# AWS SAM template anatomy
An AWS SAM template file closely follows the format of an CloudFormation template file, which is described in [Template anatomy](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/template-anatomy.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. The primary differences between AWS SAM template files and CloudFormation template files are the following:
+ **Transform declaration.** The declaration `Transform: AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31` is required for AWS SAM template files. This declaration identifies an CloudFormation template file as an AWS SAM template file. For more information about transforms, see [Transform](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/transform-section-structure.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*.
+ **Globals section.** The `Globals` section is unique to AWS SAM. It defines properties that are common to all your serverless functions and APIs. All the `AWS::Serverless::Function`, `AWS::Serverless::Api`, `AWS::Serverless::CapacityProvider`, `AWS::Serverless::HttpApi`, `AWS::Serverless::SimpleTable`, and `AWS::Serverless::StateMachine` resources inherit the properties that are defined in the `Globals` section. For more information about this section, see [Globals section of the AWS SAM template](sam-specification-template-anatomy-globals.md).
+ **Resources section.** In AWS SAM templates the `Resources` section can contain a combination of CloudFormation resources and AWS SAM resources. For more information about CloudFormation resources, see [AWS resource and property types reference](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/aws-template-resource-type-ref.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*. For more information about AWS SAM resources, see [AWS SAM resources and properties](sam-specification-resources-and-properties.md).
All other sections of an AWS SAM template file correspond to the CloudFormation template file section of the same name.
## YAML
The following example shows a YAML-formatted template fragment.
```
Transform: AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
Globals:
{{set of globals}}
Description:
{{String}}
Metadata:
{{template metadata}}
Parameters:
{{set of parameters}}
Mappings:
{{set of mappings}}
Conditions:
{{set of conditions}}
Resources:
{{set of resources}}
Outputs:
{{set of outputs}}
```
## Template sections
AWS SAM templates can include several major sections. Only the `Transform` and `Resources` sections are required.
You can include template sections in any order. However, if using language extensions, you should add `AWS::LanguageExtensions` *before* the serverless transform (that is, before `AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31`) as shown in the following example:
```
Transform:
- AWS::LanguageExtensions
- AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31
```
As you build your template, it can be helpful to use the logical order that's shown in the following list. This is because the values in one section might refer to values from a previous section.
**[Transform (required)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/transform-section-structure.html)**
For AWS SAM templates, you must include this section with a value of `AWS::Serverless-2016-10-31`.
Additional transforms are optional. For more information about transforms, see [Transform](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/transform-section-structure.html) in the *AWS CloudFormation User Guide*.
**[Globals (optional)](sam-specification-template-anatomy-globals.md)**
Properties that are common to all your serverless functions, APIs, and simple tables. All the `AWS::Serverless::Function`, `AWS::Serverless::Api`, `AWS::Serverless::CapacityProvider`, `AWS::Serverless::HttpApi`, `AWS::Serverless::SimpleTable`, and `AWS::Serverless::StateMachine` resources inherit the properties that are defined in the `Globals` section.
This section is unique to AWS SAM. There isn't a corresponding section in CloudFormation templates.
**[Description (optional)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/template-description-structure.html)**
A text string that describes the template.
This section corresponds directly with the `Description` section of CloudFormation templates.
**[Metadata (optional)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/metadata-section-structure.html)**
Objects that provide additional information about the template.
This section corresponds directly with the `Metadata` section of CloudFormation templates.
**[Parameters (optional)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/parameters-section-structure.html)**
Values to pass to your template at runtime (when you create or update a stack). You can refer to parameters from the `Resources` and `Outputs` sections of the template. Objects that are declared in the `Parameters` section cause the **sam deploy --guided** command to present additional prompts to the user.
Values that are passed in using the `--parameter-overrides` parameter of the `sam deploy` command—and entries in the configuration file—take precedence over entries in the AWS SAM template file. For more information about the `sam deploy` command, see [sam deploy](sam-cli-command-reference-sam-deploy.md) in the AWS SAM CLI command reference. For more information about the configuration file, see [AWS SAM CLI configuration file](serverless-sam-cli-config.md).
**[Mappings (optional)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/mappings-section-structure.html)**
A mapping of keys and associated values that you can use to specify conditional parameter values, similar to a lookup table. You can match a key to a corresponding value by using the [https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/intrinsic-function-reference-findinmap.html](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/intrinsic-function-reference-findinmap.html) intrinsic function in the `Resources` and `Outputs` sections.
This section corresponds directly with the `Mappings` section of CloudFormation templates.
**[Conditions (optional)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/conditions-section-structure.html)**
Conditions that control whether certain resources are created or whether certain resource properties are assigned a value during stack creation or update. For example, you could conditionally create a resource that depends on whether the stack is for a production or test environment.
This section corresponds directly with the `Conditions` section of CloudFormation templates.
**[Resources (required)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/resources-section-structure.html)**
The stack resources and their properties, such as an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instance or an Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket. You can refer to resources in the `Resources` and `Outputs` sections of the template.
This section is similar to the `Resources` section of CloudFormation templates. In AWS SAM templates, this section can contain AWS SAM resources in addition to CloudFormation resources.
**[Outputs (optional)](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSCloudFormation/latest/UserGuide/outputs-section-structure.html)**
The values that are returned whenever you view your stack's properties. For example, you can declare an output for an S3 bucket name, and then call the `aws cloudformation describe-stacks` AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) command to view the name.
This section corresponds directly with the `Outputs` section of CloudFormation templates.
## Next steps
To download and deploy a sample serverless application that contains an AWS SAM template file, see [Getting started with AWS SAM](serverless-getting-started.md) and follow the instructions in [Tutorial: Deploy a Hello World application with AWS SAM](serverless-getting-started-hello-world.md).