CloudFormation template validation in Visual Studio Code

tasks.json

// requirements 
// aws cli has to be installed 
// working AWS credentials file ~/.aws/credentials

// copy this file as tasks.json under the .vscode directory in your templates project directory
// open your CloudFormation template and hit Ctrl + Shift + B
{
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "command": "aws",
    "isShellCommand": true,
    "showOutput": "always",
    "args": [
        "cloudformation",
        "validate-template",
        "--template-body",
        "file://${file}"
    ]

}