Convert JSON Configuration Back to HCL

JSON to HCL Conversion

While HCL-to-JSON is straightforward, converting JSON back to HCL requires understanding which JSON keys represent blocks versus attributes. The converter uses Terraform's known block types to make this distinction.

JSON Input

{
  "variable": {
    "region": {
      "description": "AWS region",
      "type": "string",
      "default": "us-east-1"
    }
  },
  "resource": {
    "aws_instance": {
      "web": {
        "ami": "ami-abc123",
        "instance_type": "t3.micro",
        "tags": {
          "Name": "web-server"
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "output": {
    "instance_id": {
      "value": "aws_instance.web.id"
    }
  }
}

Generated HCL

variable "region" {
  description = "AWS region"
  type        = "string"
  default     = "us-east-1"
}

resource "aws_instance" "web" {
  ami           = "ami-abc123"
  instance_type = "t3.micro"
  tags = {
    Name = "web-server"
  }
}

output "instance_id" {
  value = "aws_instance.web.id"
}

Block Type Recognition

The converter recognizes Terraform block types: resource, variable, output, data, locals, module, provider, terraform, backend, provisioner, lifecycle, dynamic, content, connection, moved, import, and check.

Attribute Formatting

JSON values are converted back to HCL syntax:

• Strings: double-quoted
• Numbers: unquoted
• Booleans: true/false
• Arrays: [...] with HCL formatting
• Objects: {...} with key = value syntax
• Multi-line strings: heredoc <<-EOT syntax

Round-Trip Fidelity

Converting HCL → JSON → HCL preserves the structural meaning but may differ in formatting. Comments are lost during HCL-to-JSON conversion since JSON does not support comments.