# View stack events by operation
You can view stack events grouped by operation to better understand the sequence and scope of changes made to your stack. Operation-based grouping helps you track related events together, making it easier to monitor progress and troubleshoot issues when they occur.
Each stack operation (create, update, delete, rollback) is assigned a unique operation ID that groups all related events. This allows you to focus on specific operations and quickly identify the root cause of failures.
**Topics**
+ [Prerequisites](#view-stack-events-by-operation-prerequisites)
+ [View stack events by operation (console)](#view-stack-events-by-operation-console)
+ [View stack events by operation (AWS CLI)](#view-stack-events-by-operation-cli)
+ [Stack status codes](#stack-status-codes)
## Prerequisites
To use `DescribeEvents` API, you must have the necessary IAM permissions to: `DescribeEvents`.
## View stack events by operation (console)
**To view stack events grouped by operation**
1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the CloudFormation console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudformation](https://console.aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/).
1. On the navigation bar at the top of the screen, choose the AWS Region you created the stack in.
1. On the **Stacks** page, select the stack name. CloudFormation displays the stack details for the selected stack.
1. Choose the **Events** tab to view the stack events CloudFormation has generated for your stack.
1. Events are automatically grouped by operation ID. Each operation appears as an expandable section showing the operation type, status, and timestamp.
1. Click on an **operation ID** to open a detailed view showing only the events related to that specific operation.
1. In the operation detail view, select the **Display failures only** checkbox to display only failed events for root cause analysis.
CloudFormation automatically refreshes the stack events every minute. The **New events available** badge appears when new stack events occur. Choose the refresh icon to load these events into the list.
By viewing stack events grouped by operation, you can understand the sequence of events for each operation and quickly identify which specific operation caused issues (if you are debugging your stack).
While your stack operation is running, it's listed with a status of `CREATE_IN_PROGRESS`, `UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS`, or `DELETE_IN_PROGRESS`. After your operation has completed successfully, its status changes to `CREATE_COMPLETE`, `UPDATE_COMPLETE`, or `DELETE_COMPLETE`.
For more information, see [Understand CloudFormation stack creation events](stack-resource-configuration-complete.md) and [Monitor the progress of a stack update](using-cfn-updating-stacks-monitor-stack.md).
## View stack events by operation (AWS CLI)
You can use the `describe-events` command with operation ID filtering to view events for specific operations.
### Get last operation IDs
The stack description available via describe-stacks API now includes LastOperations information showing recent operation IDs and their types. This enables you to quickly identify which operations occurred and their current status without parsing through event logs.
```
aws cloudformation describe-stacks --stack-name MyStack
```
The following is an example response showing the last operation was a Rollback following a failed Update operation.
```
{
"Stacks": [
{
"StackId": "arn:aws:cloudformation:us-east-1:123456789012:stack/MyStack/07580010-bb79-11f0-8f6c-0289bb5c804f",
"StackName": "MyStack",
"Description": "A simple CloudFormation template to create an S3 bucket.",
"CreationTime": "2025-11-07T01:28:13.778000+00:00",
"LastUpdatedTime": "2025-11-07T01:43:39.838000+00:00",
"RollbackConfiguration": {},
"StackStatus": "UPDATE_ROLLBACK_COMPLETE",
"DisableRollback": false,
"NotificationARNs": [],
"Tags": [],
"EnableTerminationProtection": false,
"DriftInformation": {
"StackDriftStatus": "NOT_CHECKED"
},
"LastOperations": [
{
"OperationType": "ROLLBACK",
"OperationId": "d0f12313-7bdb-414d-a879-828a99b36f29"
},
{
"OperationType": "UPDATE_STACK",
"OperationId": "1c211b5a-4538-4dc9-bfed-e07734371e57"
}
]
}
]
}
```
### Filter events by operation ID
The following `describe-events` command describes events for a specific operation ID:
```
aws cloudformation describe-events \
--operation-id 1c211b5a-4538-4dc9-bfed-e07734371e57
```
To view only failed events for troubleshooting, use the `--filter FailedEvents=true` parameter:
```
aws cloudformation describe-events \
--operation-id 1c211b5a-4538-4dc9-bfed-e07734371e57 \
--filter FailedEvents=true
```
The new operation ID filtering capability allows you to focus on specific operations and their related events. This is particularly useful for:
+ **Troubleshooting specific failures:** Isolate events from a failed operation to understand what went wrong.
+ **Monitoring long-running operations:** Track progress of complex updates or large stack deployments.
+ **Auditing changes:** Review all events associated with a particular update operation.
+ **Root cause analysis:** Use the failure filter to quickly identify the source of deployment issues.
## Stack status codes
The following table describes the fields returned by the `describe-events` command when using operation ID filtering:
| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| EventId | Event identifier. |
| OperationId | Unique identifier for the operation that generated this event. |
| StackName | Name of the stack that the event corresponds to. |
| StackId | Identifier of the stack that the event corresponds to. |
| LogicalResourceId | Logical identifier of the resource. |
| PhysicalResourceId | Physical identifier of the resource. |
| ResourceProperties | Properties of the resource. |
| ResourceType | Type of the resource. |
| Timestamp | Time when the event occurred. |
| ResourceStatus | The status of the resource (CREATE\$1COMPLETE, UPDATE\$1FAILED, etc.). |
| DetailedStatus | The detailed status of the stack. If CONFIGURATION\$1COMPLETE is present, the stack resources configuration phase has completed and the stabilization of the resources is in progress. |
| ResourceStatusReason | More information on the status. |