install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install cfn-flip

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Convert AWS CloudFormation templates between JSON and YAML formats

Project links

Commands and aliases

cfn-flip

history

Project history and usage

AWS CloudFormation Template Flip is an AWS Labs Python tool and library for converting CloudFormation templates between JSON and YAML while using short-form YAML intrinsic-function syntax where possible.

Project history

The official README explains the name as an homage to the Unix `flip` utility and documents both the `cfn-flip` command and the `cfn_flip` Python package API. The repository metadata records the public repo creation in 2016.

Adoption history

The project is packaged for Homebrew as `cfn-flip` and distributed as a Python package. Its README now deprecates CLI usage in favor of `rain fmt`, while explicitly saying the Python API may continue to be used.

How it is used

The documented CLI reads from stdin or files and converts JSON to YAML or YAML to JSON. The Python API exposes `flip`, `to_yaml`, and `to_json` for applications that need CloudFormation template serialization.

Why package nerds care

cfn-flip is significant because it solved a very specific packaging annoyance: CloudFormation users wanted a reliable converter that preserved AWS intrinsic-function syntax instead of treating templates as generic JSON/YAML.

Timeline

2016: GitHub repository metadata records public repository creation.
2021: GitHub release metadata records cfn_flip 1.3.0.
Current README: CLI usage is deprecated in favor of `rain fmt`; package API remains available.

Related projects

rain is the recommended replacement for CLI formatting and conversion.
cf2tf acknowledges cfn-flip as a parser used when converting CloudFormation templates.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: orange

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.

Risk classifier

orange risk · medium confidence · infrastructure

Why

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal

Signals

text:cloud

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`cfn-flip`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version1.3.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/awslabs/aws-cfn-template-flip

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/awslabs/aws-cfn-template-flipnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:cfn-flip
Version	1.3.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/cfn-flip
Homepage	https://github.com/awslabs/aws-cfn-template-flip
Repository	https://github.com/awslabs/aws-cfn-template-flip
Upstream docs	https://aws-cloudformation.github.io/rain/rain_fmt.html
License	Apache-2.0
Source archive	https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ca/75/8eba0bb52a6c58e347bc4c839b249d9f42380de93ed12a14eba4355387b4/cfn_flip-1.3.0.tar.gz
Dependencies	libyaml, python@3.14
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	cfn-flip
Version Scheme	0
Revision	2
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/cfn-flip.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install cfn-flip with Homebrew