Terraform

Terraform & OpenTofu

File Organization & Naming

File	Purpose
terraform.tf	Terraform + provider version requirements
providers.tf	Provider configurations
main.tf	Primary resources and data sources
variables.tf	Input variables (alphabetical)
outputs.tf	Output values (alphabetical)
locals.tf	Local values

• Lowercase with underscores: web_api, not webAPI or web-api
• Descriptive nouns excluding resource type: aws_instance.web_api not aws_instance.web_api_instance
• Singular, not plural
• this for singleton resources (one of that type per module)
• Contextual variable prefixes: vpc_cidr_block not cidr

Block Ordering

Resources: count/for_each (blank line after) → arguments → nested blocks → tags → depends_on → lifecycle (last)

Variables: description → type → default → validation → nullable

Every variable needs type + description. Every output needs description. Mark secrets sensitive = true.

Module Structure

Type	Scope	Example
Resource Module	Single logical group	VPC + subnets, SG + rules
Infrastructure Module	Collection of resource modules	Networking + compute for one region
Composition	Complete infrastructure	Spans regions/accounts

module-name/
├── main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf, versions.tf
├── examples/
│   ├── minimal/
│   └── complete/
└── tests/
    └── defaults.tftest.hcl

Keep modules small (single responsibility). examples/ double as documentation and integration test fixtures. Semantic versioning for all published modules.

count vs for_each

Scenario	Use
Boolean toggle (create or skip)	count = condition ? 1 : 0
Named/keyed items that may reorder	for_each = toset(list) or map
Fixed identical replicas	count = N

Default to for_each -- removing a middle item from a count list recreates all subsequent resources. Use count only for boolean conditionals or truly identical replicas.

Testing

Situation	Approach
Quick validation	terraform fmt -check && terraform validate
Pre-commit	+ tflint + trivy config . / checkov -d .
Logic validation (1.6+)	Native terraform test with command = plan
Cost-free unit tests (1.7+)	Native tests + mock_provider
Real infra validation	Native tests with command = apply, or Terratest (Go)

Native test essentials (.tftest.hcl in tests/):

• command = plan for fast unit tests; command = apply for integration (default)
• assert { condition = expr; error_message = "..." } -- multiple per run block
• expect_failures = [var.name] for negative testing (validate rejection of bad input)
• mock_provider "aws" { mock_resource "..." { defaults = { ... } } } -- plan-mode only, no credentials, fast CI
• variables {} at file level (all runs) or within a run block (override)
• Reference prior run outputs: run.setup.vpc_id
• parallel = true on independent runs with separate state -- creates sync point at next sequential run
• state_key = "name" required for parallel = true runs with independent state
• File naming: *_unit_test.tftest.hcl (plan mode) vs *_integration_test.tftest.hcl (apply mode)
• A module {} block inside a run accepts local paths and registry modules only -- not git or HTTP sources. Repos consuming git-sourced modules must vendor or localize them before they can be tested.
• After a test file completes, resources are destroyed in reverse run-block order. Order dependent runs accordingly (create the bucket before the run that puts objects in it), or the destroy fails and leaves billable resources behind. There is no CLI flag to skip cleanup -- inspect a failure with -verbose.

Running them:

terraform test                                     # all *.tftest.hcl under tests/
terraform test -filter=vpc_unit_test.tftest.hcl    # one test FILE (not a run-block name)
terraform test -verbose                            # show the plan/apply per run block
terraform test -test-directory=path                # non-default test dir

Split by cost in CI: plan-mode unit tests on every PR, apply-mode integration tests on merge only.

Version Pinning

Component	Strategy	Example
Terraform	Pin minor	required_version = "~> 1.9"
Providers	Pin major	version = "~> 5.0"
Modules (prod)	Pin exact	version = "5.1.2"
Modules (dev)	Allow patch	version = "~> 5.1"

Key modern features: moved blocks (1.1+), optional() with defaults (1.3+), native testing (1.6+), mock providers (1.7+), cross-variable validation (1.9+), write-only arguments (1.11+). Stacks (HCP -- check current release status): orchestrates multiple configs as a single deployment unit -- evaluate for multi-environment patterns.

State & Security

• Remote backend with locking: S3 with use_lockfile = true (1.10+), Azure Blob, GCS, or Terraform Cloud. Never local state for shared infrastructure. DynamoDB-based S3 locking (dynamodb_table) is deprecated and slated for removal -- prefer use_lockfile; both may be set at once while migrating an existing table off.
• Encrypt state at rest. Never commit .tfstate, .terraform/, or *.tfplan. Always commit .terraform.lock.hcl.
• default_tags on provider for consistent resource tagging.
• Encryption at rest on all storage. Private networking by default -- public access is opt-in.
• Least-privilege security groups. No 0.0.0.0/0 ingress without explicit justification.
• Never hardcode credentials -- use assume_role, OIDC, or secrets managers.
• Pre-commit: auto-format first (terraform fmt -recursive -- rewrites files), then verify (terraform validate && tflint && trivy config .)
• moved { from = old; to = new } for refactoring resource names/modules without destroy-recreate. Remove block after apply.

Troubleshooting

• State lock stuck: terraform force-unlock <ID> -- only after confirming no other operation running
• Resource drift: terraform plan -refresh-only to detect, terraform apply -refresh-only to accept
• Replace tainted: terraform apply -replace=ADDR (not deprecated terraform taint)
• Import existing: import blocks (1.5+) for declarative import, or terraform import ADDR ID

Dependency Management

Use locals with try() to control deletion ordering without explicit depends_on:

locals {
  vpc_id = try(aws_vpc_ipv4_cidr_block_association.this[0].vpc_id, aws_vpc.this.id, "")
}

This forces Terraform to destroy subnets before CIDR associations -- prevents deletion errors.

• cidrsubnet(var.vpc_cidr, 8, count.index) for calculated subnet CIDRs -- never hardcode subnets
• Multi-region: provider "aws" { alias = "eu_west_1" } + providers = { aws = aws.eu_west_1 } in module blocks

Verify

Run before declaring done:

terraform fmt -check && terraform validate && tflint && trivy config .

All commands must pass with zero errors. Where plan-mode tests exist, add terraform test -filter=<unit-test-file> -- restrict this to plan-mode suites, since apply-mode tests stand up real infrastructure and do not belong in a pre-completion check.