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hcl2json

This is a tool to convert from HCL to json, to make it easier for non-go applications and scripts to process HCL inputs (such as terraform config).

If passed the -pack option, it converts to the JSON pack format used by hclpack, which contains the original structure of the document. However, all it has for expressions is the source text, which isn't always very useful.

If no options are passed, it converts the native HCL file to an (almost) equivalent HCL JSON file. Note, however, that there are some corner cases where it may not be exactly equivalent, especially if the target application makes use of static analysis.

Alternatives

At the time this project created, there weren't really any other object. However, the HCL project itself now includes an hcldec command that can convert hcl to json if you give it a specification. One advantage of hcl2json is it doesn't require a specification, so for use cases where the heuristics are correct it may be easier to use. However, if you have cases hit the limitations of conversion listed above, hcldec is probably a better fit.

Usage

# convert a file from hcl to json
$ hcl2json some-file.hcl > out.json
# reading from stdin also works
$ hcl2json < infile.hcl > out.json
# simplify any expressions that don't use variables or unknown functions
$ hcl2json -simplify infile.hcl > out.json

If you use the docker image, you can invoke with

$ docker run -it --rm -v $PWD:/tmp tmccombs/hcl2json /tmp/infile.hcl

Installation

Mac OS

Install with Homebrew:

brew install hcl2json

hcl2json can also be installed via MacPorts:

sudo port install hcl2json

Others

Prebuilt binaries are available on the releases page. There is also a docker image on dockerhub.

Alternatively you can build from source (see next section).

Building

You can build and install hcl2json using go get. Since hcl2json uses Go modules, you will need to run this as GO11MODULE=on go get github.com/tmccombs/hcl2json.

Alternatively, you can clone and build the repository:

$ git clone https://github.com/tmccombs/hcl2json
$ cd hcl2json
$ go build

This will build an hcl2json executable in the directory.