Terraform HCL Formatter
Format and align Terraform HCL files in your browser like terraform fmt. Block indentation, equals alignment, heredoc support. No upload, 100% client-side.
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What is Terraform HCL Formatter?
The Terraform HCL Formatter is a browser-based formatter for HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL), the syntax behind Terraform, OpenTofu, and Terragrunt files. It re-indents blocks, aligns equals signs, normalizes spacing, and flags unbalanced braces - everything terraform fmt does for readability, without installing anything or uploading your code.
Key Benefits
- Readable, consistent diffs that speed up code review
- Sensitive infrastructure code stays on your machine - zero uploads
- Catches unbalanced braces and brackets before you commit
- No Terraform CLI or editor plugin installation required
- Compact mode for embedding minimal config in docs and CI logs
Common Use Cases
- •Cleaning up machine-generated or hastily written .tf files
- •Normalizing indentation before opening a pull request
- •Reading dense one-liner Terraform configs from tutorials
- •Formatting terragrunt.hcl and OpenTofu .tofu files
- •Preparing readable infrastructure snippets for documentation
How to Use the Terraform HCL Formatter
- Paste your HCL: Open a .tf file (main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf) and paste its contents into the input box, or click Sample to try an example.
- Choose a mode: Pick Format for terraform fmt-style indentation and alignment, or Compact for a minimal one-line-per-statement output.
- Set options: Choose a 2 or 4 space indent and toggle equals-sign alignment for consecutive attribute groups.
- Format and copy: Click Format, review the validation warnings if any appear, then copy the result or download it as main.tf.
Key Features
- terraform fmt-style block indentation with 2 or 4 space option
- Automatic equals-sign alignment for consecutive attributes
- Heredoc-aware parsing that keeps <<-EOF blocks byte-for-byte
- Brace and bracket balance validation with line numbers
- Compact mode that strips comments and blank lines
- Copy to clipboard or download as main.tf - no upload, no server
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this tool upload my Terraform files to a server?
No. All parsing, formatting, and validation happen locally in your browser with JavaScript. Your infrastructure code never leaves your machine, which makes it safe for proprietary or production configurations.
Is the output identical to terraform fmt?
It is very close for indentation and alignment, but terraform fmt is the canonical formatter. This tool is a convenient in-browser approximation - always run terraform fmt in CI as the final gate for committed code.
Does it support heredocs and multi-line strings?
Yes. Heredoc blocks opened with <<EOF or <<-EOF are detected and their body is preserved as-is, so embedded scripts and user-data templates survive formatting unchanged.
Can it format Terragrunt and OpenTofu files?
Yes. Terragrunt (terragrunt.hcl) and OpenTofu (.tofu) use the same HCL syntax, so the formatter handles them the same way as standard Terraform .tf files.