Convert Terraform Output Values to JSON

Terraform Outputs in HCL and JSON

Output values are the return values of a Terraform module. They expose computed values to the parent module or to the CLI after terraform apply.

HCL Output Definitions

output "vpc_id" {
  description = "ID of the created VPC"
  value       = "aws_vpc.main.id"
}

output "public_subnet_ids" {
  description = "IDs of public subnets"
  value       = ["aws_subnet.public.*.id"]
}

output "database_endpoint" {
  description = "RDS database connection endpoint"
  value       = "aws_db_instance.main.endpoint"
  sensitive   = true
}

output "load_balancer_dns" {
  description = "DNS name of the application load balancer"
  value       = "aws_lb.main.dns_name"
}

JSON Structure

{
  "output": {
    "vpc_id": {
      "description": "ID of the created VPC",
      "value": "aws_vpc.main.id"
    },
    "database_endpoint": {
      "description": "RDS database connection endpoint",
      "value": "aws_db_instance.main.endpoint",
      "sensitive": true
    }
  }
}

Sensitive Outputs

The sensitive = true flag prevents Terraform from displaying the value in CLI output. In JSON, this is a simple boolean attribute.

Value Expressions

Output value attributes typically contain references to other resources. In JSON, these are string representations of the HCL expression. Terraform evaluates them during plan/apply.

Dependencies

Outputs create implicit dependencies. Terraform ensures the referenced resources are created before computing the output value. This dependency graph is maintained regardless of HCL or JSON format.