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Synopsis

Show signatures and descriptions for the available functions

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Usage

terraform [global options] metadata functions -json

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Description

The terraform metadata functions command prints out a JSON representation of the available function signatures in Terraform. This command provides information about all built-in functions available in the Terraform language, including their parameters, return types, and descriptions. This command is useful for tooling and IDE integrations that need to provide autocomplete, validation, or documentation for Terraform functions.

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Options

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-json
boolean
required
Produce JSON output. This flag is required for the command to execute. The command will not run without this flag.Default: false

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Output Format

The command outputs a JSON object where each key is a function name and each value contains the function’s signature information, including:
  • Parameter names and types
  • Return type
  • Variadic parameter information (if applicable)
  • Function description

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Ignored Functions

The following legacy functions are excluded from the output:
  • map
  • list
  • core::map
  • core::list

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Exit Codes

  • 0 - Success
  • 1 - Error parsing command-line flags, missing required -json flag, or marshaling errors

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Examples

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Get all available functions in JSON format

terraform metadata functions -json
Example output (truncated): 
{
  "abs": {
    "description": "Returns the absolute value of a number",
    "return_type": "number",
    "parameters": [
      {
        "name": "num",
        "type": "number"
      }
    ]
  },
  "concat": {
    "description": "Combines two or more lists into a single list",
    "return_type": "list",
    "parameters": [],
    "variadic_parameter": {
      "name": "lists",
      "type": "list"
    }
  }
}

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Attempting to run without -json flag

terraform metadata functions
This will produce an error: 
The `terraform metadata functions` command requires the `-json` flag.

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