Error !!! CloudFormation template validation - amazon-web-services

Question

I'm designing redis cluster using cloudformation template and during the validation of the template I'm facing this error "Template contains errors.: Template format error: JSON not well-formed. (line 151, column 2)"
Below is the cloudformation script
{
"AWSTemplateFormatVersion": "2010-09-09",
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166": {
"size": {
"width": 60,
"height": 60
},
"position": {
"x": 320,
"y": 70
},
"z": 2,
"parent": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353",
"embeds": [],
"ismemberof": [
"a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a",
"55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad"
]
},
"a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a": {
"size": {
"width": 60,
"height": 60
},
"position": {
"x": 320,
"y": 160
},
"z": 2,
"parent": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353",
"embeds": []
},
"0291abc8-9c50-491b-8400-e1f7f8b22118": {
"source": {
"id": "f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
},
"target": {
"id": "a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a"
},
"z": 1
},
"55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad": {
"size": {
"width": 60,
"height": 60
},
"position": {
"x": 440,
"y": 70
},
"z": 2,
"parent": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353",
"embeds": []
},
"7aa270dd-1131-4dc4-8913-dfaf44a3815d": {
"source": {
"id": "f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
},
"target": {
"id": "55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad"
},
"z": 2
},
"71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353": {
"size": {
"width": 610,
"height": 600
},
"position": {
"x": 20,
"y": 10
},
"z": 1,
"embeds": [
"55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad",
"a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a",
"f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
]
}
}
},
"Parameters" : {
"CacheNodeType" : {
"Description" : "The compute and memory capacity of the nodes in the Cache Cluster",
"Type" : "String",
"Default" : "cache.m3.medium",
"AllowedValues" : ["cache.t2.micro", "cache.t2.small", "cache.t2.medium",
"cache.m3.medium", "cache.m3.large", "cache.m3.xlarge", "cache.m3.2xlarge",
"cache.t1.micro", "cache.m1.small", "cache.m1.medium", "cache.m1.large",
"cache.m1.xlarge", "cache.c1.xlarge", "cache.r3.large", "cache.r3.xlarge",
"cache.r3.2xlarge", "cache.r3.4xlarge","cache.r3.8xlarge", "cache.m2.xlarge",
"cache.m2.2xlarge", "cache.m2.4xlarge"],
"ConstraintDescription" : "must select a valid Cache Node type."
}
},
"Resources": {
"RedisClusterReplicationGroup": {
"Type": "AWS::ElastiCache::ReplicationGroup",
"Properties": {
"CacheParameterGroupName": {
"Ref": "RedisClusterParameterGroup"
},
"CacheSubnetGroupName": {
"Ref": "RedisClusterSubnetGroup"
},
"CacheNodeType" : { "Ref" : "CacheNodeType" },
"Engine" : "redis",
"EngineVersion" : "2.8.24",
"NumCacheClusters" : 4,
"Port" : 6879,
"PreferredCacheClusterAZs" : ["us-east-1c","us-east-1d","us-east-1e"],
"ReplicationGroupDescription" : "RedisClusterReplicationGroup",
"SecurityGroupIds" : "sg-7ea72e07",
"SnapshotRetentionLimit" : 0,
"AutomaticFailoverEnabled" : true,
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"id": "f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
}
}
},
"RedisClusterParameterGroup": {
"Type": "AWS::ElastiCache::ParameterGroup",
"Properties": {
"CacheParameterGroupFamily" : "redis2.8",
"CacheParameterGroupName" : "RedisClusterParameterGroup",
"Description" :"RedisClusterParameterGroup"
},
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"id": "a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a"
}
}
},
"RedisClusterSubnetGroup": {
"Type": "AWS::ElastiCache::SubnetGroup",
"Properties": {
"Description" : "RedisClusterSubnetGroups",
"SubnetIds" : ["subnet-7854ab20", "subnet-eaa7039c", "subnet-988a00a5"]
},
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"id": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353"
}
}
}
},
}

Answer 1

One way to avoid this whole set of JSON errors is to switch to YAML syntax, which is supported by Cloudformation. You can convert your JSON document to YAML at
https://www.json2yaml.com/
and then just use that. I find YAML much easier to maintain without the quotes, braces, and commas.

Answer 2

{
"AWSTemplateFormatVersion": "2010-09-09",
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166": {
"size": {
"width": 60,
"height": 60
},
"position": {
"x": 320,
"y": 70
},
"z": 2,
"parent": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353",
"embeds": [],
"ismemberof": [
"a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a",
"55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad"
]
},
"a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a": {
"size": {
"width": 60,
"height": 60
},
"position": {
"x": 320,
"y": 160
},
"z": 2,
"parent": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353",
"embeds": []
},
"0291abc8-9c50-491b-8400-e1f7f8b22118": {
"source": {
"id": "f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
},
"target": {
"id": "a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a"
},
"z": 1
},
"55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad": {
"size": {
"width": 60,
"height": 60
},
"position": {
"x": 440,
"y": 70
},
"z": 2,
"parent": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353",
"embeds": []
},
"7aa270dd-1131-4dc4-8913-dfaf44a3815d": {
"source": {
"id": "f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
},
"target": {
"id": "55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad"
},
"z": 2
},
"71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353": {
"size": {
"width": 610,
"height": 600
},
"position": {
"x": 20,
"y": 10
},
"z": 1,
"embeds": [
"55eb37aa-e764-49ac-b8fe-3eddb2ea77ad",
"a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a",
"f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
]
}
}
},
"Parameters": {
"CacheNodeType": {
"Description": "The compute and memory capacity of the nodes in the Cache Cluster",
"Type": "String",
"Default": "cache.m3.medium",
"AllowedValues": [
"cache.t2.micro",
"cache.t2.small",
"cache.t2.medium",
"cache.m3.medium",
"cache.m3.large",
"cache.m3.xlarge",
"cache.m3.2xlarge",
"cache.t1.micro",
"cache.m1.small",
"cache.m1.medium",
"cache.m1.large",
"cache.m1.xlarge",
"cache.c1.xlarge",
"cache.r3.large",
"cache.r3.xlarge",
"cache.r3.2xlarge",
"cache.r3.4xlarge",
"cache.r3.8xlarge",
"cache.m2.xlarge",
"cache.m2.2xlarge",
"cache.m2.4xlarge"
],
"ConstraintDescription": "must select a valid Cache Node type."
}
},
"Resources": {
"RedisClusterReplicationGroup": {
"Type": "AWS::ElastiCache::ReplicationGroup",
"Properties": {
"CacheParameterGroupName": {
"Ref": "RedisClusterParameterGroup"
},
"CacheSubnetGroupName": {
"Ref": "RedisClusterSubnetGroup"
},
"CacheNodeType": {
"Ref": "CacheNodeType"
},
"Engine": "redis",
"EngineVersion": "2.8.24",
"NumCacheClusters": 4,
"Port": 6879,
"PreferredCacheClusterAZs": [
"us-east-1c",
"us-east-1d",
"us-east-1e"
],
"ReplicationGroupDescription": "RedisClusterReplicationGroup",
"SecurityGroupIds": "sg-7ea72e07",
"SnapshotRetentionLimit": 0,
"AutomaticFailoverEnabled": true,
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"id": "f60e2d2e-b46b-48b1-88c8-eecce45d2166"
}
}
}
},
"RedisClusterParameterGroup": {
"Type": "AWS::ElastiCache::ParameterGroup",
"Properties": {
"CacheParameterGroupFamily": "redis2.8",
"CacheParameterGroupName": "RedisClusterParameterGroup",
"Description": "RedisClusterParameterGroup"
},
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"id": "a63aacbd-1c6e-4118-8bbe-08a5bc63052a"
}
}
},
"RedisClusterSubnetGroup": {
"Type": "AWS::ElastiCache::SubnetGroup",
"Properties": {
"Description": "RedisClusterSubnetGroups",
"SubnetIds": [
"subnet-7854ab20",
"subnet-eaa7039c",
"subnet-988a00a5"
]
},
"Metadata": {
"AWS::CloudFormation::Designer": {
"id": "71508a33-8207-4580-8721-c3688c4a0353"
}
}
}
}
}
Any JSON parser will tell you what the issue is. The last element need not have a ',' and the JSON needed one more '}' to get validated properly. I haven't checked if the script passes the cloudformation validation but, it passes the JSON parsing