doesnât exist, a ` ValidationError  ` is returned.

See also: [ AWS API Documentation
](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/goto/WebAPI/cloudformation-2010-05-15/DescribeStacks)

` describe-stacks  ` is a paginated operation. Multiple API calls may be
issued in order to retrieve the entire data set of results. You can disable
pagination by providing the ` --no-paginate  ` argument. When using ` --output
text  ` and the ` --query  ` argument on a paginated response, the ` --query
` argument must extract data from the results of the following query
expressions: ` Stacks  `

##  Synopsis  Â¶

    
    
      describe-stacks
    [--stack-name <value>]
    [--cli-input-json | --cli-input-yaml]
    [--starting-token <value>]
    [--max-items <value>]
    [--generate-cli-skeleton <value>]
    [--debug]
    [--endpoint-url <value>]
    [--no-verify-ssl]
    [--no-paginate]
    [--output <value>]
    [--query <value>]
    [--profile <value>]
    [--region <value>]
    [--version <value>]
    [--color <value>]
    [--no-sign-request]
    [--ca-bundle <value>]
    [--cli-read-timeout <value>]
    [--cli-connect-timeout <value>]
    [--cli-binary-format <value>]
    [--no-cli-pager]
    [--cli-auto-prompt]
    [--no-cli-auto-prompt]
    

##  Options  Â¶

` --stack-name  ` (string)

> ###  Note
>
> If you donât pass a parameter to ` StackName  ` , the API returns a
> response that describes all resources in the account, which can impact
> performance. This requires ` ListStacks  ` and ` DescribeStacks  `
> permissions.
>
> Consider using the ListStacks API if youâre not passing a parameter to `
> StackName  ` .
>
> The IAM policy below can be added t