Template structure (JSON/YAML) in AWS - Mini Project: Build & Apply

AWS CloudFormation Template Structure

📖 Scenario: You are setting up a simple AWS CloudFormation template to create a basic infrastructure stack.This template will help you understand how AWS resources are defined and organized using JSON or YAML format.

🎯 Goal: Build a valid AWS CloudFormation template structure in JSON format with the essential sections: AWSTemplateFormatVersion, Description, Resources, and Outputs.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a JSON CloudFormation template with the exact key names and structure.

Include AWSTemplateFormatVersion set to "2010-09-09".

Add a Description with the text "Basic CloudFormation template structure".

Define an empty Resources object.

Define an empty Outputs object.

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

CloudFormation templates are used to automate AWS infrastructure setup, making deployments repeatable and consistent.

💼 Career

Understanding CloudFormation template structure is essential for cloud engineers and developers working with AWS infrastructure as code.

1

Create the basic template version and description

Create a JSON object with the key AWSTemplateFormatVersion set to "2010-09-09" and the key Description set to "Basic CloudFormation template structure".

AWS

{
  // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Use double quotes for JSON keys and string values.

2

Add an empty Resources section

Add a key Resources with an empty JSON object {} to the existing JSON template.

AWS

{
  "AWSTemplateFormatVersion": "2010-09-09",
  "Description": "Basic CloudFormation template structure",
  // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

The Resources key holds all AWS resources you want to create.

3

Add an empty Outputs section

Add a key Outputs with an empty JSON object {} to the existing JSON template after the Resources key.

AWS

{
  "AWSTemplateFormatVersion": "2010-09-09",
  "Description": "Basic CloudFormation template structure",
  "Resources": {},
  // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

The Outputs section is used to declare values you want to see after stack creation.

4

Complete the CloudFormation template structure

Ensure the JSON template includes AWSTemplateFormatVersion, Description, Resources, and Outputs keys exactly as specified, with Resources and Outputs as empty objects.

AWS

{
  "AWSTemplateFormatVersion": "2010-09-09",
  "Description": "Basic CloudFormation template structure",
  "Resources": {},
  "Outputs": {}
  // Your code here
}

Need a hint?

Review the entire JSON structure to confirm all keys are present and correctly formatted.