"Stack [stack-id] does not exist" while creating a new stack

I run a cdk deploy '*' command to deploy multiple stacks that depend on each other. All of the previous stacks have deployed successfully, however, when I attempt to add a new CDK stack, occasionally (actually quite rarely) I encounter the following error:

 ❌  Attendor-dzhuneyt-redis failed: Error [ValidationError]: Stack [Attendor-dzhuneyt-redis] does not exist
    at Request.extractError (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/protocol/query.js:50:29)
    at Request.callListeners (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/sequential_executor.js:106:20)
    at Request.emit (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/sequential_executor.js:78:10)
    at Request.emit (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/request.js:683:14)
    at Request.transition (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/request.js:22:10)
    at AcceptorStateMachine.runTo (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/state_machine.js:14:12)
    at /Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/state_machine.js:26:10
    at Request.<anonymous> (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/request.js:38:9)
    at Request.<anonymous> (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/request.js:685:12)
    at Request.callListeners (/Users/dzhuneytahmed/PhpstormProjects/attendor/cdk/node_modules/aws-sdk/lib/sequential_executor.js:116:18) {
  message: 'Stack [Attendor-dzhuneyt-redis] does not exist',
  code: 'ValidationError',
  time: 2020-04-14T08:49:45.963Z,
  requestId: 'a6cbcb26-7a34-44d1-abc8-d7a3b4e4073e',
  statusCode: 400,
  retryable: false,
  retryDelay: 234.4330453810892
}
Stack [Attendor-dzhuneyt-redis] does not exist

Let me emphasise again that this stack did not currently exist prior to running the deployment command. If I retry the command, it will work.

Reproduction Steps

Create a couple of CDK stacks that depend on each other and then create another stack that depends on one of the previously created ones.

Environment

• CLI Version : 1.32.2 (build e19e206)
• Framework Version: Not sure what this is
• OS : macOS Catalina
• Language : TypeScript

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This is 🐛 Bug Report

[magJ]

I ran into this after running a --no-execute deployment.
Very confusing error message.
Deleting the review in progress stack fixes it.

Ironic that the solution to an error saying that a stack does not exist, is to delete the stack that exists.

[winjer]

I just experienced this and found that the stack had been created, probably by an earlier invocation, but was in the “review” state because a changeset hadn’t been applied.

Deleting the stack then rerunning cdk resolved this.

The error message could be improved.