| --- |
| page_title: 0.11 Configuration Language |
| description: >- |
| Terraform uses text files to describe infrastructure and to set variables. |
| These text files are called Terraform _configurations_ and end in `.tf`. This |
| section talks about the format of these files as well as how they're loaded. |
| --- |
| |
| # Configuration Language |
| |
| -> **Note:** This page is about Terraform 0.11 and earlier. For Terraform 0.12 |
| and later, see |
| [Configuration Language](/language). |
| |
| Terraform uses text files to describe infrastructure and to set variables. |
| These text files are called Terraform _configurations_ and end in |
| `.tf`. This section talks about the format of these files as well as |
| how they're loaded. |
| |
| The format of the configuration files are able to be in two formats: |
| Terraform format and JSON. The Terraform format is more human-readable, |
| supports comments, and is the generally recommended format for most |
| Terraform files. The JSON format is meant for machines to create, |
| modify, and update, but can also be done by Terraform operators if |
| you prefer. Terraform format ends in `.tf` and JSON format ends in |
| `.tf.json`. |
| |
| Click a sub-section in the navigation to the left to learn more about |
| Terraform configuration. |