`template.json` Reference

This is the complete schema reference for the manifest file Amnify reads alongside your .tf files. Every field documented here is parsed and used by Amnify; nothing here is aspirational.

The schema is enforced server-side at sync time. If a manifest is malformed, the sync rejects the template and reports the error.

Top-Level Fields

Field	Required	Type	Description
`id`	yes	string	Stable, unique identifier for the template. Used as the database key. Convention: `tpl-<provider>-<name>` (e.g. `tpl-azure-resource-group`).
`name`	yes	string	Display name shown on the template card and in the deployment wizard.
`description`	yes	string	One- or two-sentence summary of what the template provisions.
`category`	yes	enum	One of: `infrastructure`, `application`, `database`, `combo`. Used for filtering in the library.
`cloud_provider`	yes	enum	One of: `azure`, `aws`, `gcp`. Must match the parent directory under `templates/`.
`iac_type`	yes	enum	Currently only `terraform` is supported.
`icon`	no	string	Name of any Lucide icon (e.g. `Network`, `Database`, `Cloud`, `FolderOpen`).
`variables`	yes	array	List of variable definitions. See the next section.

Minimal valid example

{
  "id": "tpl-azure-resource-group",
  "name": "Azure Resource Group",
  "description": "Create an Azure Resource Group.",
  "category": "infrastructure",
  "cloud_provider": "azure",
  "iac_type": "terraform",
  "icon": "FolderOpen",
  "variables": []
}

Variable Definition

Every entry in the variables array describes one input that will be rendered as a form field in the Amnify UI and written to terraform.tfvars.json at deploy time.

Field	Required	Type	Description
`name`	yes	string	Variable identifier. Must exactly match a `variable` block in your `.tf` files.
`type`	yes	string	One of: `string`, `number`, `bool`, `object`, `list(object)`. See Variable Types & Secrets for details.
`description`	no	string	Help text displayed beneath the form field.
`required`	yes	bool	If `true`, the user must provide a value before the deployment can proceed.
`default`	no	any	Pre-filled value in the form. Type must match `type`.
`options`	no	string[]	Renders the field as a dropdown. Only valid for `string`-typed variables.
`sensitive`	yes	bool	If `true`, the value is masked in the UI and encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM.
`resource_type`	no	string	Terraform resource type (e.g. `azurerm_resource_group`). Renders a cloud resource picker that fetches live resources of that type from the user's cloud account.
`parent_field`	no	string	Name of a sibling variable whose value scopes the resource picker (e.g. set to `vpc_id` on a `subnet_id` field so the picker only shows subnets inside the chosen VPC).
`condition`	no	object	`{ "field": "<sibling_name>", "equals": <value> }`. The field is shown only when the sibling's value matches.
`min_items`	no	number	Minimum number of items required for `list(object)` variables.
`schema`	no	array	Nested array of variable definitions. Required for `object` and `list(object)` types.

`name`

Must match a variable block in your .tf files exactly. This is how user-supplied values are routed to Terraform.

{ "name": "resource_group_name" }

variable "resource_group_name" {
  type = string
}

`type`

Determines how the field is rendered and what shape Terraform expects. Supported values:

string — single-line text input.
number — numeric input, parsed as JSON number.
bool — toggle.
object — group of nested fields described by a schema array.
list(object) — repeating group of nested fields, with add/remove controls.

`required`

If true, the deployment wizard blocks progress until the field is populated. If false, the field can be left empty and the variable's default (if set) or Terraform's own default kicks in.

`default`

Pre-fills the field with this value. Should match the variable's type. For list(object) and object, the default is rarely used — set sub-field defaults inside the nested schema instead.

`options`

Renders a string field as a dropdown with these choices. Useful for region selectors, sizing tiers, enum-like inputs.

{
  "name": "region",
  "type": "string",
  "required": true,
  "default": "eu-west-1",
  "options": ["eu-west-1", "eu-central-1", "us-east-1", "us-west-2"]
}

`sensitive`

When true:

The form field is rendered as a masked password input.
The value is encrypted (AES-256-GCM, scoped per organization) before being persisted.
The plaintext is only decrypted in memory inside the deploy worker, just before being merged into terraform.tfvars.json.

See Variable Types & Secrets for the full encryption flow.

`resource_type`

Tells Amnify to render a cloud resource picker instead of a free-text input. Amnify queries the user's connected cloud account for resources of the given Terraform type and displays them in a dropdown. Common values:

azurerm_resource_group
azurerm_virtual_network
aws_vpc
aws_subnet

`parent_field`

Used together with resource_type to scope a resource picker to a parent. Example: a subnet picker that only shows subnets inside the VPC the user selected earlier.

[
  {
    "name": "vpc_id",
    "type": "string",
    "required": true,
    "resource_type": "aws_vpc"
  },
  {
    "name": "subnet_id",
    "type": "string",
    "required": true,
    "resource_type": "aws_subnet",
    "parent_field": "vpc_id"
  }
]

`condition` — Conditional Visibility

Hides a field unless a sibling variable has a specific value. Useful for "advanced" toggles that reveal further fields.

[
  {
    "name": "enable_versioning",
    "type": "bool",
    "required": true,
    "default": false
  },
  {
    "name": "versioning_retention_days",
    "type": "number",
    "required": false,
    "default": 30,
    "condition": { "field": "enable_versioning", "equals": true }
  }
]

`min_items`

For list(object), the minimum number of entries the user must add. Use it for fields where "zero items" is meaningless (e.g. a VPC must have at least one subnet).

{
  "name": "subnets",
  "type": "list(object)",
  "required": true,
  "min_items": 1,
  "schema": [ /* ... */ ]
}

`schema` — Nested Variables

For object and list(object) types, schema is an array of variable definitions describing the nested fields. The same fields documented above apply recursively — you can nest objects inside lists inside objects to any depth.

{
  "name": "subnets",
  "type": "list(object)",
  "required": true,
  "min_items": 1,
  "schema": [
    {
      "name": "name",
      "type": "string",
      "required": true,
      "sensitive": false
    },
    {
      "name": "cidr",
      "type": "string",
      "required": true,
      "sensitive": false
    }
  ]
}

The matching .tf declaration uses optional(...) for non-required fields:

variable "subnets" {
  type = list(object({
    name = string
    cidr = string
  }))
}

Value	Use for
`infrastructure`	Networks, compute, clusters, storage, identity.
`application`	Web services, container apps, serverless functions.
`database`	Managed database services.
`combo`	Multi-component stacks (e.g. webapp + database + cache).

Field Limits and Conventions

id should be stable across versions. Renaming it creates a new template; users will not see the rename automatically.
description is rendered as plain text (no Markdown).
Variable name should be snake_case to match Terraform conventions.
options are case-sensitive; the user's selection is passed verbatim to Terraform.

Next Steps

Variable Types & Secrets — deeper dive on each type with .tf ↔ JSON examples.
Example — AWS VPC — a manifest that exercises every advanced field on this page.

Top-Level Fields​

Minimal valid example​

Variable Definition​

name​

type​

required​

default​

options​

sensitive​

resource_type​

parent_field​

condition — Conditional Visibility​

min_items​

schema — Nested Variables​

Categories​

Field Limits and Conventions​

Next Steps​