This article is about utilising a tool from HashiCorp called Terraform to build infrastructure as a code - IoC.

Note: most of the paragraphs have examples of Terraform prior 0.12 version syntax that uses HCLv1. HCLv2 has been introduced with v0.12+ that contains significiant syntax and capabilites improvments.

Install terraform

wget https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform/0.11.11/terraform_0.11.11_linux_amd64.zip
unzip terraform_0.11.11_linux_amd64.zip
sudo mv ./terraform /usr/local/bin

tfenv - manage multiple versions of Teraform

Install and usage

git clone https://github.com/tfutils/tfenv.git ~/.tfenv
echo "[ -d $HOME/.tfenv ] && export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.tfenv/bin/" >> ~/.bashrc # or ~/.bash_profile

# Use
tfenv install 1.0.6
tfenv use 1.0.6

IDE

Development I use:

VSCode with 1.41.1+ (for reference) with extensions:
- Terraform Autocomplete by erd0s
- Terraform by Mikael Olenfalk with enabled Language Server; open the command pallet with Ctrl+Shift+P

Basic configuration

When terraform is run it looks for .tf file where configuration is stored. The look up process is limited to a flat directory and never leaves the directory that runs from. Therefore if you wish to address a common file a symbolic-link needs to be created within the directory you have .tf file.

$ vi example.tf 
provider "aws" {
  access_key = "AK01234567890OGD6WGA" 
  secret_key = "N8012345678905acCY6XIc1bYjsvvlXHUXMaxOzN"
  region     = "eu-west-1"
}
resource "aws_instance" "webserver" {
  ami           = "ami-405f7226"
  instance_type = "t2.nano"
}

Since version 10.8.x major changes and features have been introduced including split of providers binary. Now each provider is a separate binary. Please see below example for Azure provider and other internal Terraform developed providers.

Azure

Terraform credentials

export ARM_SUBSCRIPTION_ID="YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_ID"
export ARM_TENANT_ID="TENANT_ID"
export ARM_CLIENT_ID="CLIENT_ID"
export ARM_CLIENT_SECRET="CLIENT_SECRET"
export TF_VAR_client_id=${ARM_CLIENT_ID}
export TF_VAR_client_secret=${ARM_CLIENT_SECRET}

Example, how to source credentials

export VAULT_CLIENT_ADDR=http://10.1.1.1:8200
export VAULT_TOKEN=11111111-1111-1111-1111-1111111111111
vault read -format=json -address=$VAULT_CLIENT_ADDR secret/azure/subscription   | jq -r '.data | .subscription_id, .tenant_id'
vault read -format=json -address=$VAULT_CLIENT_ADDR secret/azure/${application} | jq -r '.data | .client_id, .client_secret'

Terraform providers, modules and backend config

$ vi providers.tf
provider "azurerm" {
  version         = "1.10.0"
  subscription_id = "${var.subscription_id}"
  tenant_id       = "${var.tenant_id}"
  client_id       = "${var.client_id}"
  client_secret   = "${var.client_secret}"
}

# HashiCorp special providers https://github.com/terraform-providers
provider "template" { version = "1.0.0" }
provider "external" { version = "1.0.0" }
provider "local"    { version = "1.1.0" }

terraform {
  backend "local" {}
}

AWS

References

Local state

Local state configuration

vi backend.tf
terraform {
  version          = "~> 1.0"
  required_version = "= 0.12.29"
  backend "local" {}
}

Remote state (single) for multi account deployments

There are many combination setting up backend and AWS credentials. Important understand is that terraform { backend{} } block does NOT use provider "aws {}" configuration in order to access the state bucket. It only uses the backend one.

exporting credentials allows working with assume roles that are different in the backend and terraform blocks.
specifying different profile = in each blocks

Credentials

## profile allows assumes roles in other accounts
#export AWS_PROFILE="piotr"

# Environment credentials for a user that can assume roles (eg. ) in other accounts:
#          | * arn:aws:iam::111111111111:role/terraform-s3state              - save state in s3 bucket
#          | * arn:aws:iam::222222222222:role/terraform-crossaccount-admin   - deploy resources
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1

# unset all of them if need to 
unset ${!AWS@}

terraform {}

terraform {
  version          = "~> 1.0"
  required_version = "= 0.12.29"
# profile "dev-us" # we use 'role_arn' but could specify aws profile instead
  backend "s3" {
    bucket  = "tfstate-${var.project}-${var.account-id}" # must exist beforehand
    key     = "terraform/aws/${var.project}/tfstate"     # this could be much simpler when working with terraform workspaces
    region  = "${var.region}"
    role_arn  = "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:role/terraform-s3state" # role to assume in an infra account that the s3 state exists
  }
}

provider {}

provider "aws" {
## We could use profiles but instead we use 'assume_role' option. Also on your laptop 
## it should be your creds profile eg. 'piotr-xaccount-admin'
#profile = "terraform-crossaccount-admin"
#shared_credentials_file = "/home/piotr/.aws/credentials"
  assume_role = {
    role_arn  = "arn:aws:iam::<MY_PROD_ACCOUNT>:role/terraform-crossaccount-admin"       # assume role in target account
    role_arn  = "arn:aws:iam::${var.aws_account}:role/terraform-crossaccount-admin" # can use variables
  }
  region  = "var.aws_region"
  allowed_account_ids = [ "111111111111", "222222222222" ] # safety net
}

Workspace configuration

Dev configuration in dev.tfvars

aws_region  = "eu-west-1"
aws_account = "<MY_DEV_ACCOUNT>"

Prod configuration in prod.tfvars

aws_region  = "eu-west-1"
aws_account = "<MY_PROD_ACCOUNT>"

Workspaces

terraform init
terraform workspace new dev
terraform workspace new prod

Apply on one account

terraform workspace select dev
terraform apply --var-file $(terraform workspace show).tfvars

GCP Google Cloud Platform

# Generate default app credentials

gcloud auth application-default login
Go to the following link in your browser:
https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth?response_type=code&client_id=****_challenge_method=S256
Enter verification code: ***
Credentials saved to file: [/home/piotr/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json]

These credentials will be used by any library that requests Application Default Credentials (ADC).
Quota project "test-devops-candidate1" was added to ADC which can be used by Google client libraries for billing and quota. Note that some services may still bill the project owning the resource

Plan / apply

Meaning of markings in a plan output

For now, here they are, until we get it included in the docs better:

+ create
- destroy
-/+ replace (destroy and then create, or vice-versa if create-before-destroy is used)
~ update in-place
<= applies only to data resources. You won't see this one often, because whenever possible Terraform does reads during the refresh phase. You will see it, though, if you have a data resource whose configuration depends on something that we don't know yet, such as an attribute of a resource that isn't yet created. In that case, it's necessary to wait until apply time to find out the final configuration before doing the read.

Plan and apply

Apply stage, if runs first time will create terraform.tfstate after all changes are done. This file should not be modified manually. It's used to compare what is out in cloud already so the next time APPLY stage runs it will look at the file and execute only necessary changes.

Terraform plan and apply

terraform plan

terraform apply

$ terraform plan
Refreshing Terraform state in-memory prior to plan...
The refreshed state will be used to calculate this plan, but will not be
persisted to local or remote state storage.
<...>

+ aws_instance.webserver
   ami:                         "ami-405f7226"
   associate_public_ip_address: "<computed>"
   availability_zone:           "<computed>"
   ebs_block_device.#:          "<computed>"
   ephemeral_block_device.#:    "<computed>"
   instance_state:              "<computed>"
   instance_type:               "t2.nano"
   ipv6_addresses.#:            "<computed>"
   key_name:                    "<computed>"
   network_interface_id:        "<computed>"
   placement_group:             "<computed>"
   private_dns:                 "<computed>"
   private_ip:                  "<computed>"
   public_dns:                  "<computed>"
   public_ip:                   "<computed>"
   root_block_device.#:         "<computed>"
   security_groups.#:           "<computed>"
   source_dest_check:           "true"
   subnet_id:                   "<computed>"
   tenancy:                     "<computed>"
   vpc_security_group_ids.#:    "<computed>"

$ terraform apply
aws_instance.webserver: Creating...
 ami:                         "" => "ami-405f7226"
 associate_public_ip_address: "" => "<computed>"
 availability_zone:           "" => "<computed>"
 ebs_block_device.#:          "" => "<computed>"
 ephemeral_block_device.#:    "" => "<computed>"
 instance_state:              "" => "<computed>"
 instance_type:               "" => "t2.nano"
 ipv6_addresses.#:            "" => "<computed>"
 key_name:                    "" => "<computed>"
 network_interface_id:        "" => "<computed>"
 placement_group:             "" => "<computed>"
 private_dns:                 "" => "<computed>"
 private_ip:                  "" => "<computed>"
 public_dns:                  "" => "<computed>"
 public_ip:                   "" => "<computed>"
 root_block_device.#:         "" => "<computed>"
 security_groups.#:           "" => "<computed>"
 source_dest_check:           "" => "true"
 subnet_id:                   "" => "<computed>"
 tenancy:                     "" => "<computed>"
 vpc_security_group_ids.#:    "" => "<computed>"
aws_instance.webserver: Still creating... (10s elapsed)
aws_instance.webserver: Creation complete (ID: i-0eb33af34b94d1a78)

Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.

The state of your infrastructure has been saved to the path
below. This state is required to modify and destroy your
infrastructure, so keep it safe. To inspect the complete state
use the `terraform show` command.

State path:

Show

$ terraform show
aws_instance.webserver:
 id = i-0eb33af34b94d1a78
 ami = ami-405f7226
 associate_public_ip_address = true
 availability_zone = eu-west-1c
 disable_api_termination = false
(...)
 source_dest_check = true
 subnet_id = subnet-92a4bbf6
 tags.% = 0
 tenancy = default
 vpc_security_group_ids.# = 1
 vpc_security_group_ids.1039819662 = sg-5201fb2b

$> terraform destroy
Do you really want to destroy?
 Terraform will delete all your managed infrastructure.
 There is no undo. Only 'yes' will be accepted to confirm.
 Enter a value: yes
aws_instance.webserver: Refreshing state... (ID: i-0eb33af34b94d1a78)
aws_instance.webserver: Destroying... (ID: i-0eb33af34b94d1a78)
aws_instance.webserver: Still destroying... (ID: i-0eb33af34b94d1a78, 10s elapsed)
aws_instance.webserver: Still destroying... (ID: i-0eb33af34b94d1a78, 20s elapsed)
aws_instance.webserver: Still destroying... (ID: i-0eb33af34b94d1a78, 30s elapsed)
aws_instance.webserver: Destruction complete
 
Destroy complete! Resources: 1 destroyed.

After the instance has been terminated the terraform.tfstate looks like below:

vi terraform.tfstate

{
     "version": 3,
     "terraform_version": "0.9.1",
     "serial": 1,
     "lineage": "c22ccad7-ff26-4b8a-bf19-819477b45202",
     "modules": [
         {
             "path": [
                 "root"
             ],
             "outputs": {},
             "resources": {},
             "depends_on": []
         }
     ]
 }

AWS credentials profiles and variable files

Instead to reference secret_access keys within .tf file directly we can use AWS profile file. This file will be look at for the profile variable we specify in variables.tf file. Note: there is no double quotes.

$ vi ~/.aws/credentials    #AWS credentials file with named profiles
[terraform-profile1]       #profile name
aws_access_key_id     = AAAAAAAAAAA
aws_secret_access_key = BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Then we can now remove the secret_access keys from the main .tf file (example.tf) and amend as follows:

vi provider.tf
terraform {
  version          = "~> 1.0"
  required_version = "= 0.11.11"
  region           = "eu-west-1"
  backend "s3" {}  # in this case all s3 details are passed as ENV vars
}

provider "aws" {
  version    =   "~> 1.57"
# Static credentials - provided directly
  access_key = "AAAAAAAAAAA"
  secret_key = "BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB"

# Shared Credentials file - $HOME/.aws/credentials, static credentials are not needed then
# profile                 = "terraform-profile1"           #profile name in credentials file, acc 111111111111
# shared_credentials_file = "/home/user1/.aws/credentials" #if different than default

# If specified, assume role in another account using the user credentials
# defined in the profile above
# assume_role {
#   role_arn     = "${var.aws_xaccount_role}" #variable version
#   role_arn     = "arn:aws:iam::222222222222:role/CrossAccountSignin_Terraform"
# }
# allowed_account_ids = [ "111111111111", "222222222222" ]
}

provider "template" {
  version = "~> 1.0.0"
}

and create a variable file to reference it

$ vi variables.tf
variable "region" {
  default = "eu-west-1"
}
variable "profile" {} #variable without a default value will prompt to type in the value. And that should be 'terraform-profile1'

Run terraform

$ terraform plan -var 'profile=terraform-profile1'  #this way value can be set
$ terraform plan -destroy -input=false

AWS example

Prerequisites are:

~/.aws/credential file exists
variables.tf exist, with context below:

If you remove default value you will be prompted for it.

inputs.tf also known as a variable file.

$> vi inputs.tf
variable "region" { default = "eu-west-1"  } 
variable "profile" {
       description = "Provide AWS credentials profile you want to use, saved in ~/.aws/credentials file"
       default     = "terraform-profile" }
variable "key_name" {
        description = <<DESCRIPTION
Provide name of the ssh private key file name, ~/.ssh will be search
This is the key assosiated with the IAM user in AWS. Example: id_rsa
DESCRIPTION
        default     = "id_rsa" }
variable "public_key_path" {
        description = <<DESCRIPTION
Path to the SSH public keys for authentication. This key will be injected
into all ec2 instances created by Terraform.
Example: ~./ssh/terraform.pub
DESCRIPTION
        default     = "~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub" }

Terraform .tf file

$ vi example.tf
provider "aws" {
  region = "${var.region}"
  profile = "${var.profile}"
}
resource "aws_vpc" "vpc" {
  cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"
}
# Create an internet gateway to give our subnet access to the open internet
resource "aws_internet_gateway" "internet-gateway" {
  vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.vpc.id}"
}
# Give the VPC internet access on its main route table
resource "aws_route" "internet_access" {
  route_table_id         = "${aws_vpc.vpc.main_route_table_id}"
  destination_cidr_block = "0.0.0.0/0"
  gateway_id             = "${aws_internet_gateway.internet-gateway.id}"
}
# Create a subnet to launch our instances into
resource "aws_subnet" "default" {
  vpc_id                  = "${aws_vpc.vpc.id}"
  cidr_block              = "10.0.1.0/24"
  map_public_ip_on_launch = true

  tags {
    Name = "Public"
  }
}
# Our default security group to access
# instances over SSH and HTTP
resource "aws_security_group" "default" {
  name        = "terraform_securitygroup"
  description = "Used for public instances"
  vpc_id      = "${aws_vpc.vpc.id}"

  # SSH access from anywhere
  ingress {
    from_port   = 22
    to_port     = 22
    protocol    = "tcp"
    cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"]
  }
  # HTTP access from the VPC
  ingress {
    from_port   = 80
    to_port     = 80
    protocol    = "tcp"
    cidr_blocks = ["10.0.0.0/16"]
  }
  # outbound internet access
  egress {
    from_port   = 0
    to_port     = 0
    protocol    = "-1" # all protocols
    cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"]
  }
}
resource "aws_key_pair" "auth" {
  key_name   = "${var.key_name}"
  public_key = "${file(var.public_key_path)}"
}
resource "aws_instance" "webserver" {
  ami = "ami-405f7226"
  instance_type = "t2.nano"

  key_name = "${aws_key_pair.auth.id}"
  vpc_security_group_ids = ["${aws_security_group.default.id}"]

  # We're going to launch into the public subnet for this.
  # Normally, in production environments, webservers would be in
  # private subnets.
  subnet_id = "${aws_subnet.default.id}"

  # The connection block tells our provisioner how to
  # communicate with the instance
  connection {
    user = "ubuntu"
  }
  # We run a remote provisioner on the instance after creating it 
  # to install Nginx. By default, this should be on port 80
  provisioner "remote-exec" {
    inline = [
      "sudo apt-get -y update",
      "sudo apt-get -y install nginx",
      "sudo service nginx start"
    ]
  }
}

Run a plan

$ terraform plan
var.key_name
  Name of the AWS key pair

  Enter a value: id_rsa        #name of the key_pair

var.profile
  AWS credentials profile you want to use

  Enter a value: terraform-profile   #aws profile in ~/.aws/credentials file

var.public_key_path
  Path to the SSH public keys for authentication.
  Example: ~./ssh/terraform.pub

  Enter a value: ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub  #path to the matching public key

Refreshing Terraform state in-memory prior to plan...
The refreshed state will be used to calculate this plan, but will not be
persisted to local or remote state storage.

The Terraform execution plan has been generated and is shown below.
Resources are shown in alphabetical order for quick scanning. Green resources
will be created (or destroyed and then created if an existing resource
exists), yellow resources are being changed in-place, and red resources
will be destroyed. Cyan entries are data sources to be read.

+ aws_instance.webserver
    ami:                         "ami-405f7226"
    associate_public_ip_address: "<computed>"
    availability_zone:           "<computed>"
    ebs_block_device.#:          "<computed>"
    ephemeral_block_device.#:    "<computed>"
    instance_state:              "<computed>"
    instance_type:               "t2.nano"
    ipv6_addresses.#:            "<computed>"
    key_name:                    "${aws_key_pair.auth.id}"
    network_interface_id:        "<computed>"
    placement_group:             "<computed>"
    private_dns:                 "<computed>"
    private_ip:                  "<computed>"
    public_dns:                  "<computed>"
    public_ip:                   "<computed>"
    root_block_device.#:         "<computed>"
    security_groups.#:           "<computed>"
    source_dest_check:           "true"
    subnet_id:                   "${aws_subnet.default.id}"
    tenancy:                     "<computed>"
    vpc_security_group_ids.#:    "<computed>"

+ aws_internet_gateway.internet-gateway
    vpc_id: "${aws_vpc.vpc.id}"

+ aws_key_pair.auth
    fingerprint: "<computed>"
    key_name:    "id_rsa"
    public_key:  "ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDfc piotr@ubuntu"

...omitted...>
 
Plan: 7 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.

Plan a single target

$> terraform plan -target=aws_ami_from_instance.golden

Terraform apply

$> terraform apply
$> terraform show # shoe current resources in the state file
aws_instance.webserver:
 id = i-09c1c665cef284235
 ami = ami-405f7226
<...>
aws_security_group.default:
 id = sg-b14bb1c8
 description = Used for public instances
 egress.# = 1
<...>
aws_subnet.default:
 id = subnet-6f4f510b
<...>
aws_vpc.vpc:
 id = vpc-9ba0b7ff
<...>

Apply a single resource using -target <resource>

$> terraform apply -target=aws_ami_from_instance.golden

Terraform destroy

Run destroy command to delete all resources that were created

$> terraform destroy

aws_key_pair.auth: Refreshing state... (ID: id_rsa)
aws_vpc.vpc: Refreshing state... (ID: vpc-9ba0b7ff)
<...>

Destroy complete! Resources: 7 destroyed.

Destroy a single resource - targeting

$> terraform show
$> terraform destroy -target=aws_ami_from_instance.golden

Terraform taint

Get a resource list

terraform state list
# select item for the list #

Version 0.11: resource index must be addressed as eg. aws_instance.main.0 not aws_instance.main[0]. It's not possible to tain whole module

terraform taint -module=<MODULE_NAME> aws_instance.main.0

Version 0.12: resources and modules can be addressed in more natural way

terraform taint module.MODULE_NAME.aws_instance.main.0

Use ansible from Terraform - Provision using Ansible

Unsurr if this is the best approach due to the fact of how to store the state of local-exec Ansible run. Could be set to always run as Ansible playbooks are immutable. Exame: https://github.com/dzeban/c10k/blob/master/infrastructure/main.tf

Debug

Output complex object

Often it is required to manipulate a data structure that is an output of resource, data.resource or simply a template that might be hidden computation not always displayed on your screen. You can use following techniques to iterate over you code output:

Output and null_resource - empty virtual container that can run any arbitrary commands

Problem statement: Display computed Terrafom templatefile
Solution: Use null_resource to create a template, such template will be shown in a plan. If such template is Json policy, invalid policies fail and you cannot see why. Plan will show the object being constructed, running terraform apply it can be saved into state file as output variable. Then the object can be re-used for further transformations.

data "aws_caller_identity" "current" {}

# resource "aws_kms_key" "secretmanager" {
#  policy = templatefile("./templates/kms_secretmanager.policy.json.tpl", ... # debugging policy with 
# }                                                                           # null_resource and ouput

resource "aws_kms_alias" "secretmanager" {
  name          = "alias/secretmanager"
  target_key_id = aws_kms_key.secretmanager.key_id
}

resource "null_resource" "policytest" {
  triggers = {
    policytest = templatefile("./templates/kms_secretmanager.policy.json.tpl", 
    {
      arns_json                 = jsonencode(var.crossAccountIamUsers_arns)
      currentAccountId          = data.aws_caller_identity.current.account_id
      crossAccountAccessEnabled = length([var.crossAccountIamUsers_arns]) > 0 ? true : false
    })
  }
}

output "policy" {
  value = templatefile("./templates/kms_secretmanager.policy.json.tpl", 
    {
      arns_json                 = jsonencode(var.crossAccountIamUsers_arns)
      currentAccountId          = data.aws_caller_identity.current.account_id
      crossAccountAccessEnabled = length([var.crossAccountIamUsers_arns]) > 0 ? true : false
    }
  )
}

Policy template file ./templates/kms_secretmanager.policy.json.tpl

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Id": "key-consolepolicy-1",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "Enable IAM User Permissions",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": {
                "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::${currentAccountId}:root"
            },
            "Action": "kms:*",
            "Resource": "*"
        },
%{ if crossAccountAccessEnabled == true ~}
        {
            "Sid": "Allow cross-accounts retrieve secrets",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": {
                "AWS": ${arns_json}
            },
            "Action": [
                "kms:Decrypt",
                "kms:DescribeKey"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        }
%{ endif ~}
    ]
}

Run

$ terraform apply -var-file=test.tfvars -target null_resource.policytest # -var-file contains 'var.crossAccountIamUsers_arns' list variable

Terraform will perform the following actions:

  # null_resource.policytest will be created
  + resource "null_resource" "policytest" {
      + id       = (known after apply)
      + triggers = {
          + "policytest" = jsonencode(
                {
                  + Id        = "key-consolepolicy-1"
                  + Statement = [
                      + {
                          + Action    = "kms:*"
                          + Effect    = "Allow"
                          + Principal = {
                              + AWS = "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:root"
                            }
                          + Resource  = "*"
                          + Sid       = "Enable IAM User Permissions"
                        },
                      + {
                          + Action    = [
                              + "kms:Decrypt",
                              + "kms:DescribeKey",
                            ]
                          + Effect    = "Allow"
                          + Principal = {
                              + AWS = [
                                  + "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:user/dev",
                                  + "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:user/test",
                                ]
                            }
                          + Resource  = "*"
                          + Sid       = "Allow cross-accounts retrieve secrets"
                        },
                    ]
                  + Version   = "2012-10-17"
                }
            )
        }
    }

Plan: 1 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.

Do you want to perform these actions?
  Terraform will perform the actions described above.
  Only 'yes' will be accepted to approve.

  Enter a value: yes # <- manual imput

Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.

Outputs:
policy = {
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Id": "key-consolepolicy-1",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Sid": "Enable IAM User Permissions",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": {
                "AWS": "arn:aws:iam::111111111111:root"
            },
            "Action": "kms:*",
            "Resource": "*"
        },
        {
            "Sid": "Allow cross-accounts retrieve secrets",
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Principal": {
                "AWS": ["arn:aws:iam::111111111111:user/dev","arn:aws:iam::111111111111:user/test"]
            },
            "Action": [
                "kms:Decrypt",
                "kms:DescribeKey"
            ],
            "Resource": "*"
        }
    ]
}

Debug

Debug and analyze logs

We are going to enable logging to a file in Terraform. Convert log file to pdf and use sheri.ai to give us the answers.

# Pre req - Ubuntu 22.04
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install ghostscript # for ps2pdf converter

# Set Terraform logging
export TF_LOG=TRACE # DEBUG
export TF_LOG_PATH=/tmp/tflogs.log

terraform plan|apply
vim $TF_LOG_PATH -c "hardcopy > ${TF_LOG_PATH}.ps | q"; ps2pdf ${TF_LOG_PATH}.ps ${TF_LOG_PATH}-$(echo $(date +"%Y%m%d-%H%M")).pdf

Debug using `terraform console`

This command provides an interactive command-line console for evaluating and experimenting with expressions. This is useful for testing interpolations before using them in configurations, and for interacting with any values currently saved in state. Terraform console will read configured state even if it is remote.

$> terraform console #-state=path # note I have 'tfstate' available; this could be remote state
> var.vpc_cidr       # <- new syntax
10.123.0.0/16
> "${var.vpc_cidr}"  # <- old syntax
10.123.0.0/16
> aws_security_group.tf_public_sg.id   # interpolate from state
sg-04d51b5ae10e6f0b0
> help
The Terraform console allows you to experiment with Terraform interpolations.
You may access resources in the state (if you have one) just as you would
from a configuration. For example: "aws_instance.foo.id" would evaluate
to the ID of "aws_instance.foo" if it exists in your state.

Type in the interpolation to test and hit <enter> to see the result.

To exit the console, type "exit" and hit <enter>, or use Control-C or
Control-D.

Example

$ echo "aws_iam_user.notif.arn" | terraform console
arn:aws:iam::123456789:user/notif

Log user_data to console logs

In Linux add a line below after she-bang

exec > >(tee /var/log/user-data.log|logger -t user-data -s 2>/dev/console)

Now you can go and open System Logs in AWS Console to view user-data script logs.

terraform graph to visualise configuration

Graph dependencies

Create visualised file. You may need to install sudo apt-get install graphviz if it is not in your system.

sudo apt install graphviz # installs 'dot'
terraform graph | dot -Tpng > graph.png

Cycle error

Example cycle error:

Error: Cycle: module.gke.google_container_node_pool.pools["low-standard-n1"]
 module.gke.google_container_node_pool.pools["medium-standard-n1"]
 module.gke.google_container_node_pool.pools["large-standard-n1"]
 module.gke.local.cluster_endpoint (expand)
 module.gke.output.endpoint (expand)
 provider["registry.terraform.io/gavinbunney/kubectl"]
 kubectl_manifest.sync["source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1beta1/gitrepository/flux-system/flux-system"] (destroy)
 module.gke.google_container_node_pool.pools["preemptible"] (destroy)
 module.gke.module.gcloud_delete_default_kube_dns_configmap.module.gcloud_kubectl.null_resource.additional_components[0] (destroy)
 module.gke.module.gcloud_delete_default_kube_dns_configmap.module.gcloud_kubectl.null_resource.run_command[0] (destroy)
 module.gke.module.gcloud_delete_default_kube_dns_configmap.module.gcloud_kubectl.null_resource.module_depends_on[0] (destroy)
 module.gke.module.gcloud_delete_default_kube_dns_configmap.module.gcloud_kubectl.null_resource.run_destroy_command[0] (destroy)
 module.gke.kubernetes_config_map.kube-dns[0] (destroy)
 module.gke.google_container_cluster.primary
 module.gke.local.cluster_output_master_auth (expand)
 module.gke.local.cluster_master_auth_list_layer1 (expand)
 module.gke.local.cluster_master_auth_list_layer2 (expand)
 module.gke.local.cluster_master_auth_map (expand)
 module.gke.local.cluster_ca_certificate (expand)
 module.gke.output.ca_certificate (expand)
 provider["registry.terraform.io/hashicorp/kubernetes"]

The -draw-cycles command causes Terraform to mark the arrows that are related to the cycle being reported using the color red. If you cannot visually distinguish red from black, you may wish to first edit the generated Graphviz code to replace red with some other color you can distinguish.

sudo apt install graphviz
terraform graph -draw-cycles -type=plan > cycle-plan.graphviz
terraform graph -draw-cycles | dot -Tpng > cycles.png
terraform graph -draw-cycles | dot -Tsvg > cycles.svg
terraform graph -draw-cycles | dot -Tpdf > cycles.pdf
# | -draw-cycles - highlight any cycles in the graph with colored edges. This helps when diagnosing cycle errors.
# | -type=plan   - type of graph to output. Can be: plan, plan-destroy, apply, validate, input, refresh.

# For large graphs you may want to install inkscape
sudo apt install inkscape --no-install-suggests --no-install-recommends

Awoid cycle errors in modules by structuring your config to avoid cross-module references. So instead of directly accessing an output of one module from inside another, set it up as in input parameter instead and wire everything together on the top level.

How to get it solved

With the cycling dependency issue, study the graph then decide on removing from the state a resource that should be generated later. If the graph is not clear or too complex to read you may need to guess and delete from the state a resource marked for deletion, ie:

terraform state  rm kubectl_manifest.install[\"apps/v1/deployment/flux-system/kustomize-controller\"]

Remote state

Enable

Create s3 bucket with unique name, enable versioning and choose a region.

Then configure terraform:

$ terraform remote config \
     -backend=s3 \
     -backend-config="bucket=YOUR_BUCKET_NAME" \
     -backend-config="key=terraform.tfstate" \
     -backend-config="region=YOUR_BUCKET_REGION" \
     -backend-config="encrypt=true"
 Remote configuration updated
 Remote state configured and pulled.

After running this command, you should see your Terraform state show up in that S3 bucket.

Locking

Add dynamodb_table name to backend configuration.

terraform {
  version          = "~> 1.0"
  required_version = "= 0.11.11"
  backend "s3" {
    dynamodb_table = "tfstate-lock"
    profile        = "terraform-agent"
#   assume_role {
#     role_arn     = "${var.aws_xaccount_role}"
#     session_name = "${var.aws_xsession_name}"
#   }
  }
}

In AWS create dynamo-db table, named: tfsate-lock with index LockID; as on a picture below. It an event of taking a lock the entry similar to one below gets created.

{"ID":"62a453e8-7fbc-cfa2-e07f-be1381b82af3","Operation":"OperationTypePlan","Info":"","Who":"piotr@laptop1","Version":"0.11.11","Created":"2019-03-07T08:49:33.3078722Z","Path":"tfstate-acmedev01-acmedev-111111111111/aws/acmedev01/state"}

Workspaces

Rename a workspace / move the state file

Note: The state manipulation commands run through Terraform’s automatic state upgrading processes and so best to do this with the same Terraform CLI version that you’ve most recently been using against this workspace so that the state won’t be implicitly upgraded as part of the operation.

terraform workspace select old-name
terraform state pull >old-name.tfstate
terraform workspace new new-name
terraform state push old-name.tfstate
terraform show # confirm that the newly-imported state looks 'right', before deleting the old workspace
terraform workspace delete -force old-name

Variables

Variables can be provided via cli

terraform apply -var="image_id=ami-abc123"
terraform apply -var='image_id_list=["ami-abc123","ami-def456"]'
terraform apply -var='image_id_map={"us-east-1":"ami-abc123","us-east-2":"ami-def456"}'

Terraform also automatically loads a number of variable definitions files if they are present:

Files named exactly terraform.tfvars or terraform.tfvars.json.
Any files with names ending in .auto.tfvars or .auto.tfvars.json.

Syntax Terraform 0.12.6+

Note: This for-expressions link is a little diamond for this subject

Map and nested block

Terrafom 0.12 introduces stricter validation for followings but allows map keys to be set dynamically from expressions. Note of "=" sign.

a map attribute - usually have user-defined keys, like we see in the tags example
a nested block always has a fixed set of supported arguments defined by the resource type schema, which Terraform will validate

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  instance_type = "t2.micro"
  ami           = "ami-abcd1234"

  tags = {             # <- a map attribute, requires '='
    Name = "example instance"
  }

  ebs_block_device {    # <- a nested block, no '='
    device_name = "sda2"
    volume_type = "gp2"
    volume_size = 24
  }
}

For_each

For_each and new allowed formatting without the need for "${var.vpc_cidr}" syntax = var.vpc_cidr

main.tf

variables.tf and outputs.tf

# vi main.tf
resource "aws_vpc" "tf_vpc" {
  cidr_block           = "${var.vpc_cidr}"
  enable_dns_hostnames = true
  enable_dns_support   = true
  tags =  {           #<-note of '=' as this is an argument
    Name = "tf_vpc"
  }
}

resource "aws_security_group" "tf_public_sg" {
  name        = "tf_public_sg"
  description = "Used for access to the public instances"
  vpc_id      = "${aws_vpc.tf_vpc.id}"

  dynamic "ingress" {
    for_each = [ for s in var.service_ports: {
       from_port = s.from_port
       to_port   = s.to_port   }]
    content {
      from_port   = ingress.value.from_port
      to_port     = ingress.value.to_port
      protocol    = "tcp"
      cidr_blocks = [ var.accessip ]
    }
  }
# Commented block has been replaced by 'dynamic "ingress"'
# ingress {  #SSH
#   from_port   = 22
#   to_port     = 22
#   protocol    = "tcp"
#   cidr_blocks = ["${var.accessip}"]
# }
# ingress {  #HTTP
#   from_port   = 80
#   to_port     = 80
#   protocol    = "tcp"
#   cidr_blocks = ["${var.accessip}"]
# }
  egress { 
    from_port   = 0
    to_port     = 0
    protocol    = "-1"
    cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"]
  }
}

# vi variables.tf
variable "vpc_cidr" { default = "10.123.0.0/16" }
variable "accessip" { default = "0.0.0.0/0"     }

variable "service_ports" {
  type = "list"
  default = [
    { from_port = 22, to_port = 22 },
    { from_port = 80, to_port = 80 }
  ]
}

# vi outputs.tf
output "public_sg" { 
  value = aws_security_group.tf_public_sg.id
}

output "ingress_port_mapping" {
  value = {
    for ingress in aws_security_group.tf_public_sg.ingress:
    format("From %d", ingress.from_port) => format("To %d", ingress.to_port)
  }
}

# Computed 'Outputs:'
ingress_port_mapping = {
  "From 22" = "To 22"
  "From 80" = "To 80"
}
public_sg = sg-04d51b5ae10e6f0b0

Iterate over list of objects

how-to-for-each-through-a-listobjects

# debug.tf
locals {
  users = [
    # list of objects
    { name = "foo", is_enabled = true  },
    { name = "bar", is_enabled = false },
  ]
}

resource "null_resource" "this" {
    for_each = { for name in local.users: name.name => name.is_enabled }
    connection {
      name     = each.key
      email    = each.value
    }
}

output "users_map" {
  value = { for name in local.users: name.name => name.is_enabled }
}

# terraform init
# terraform apply

null_resource.this["bar"]: Creating...
null_resource.this["foo"]: Creating...
null_resource.this["bar"]: Creation complete after 0s [id=7228791922218879597]
null_resource.this["foo"]: Creation complete after 0s [id=7997705376010456213]

Apply complete! Resources: 2 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.

Outputs:

users_map = {
  "bar" = false
  "foo" = true
}

Plan is more readable and explicit

See comparison

Rich Value Types - for previewing whole resource object

Resources and Modules as Values Terraform 0.12 now permits using entire resources as object values within configuration, including returning them as outputs and passing them as input variables:

output "vpc" {
  value = aws_vpc.example
}

The type of this output value is an object type derived from the schema of the aws_vpc resource type. The calling module can then access attributes of this result in the same way as the returning module would use aws_vpc.example, such as module.example.vpc.cidr_block. This works also for modules with an expression like module.vpc evaluating to an object value with attributes corresponding to the modules's named outputs.

`for`

Produce maps from list of strings of a map

This is mostly used for parsing preexisting lists and maps rather than generating ones. For example, we are able to convert all elements in a list of strings to upper case using this expression.

local {
  upper_list = [for i in var.list : upper(i)] # creates a new list 
}

The For iterates over each element of the list and returns the value of upper(el) for each element in form of a list. We can also use this expression to generate maps.

local {
  upper_map = {for i in var.list : i => upper(i)} # creates a map with key = value
                                                  #                 { i[0] = upper(i[0])
                                                  #                   i[1] = upper(i[1]) }
}

Use if as a filter in for expression

[for i in var.list : upper(i) if i != ""]

</source> In this case, the original element from list now correspond to their uppercase version.

Lastly, we can include an if statement as a filter in for expressions. Unfortunately, we are not able to use if in logical operations like the ternary operators we used before. The following state will try to return a list of all non-empty elements in their uppercase state.

Manipulate list and complex object

Build a new list by removing items that their string value do not match regex expression

# Resource that generates an object
resource "aws_acm_certificate" "main" {...}

# Preview of input object 'aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options'
output "domain_validation_options" {
  value       = aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options
  description = "array/list of maps taken from resource object(aws_acm_certificate.issued) describing all validation domain records"
}


$ terraform output domain_validation_options
[ # <- array starts here
  { # <- an item of array the map object
    "domain_name" = "*.dev.example.com"
    "resource_record_name" = "_11111111111111111111111111111111.dev.example.com."
    "resource_record_type" = "CNAME"
    "resource_record_value" = "_22222222222222222222222222222222.mzlfeqexyx.acm-validations.aws."
  },
  {
    "domain_name" = "api.example.com"
    "resource_record_name" = "_31111111111111111111111111111111.api.example.com."
    "resource_record_type" = "CNAME"
    "resource_record_value" = "_42222222222222222222222222222222.vhzmpjdqfx.acm-validations.aws."
                                 
  },
]

# 'for k, v' syntax builds a new object 'validation_domains' by iterating over array of maps
# 'aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options' and conditinally changes a value of 'v'
# if contains the sting "*.dev.example.com". tomap(v) is required to persist type across for expression.
locals {
  validation_domains = [
    for k, v in aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options : tomap(v) if contains(
      "*.dev.example.com", replace(v.domain_name, "*.", "")
    )
  ]
}

$ terraform output local_distinct_domains
local_distinct_domains = [
  "api.example.com",
  "dev.example.com",
  "api-aat1.dev.example.com",
  "api-aat2.dev.example.com",
]

# 'for domain' expession builds a new list only when a domain matches regexall string.
# checks regexall lengh > 0 of matched captured groups so true or false is return, so 
# the 'for domain : if' statment conditionally adds the item to the new list
locals {
  distinct_domains_excluded = [ 
    for domain in local.distinct_domains : domain if length(regexall("dev.example.com", domain)) > 0
  ]

# Similar to the above but iterating over array of maps (k,v - key, value pairs)
  validation_domains = [
    for k,v in local.validation_domains : tomap(v) if length(regexall("dev.example.com", v.domain_name)) > 0
  ]
}

# Example of iterating over array of maps 'aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options' to build a list
# of fqdns that are store in 'aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options.resource_record_name' in .resource_record_name
# key.
# 'for fqdn' syntax on each iteration 'fqdn=aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options[index]', then
# anything after ':' means 'set to value equals' fqdn.resource_record_name
resource "aws_acm_certificate_validation" "main" {
  certificate_arn         = aws_acm_certificate.main.arn
  validation_record_fqdns = [ 
    for fqdn in aws_acm_certificate.main.domain_validation_options : fqdn.resource_record_name
  ]
}

Terraform Merge on Wildcard Tuple

Ideally the solution should be as simple as:

merge(local.policy_definitions.*.parameters...)

Terraform Merge on Wildcard Tuple TF, GitHub issue
merge-list-of-objects-in-terraform Stackoverflow

Workaround

policy_parameters = [
    for key,value in data.azurerm_policy_definition.d_policy_definitions:
      {
        parameters = jsondecode(value.parameters)
      }
  ]
  ph_parameters = local.policy_parameters[*].parameters
  input_parameter = [for item in local.ph_parameters: merge(item,local.ph_parameters...)][0]

Break down

Extracts the parameter values into a list of JSON values

policy_parameters = [
    for key,value in data.azurerm_policy_definition.d_policy_definitions:
      {
        parameters = jsondecode(value.parameters)
      }
  ]

Reference the parameters as a variable

ph_parameters = local.policy_parameters[*].parameters

Merge all item content into each item.

input_parameter = [for item in local.ph_parameters: merge(item,local.ph_parameters...)]

The 3rd step gives all items in the list the same value, so we can use any index.

Usage

parameters = "${jsonencode(local.input_parameter[n])}"

function: replace, regex

Snippet below removes comments and any empty lines from a values.yaml.tpl file.

locals {
  match_comment = "/(?U)(?m)(?s)^[[:space:]]*#.*$/" # match anyline that starts with '#' or any 'whitespace(s) + #'
  match_empty_line = "/(?m)(?s)(^[\r\n])/"
}

resource "helm_release" "myapp" {
  name             = "myapp"
  chart            = "${path.module}/charts/myapp"
  values = [
    replace(
        replace(
          templatefile("${path.module}/templates/values.yaml.tpl", {
            }), local.match_comment, ""), local.match_empty_line, "")
  ]

Explanation:

Terraform regex is using re2 library
Regex flags are enabled by prefixinf the search:
- (?m) - multi-line mode (default false)
- (?s) - let . match \n (default false)
- (?U) - ungreedy (default false), so stop matching comments at EOL

References

HashiCorp Terraform 0.12 Preview: For and For-Each

Syntax Terraform ~0.11

`if` statements

Terraform ~< 0.9

Old versions Terraform doesn't support if- or if-else statement but we can take an advantage of a boolean count attribute that most of resources have.

boolean true  = 1
boolean false = 0

Terrafrom ~0.11+

Newer version support if statements, the conditional syntax is the well-known ternary operation:

CONDITION ? TRUEVAL  : FALSEVAL
 CONDITION ? caseTrue : caseFalse
 domain = "${var.frontend_domain != "" ? var.frontend_domain : var.domain}" # tf <0.12 syntax
 count = var.image_publisher == "MicrosoftWindowsServer" ? 0 : 3            # tf 0.12+ syntax

The support operators are:

Equality: == and !=
Numerical comparison: >, <, >=, <=
Boolean logic: &&, ||, unary ! (|| is logical OR; “short-circuit” OR)

Modules

Modules are used in Terraform to modularize and encapsulate groups of resources in your infrastructure.

When calling a module from .tf file you passing values for variables that are defined in a module to create resources to your specification. Before you can use any module it needs to be downloaded. Use

$ terraform get

to download modules. You will notice that .terraform directory will be created that contains symlinks to the module.

TF file ~/git/dev101/vpc.tf calling 'vpc' module

variable "vpc_name"       { description = "value comes from terrafrom.tfvars" }
variable "vpc_cidr_base"  { description = "value comes from terrafrom.tfvars" }
variable "vpc_cidr_range" { description = "value comes from terrafrom.tfvars" }

module "vpc-dev" {
  source     = "../modules/vpc"
  name       = "${var.vpc_name}"  #here we assign a value to 'name' variable
  cidr       = "${var.vpc_cidr_base}.${var.vpc_cidr_range}" }

output "vpc-name"         { value = "${var.vpc_name                  }"}
output "vpc_id"           { value = "${module.vpc-dev.id-from_module }"}

Module in ~/git/modules/vpc/main.tf

variable "name" { description = "variable local to the module, value comes when calling the module" }
variable "cidr" { description = "local to the module, value passed on when calling the module" }

resource "aws_vpc" "scope" {
   cidr_block  = "${var.cidr}"
   tags { Name = "${var.name}" }}

 output "id-from_module"    { value = "${aws_vpc.scope.id}" }

Output variables is a way to output important data back when running terraform apply. These variables also can be recalled when .tfstate file has been populated using terraform output VARIABLE-NAME command.

$ terraform apply     #this will use 'vpc' module

Notice Outputs. These outputs can be recalled also by:

$ terraform output vpc-name      $ terraform output vpc_id
dev101                           vpc-00e00c67

Templates

Note: Terraform 0.12+ New Template Syntax Example

# Terraform version 0.12+ template syntax
%{ for name in var.names ~}
%{ if name == "Mary" }${name}%{ endif ~}
%{ endfor ~}

Dump a rendered data.template_file into a file to preview correctness of interpolations

#Dumps rendered template
resource "null_resource" "export_rendered_template" {
  triggers = {
   uid = "${uuid()}"  #this causes to always run this resource
  }
  provisioner "local-exec" {
    command = "cat > waf-policy.output.txt <<EOL\n${data.template_file.waf-whitelist-policy.rendered}\nEOL"
  }
}

Example of creating

resource "aws_instance" "microservices" {
  count      = "${var.instance_count}"
  subnet_id  = "${element("${data.aws_subnet.private.*.id          }", count.index)}"
  user_data  = "${element("${data.template_file.userdata.*.rendered}", count.index)}"
  ...
}
data "template_file" "userdata" {
  count      = "${var.instance_count}"
  template   = "${file("${path.root}/templates/user-data.tpl")}"
  vars = {
    vmname   = "ms-${count.index + 1}-${var.vpc_name}"
  }
}
#For debugging you can display an array of rendered templates with the output below:
output "userdata" { value = "${data.template_file.userdata.*.rendered}" }

Note:

resource template_file is deprecated in favour of data template_file
Terraform 0.12+ offers new template function without a need of using a data object

template json files

For working with JSON structures it's recommended to use jsonencode function to simplify escaping, delimiters and get validated json in return.

resource "aws_iam_policy" "s3Bucket" {
   name  = s3Bucket"
   policy = templatefile("${path.module}/templates/s3Bucket.json.tpl", {
     S3BUCKETS = var.s3_buckets
   })
}

variable "s3_buckets" {
  type        = list(string)
  default     = [ "aaa-bucket-111", "bbb-bucket-222" ]
}

Template file

{
    "Version": "2012-10-17",
    "Statement": [
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": "s3:ListAllMyBuckets",
            "Resource": "*"
        },
        {
            "Effect": "Allow",
            "Action": [
                "s3:ListBucket",
                "s3:GetBucketLocation"
            ],
            "Resource": ${jsonencode([for BUCKET in S3BUCKETS : "arn:aws:s3:::${BUCKET}"])}
# renders json array -> [ "arn:aws:s3:::aaa-bucket-111", "arn:aws:s3:::bbb-bucket-222" ]
        }
    ]
}

Explain

substitution syntax ${}    local loop variable
|  function jsonencode   /      templatefile function input variable, it's not ${} syntax
|  |                   /       /                                  
${jsonencode([for BUCKET in S3BUCKETS : "arn:aws:s3:::${BUCKET}"])}
             / |                                        /       |\
           /   for loop                     template variable   | function cloasing bracket
    indicates that the result to be an array[]               closing bracket of the json array

Resource

Execute arbitrary code using null_resource and local-exec

The null_resource allows to create terraform managed resource also saved in the state file but it uses 3rd party provisoners like local-exec, remote-exec, etc., allowing for arbitrary code execution. This should be only used when Terraform core does not provide the solution for your use case.

resource "null_resource" "attach_alb_am_wkr_ext" {

  #depends_on sets up a dependency. So it depends on completion of another resource 
  #and it won't run if the resource does not change
  #depends_on = [ "aws_cloudformation_stack.waf-alb" ]  

  #triggers save computed strings in tfstate file, if value changes on the next run it triggers a resource to be created
  triggers = {   
    waf_id = "${aws_cloudformation_stack.waf-alb.outputs.wafWebACL}"   #produces WAF_id
    alb_id = "${module.balancer_external_alb_instance.arn         }"   #produces full ALB_arn name
  }

  provisioner "local-exec" {
    when    = "create"     #runs on: terraform apply
    command = <<EOF
ALBARN=$(aws elbv2 describe-load-balancers --region ${var.region} \
      --name ${var.vpc}-${var.alb_class} \
      --output text --query 'LoadBalancers[0].LoadBalancerArn') &&
aws waf-regional associate-web-acl --web-acl-id "${aws_cloudformation_stack.waf-alb.outputs.wafWebACL}" \
                                   --resource-arn $ALBARN --region ${var.region}
EOF
  }

  provisioner "local-exec" {
    when    = "destroy"  #runs only on: terraform destruct
    command = <<EOF
ALBARN=$(aws elbv2 describe-load-balancers --region ${var.region} \
      --name ${var.vpc}-${var.alb_class} \
      --output text --query 'LoadBalancers[0].LoadBalancerArn') &&
aws waf-regional disassociate-web-acl --resource-arn $ALBARN --region ${var.region}
EOF
  }
}

Note: By default the local-exec provisioner will use /bin/sh -c "your<<EOFscript" so it will not strip down any meta-characters like "double quotes" causing aws cli to fail. Therefore the output has been forced as text.

`terraform providers`

List all providers in your project to see versions and dependencies.

$ terraform providers
.
├── provider.aws ~> 2.44
├── provider.external ~> 1.2
├── provider.null ~> 2.1
├── provider.random ~> 2.2
├── provider.template ~> 2.1
├── module.kubernetes
│   ├── module.config
│   │   ├── provider.aws
│   │   ├── provider.helm ~> 0.10.4
│   │   ├── provider.kubernetes ~> 1.10.0
│   │   ├── provider.null (inherited)
│   │   ├── module.alb_ingress_controller
(...)

cache terraform plugins

Set TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR environment variable to an empty dir, then rerun terraform init to save downloaded providers into shared (cache) directory.

export TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR=$HOME/.terraform.d/plugins

Run terraform init. Local .terraform directory has been already deleted.

terraform init -backend-config=dev.backend.tfvars
Initializing the backend...

Successfully configured the backend "s3"! Terraform will automatically
use this backend unless the backend configuration changes.

Initializing provider plugins...
- Checking for available provider plugins...
- Downloading plugin for provider "random" (hashicorp/random) 2.3.0...
- Downloading plugin for provider "kubernetes" (hashicorp/kubernetes) 1.10.0...
- Downloading plugin for provider "helm" (hashicorp/helm) 1.2.3...
- Downloading plugin for provider "aws" (hashicorp/aws) 2.70.0...
- Downloading plugin for provider "external" (hashicorp/external) 1.2.0...
- Downloading plugin for provider "null" (hashicorp/null) 2.1.2...
- Downloading plugin for provider "template" (hashicorp/template) 2.1.2...

Terraform has been successfully initialized!

Although cache dir is used by all Terraform projects, the providers versioning still works and normal versioning restrictions apply. If you want to be sure which version is locked for use with your current project, you can inspect SHA256 of files saved in one of the files in the “.terraform” directory:

$ cat .terraform/plugins/linux_amd64/lock.json 
{
  "aws": "f08daaf64b9fca69978a40f88091d1a77fc9725fb04b0fec5e731609c53a025f",
  "external": "6dad56007a3cb0ae9c4655c67d13502e51e38ca2673cf0f22a5fadce6803f9e4",
  "helm": "09b8ccb993f7d776555e811c856de006ac12b9fedfca15b07a85a6814914fd04",
  "kubernetes": "7ebf3273e622d1adb736e98f6fa5cc7e664c61b9171105b13c3b5ea8f8ebc5ff",
  "null": "c56285e7bd25a806bf86fcd4893edbe46e621a46e20fe24ef209b6fd0b7cf5fc",
  "random": "791ef28ff31913d9b2ef0bedb97de98bebafe66d002bc2b9d01377e59a6cfaed",
  "template": "cd8665642bf0f5b5f57a53050d10fd83415428c2dc6713b85e174e007fcc93bf"
}
 
find ~/.terraform.d/plugins -type f | xargs sha256sum
f08daaf64b9fca69978a40f88091d1a77fc9725fb04b0fec5e731609c53a025f  /home/vagrant/.terraform.d/plugins/linux_amd64/terraform-provider-aws_v2.70.0_x4
6dad56007a3cb0ae9c4655c67d13502e51e38ca2673cf0f22a5fadce6803f9e4  /home/vagrant/.terraform.d/plugins/linux_amd64/terraform-provider-external_v1.2.0_x4
c56285e7bd25a806bf86fcd4893edbe46e621a46e20fe24ef209b6fd0b7cf5fc  /home/vagrant/.terraform.d/plugins/linux_amd64/terraform-provider-null_v2.1.2_x4
791ef28ff31913d9b2ef0bedb97de98bebafe66d002bc2b9d01377e59a6cfaed  /home/vagrant/.terraform.d/plugins/linux_amd64/terraform-provider-random_v2.3.0_x4
09b8ccb993f7d776555e811c856de006ac12b9fedfca15b07a85a6814914fd04  /home/vagrant/.terraform.d/plugins/linux_amd64/terraform-provider-helm_v1.2.3_x4
7ebf3273e622d1adb736e98f6fa5cc7e664c61b9171105b13c3b5ea8f8ebc5ff  /home/vagrant/.terraform.d/plugins/linux_amd64/terraform-provider-kubernetes_v1.10.0_x4
cd8665642bf0f5b5f57a53050d10fd83415428c2dc6713b85e174e007fcc93bf  /home/vagrant/.terraform.d/plugins/linux_amd64/terraform-provider-template_v2.1.2_x4

As you can see, the SHA256 hash for AWS provider saved in the lock.json file matches the hash of providera saved in the cache directory.

AWS - RDS aurora - versioning

Engine name 'aurora-mysql' refers to engine version 5.7.x and for version 5.6.10a engine name is aurora.

The engine name for Aurora MySQL 2.x is aurora-mysql; the engine name for Aurora MySQL 1.x continues to be aurora.
The engine version for Aurora MySQL 2.x is 5.7.12; the engine version for Aurora MySQL 1.x continues to be 5.6.10ann.

<syntaxhighlightjs lang=yaml> module "db" {

 source  = "terraform-aws-modules/rds-aurora/aws"
 version = "2.29.0"
 name    = "db"
 engine          = "aurora"                  # v5.6
 engine_version  = "5.6.mysql_aurora.1.23.0" # v5.6
 #engine         = "aurora-mysql"            # v5.7
 #engine_version = "5.7.mysql_aurora.2.09.0" # v5.7
 ...

} </syntaxhighlightjs>

localstack - Mock AWS Services

pip install localstack
localstack start
SERVICES=kinesis,lambda,sqs,dynamodb DEBUG=1 localstack start

Examples

bad-terraform

tfsec - Security Scanning TF code

LATEST=$(curl --silent -L "https://api.github.com/repos/tfsec/tfsec/releases/latest" | jq -r .tag_name); echo $LATEST
sudo curl -L https://github.com/tfsec/tfsec/releases/download/${LATEST}/tfsec-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/tfsec 
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/tfsec

# Use with docker
docker run --rm -it -v "$(pwd):/src" liamg/tfsec /src

# Usage
tfsec .

tflint - validate provider-specific issues

Requires Terraform >= 0.12

LATEST=$(curl --silent "https://api.github.com/repos/terraform-linters/tflint/releases/latest" | jq -r .tag_name); echo $LATEST
TEMPDIR=$(mktemp -d)
curl -L https://github.com/terraform-linters/tflint/releases/download/${LATEST}/tflint_linux_amd64.zip -o $TEMPDIR/tflint_linux_amd64.zip
sudo unzip $TEMPDIR/tflint_linux_amd64.zip -d /usr/local/bin

# Configure tflint
# | Current directory (./.tflint.hcl)
# | Home directory (~/.tflint.hcl)
tflint --config other_config.hcl

## Add plugins
https://github.com/terraform-linters/tflint/tree/master/docs/rules
cat > ./.tflint.hcl <<EOF
plugin "aws" {
  enabled = true
  version = "0.5.0"
  source  = "github.com/terraform-linters/tflint-ruleset-aws"
}

plugin "google" {
    enabled = true
    version = "0.15.0"
    source  = "github.com/terraform-linters/tflint-ruleset-google"
}
EOF

# Usage
tflint --module
tflint --module --var-file=dev.tfvars

# Use with docker
docker pull ghcr.io/terraform-linters/tflint:latest
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/src -t ghcr.io/terraform-linters/tflint:v0.34.1
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/src -t ghcr.io/terraform-linters/tflint:v0.34.1 -v

# Init and check
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/src -t --entrypoint /bin/sh  ghcr.io/terraform-linters/tflint:v0.34.1 -c "tflint --init; tflint /src/"

## It looks important that tflint is executed in terrafrom root path, thus `cd /src`
docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/src -t -e TFLINT_LOG=debug --entrypoint /bin/sh  ghcr.io/terraform-linters/tflint:v0.34.1 \
-c "cd /src; tflint --init; tflint --var-file=environments/gcp-dev.tfvars --module"

terraform-docs - generate Terraform documentation

# Install the binary
VERSION=$(curl --silent "https://api.github.com/repos/terraform-docs/terraform-docs/releases/latest" | jq -r .tag_name); echo $VERSION
wget https://github.com/terraform-docs/terraform-docs/releases/download/$VERSION/terraform-docs-$VERSION-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xzvf terraform-docs-$VERSION-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo install terraform-docs /usr/local/bin/terraform-docs

# Use with docker
docker run --rm --volume "$(pwd):/src" -u $(id -u) quay.io/terraform-docs/terraform-docs:0.16.0 markdown /src

# Usage
terraform-docs . > README.md

InfraMap - plot your Terraform state

VERSION=$(curl --silent "https://api.github.com/repos/cycloidio/inframap/releases/latest" | jq -r .tag_name); echo $VERSION
TEMPDIR=$(mktemp -d)
curl -L https://github.com/cycloidio/inframap/releases/download/${VERSION}/inframap-linux-amd64.tar.gz -o $TEMPDIR/inframap-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xzvf $TEMPDIR/inframap-linux-amd64.tar.gz -C $TEMPDIR inframap-linux-amd64
sudo install $TEMPDIR/inframap-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/inframap

# Install graphviz, it contains the `dot` program
sudo apt install graphviz

# Install GraphEasy
## Cpan manager
sudo apt install cpanminus # install perl packet managet
sudo cpanm Graph::Easy # Graph-Easy-0.76 as of 2021-07

## Apt-get (tested with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS)
sudo apt install libgraph-easy-perl # Graph::Easy v0.76

# a sample usage
cat input.dot | graph-easy --from=dot --as_ascii

Usage inframap

The most important subcommands are:
* generate: generates the graph from STDIN or file, STDIN can be .tf files/modules or .tfstate
* prune: removes all unnecessary information from the state or HCL (not supported yet) so it can be shared without any security concerns

# Generate your infrastructure graph in a DOT representation from: Terraform files or state file
cat terraform.tf      | inframap generate --printer dot --hcl     | tee graph.dot 
cat terraform.tfstate | inframap generate --printer dot --tfstate | tee graph.dot

# `prune` command will sanitize and anonymize content of the files
cat terraform.tfstate | inframap prune --canonicals --tfstate > cleaned.tfstate 

# Pipe all the previous commands. ASCII graph is generated using graph-easy
cat terraform.tfstate | inframap prune --tfstate | inframap generate --tfstate | graph-easy

# from State file - visualizing with `dot` or `graph-easy`
inframap generate state.tfstate | dot -Tpng > graph.png
inframap generate state.tfstate | graph-easy

# from HCL
inframap generate terraform.tf | graph-easy
inframap generate ./my-module/ | graph-easy # or HCL module

# using docker image (assuming that your Terraform files are in the working directory)
docker run --rm -v ${PWD}:/opt cycloid/inframap generate /opt/terraform.tfstate

Example of EKS module

Pluralith

# Install
VERSION=$(curl --silent "https://api.github.com/repos/Pluralith/pluralith-cli/releases/latest" | jq -r .tag_name); echo $VERSION
curl -L https://github.com/Pluralith/pluralith-cli/releases/download/${VERSION}/pluralith_cli_linux_amd64_${VERSION} -o pluralith_cli_linux_amd64_${VERSION}
sudo install pluralith_cli_linux_amd64_${VERSION} /usr/local/bin/pluralith

# Install pluralith-cli-graphing
VERSION=$(curl --silent "https://api.github.com/repos/Pluralith/pluralith-cli-graphing-release/releases/latest" | jq -r .tag_name | tr -d v); echo $VERSION
curl -L https://github.com/Pluralith/pluralith-cli-graphing-release/releases/download/v${VERSION}/pluralith_cli_graphing_linux_amd64_${VERSION} -o pluralith_cli_graphing_linux_amd64_${VERSION}
sudo install pluralith_cli_graphing_linux_amd64_${VERSION} ~/Pluralith/bin/pluralith-cli-graphing

# Check versions
pluralith version
parsing response failed -> GetGitHubRelease: %!w(<nil>)
 _
|_)|    _ _ |._|_|_ 
|  ||_|| (_||| | | |

→ CLI Version: 0.2.2
→ Graph Module Version: 0.2.1

# Usage
pluralith login --api-key $PLURALITH_API_KEY

# Generate PDF graph locally
pluralith <terrafom-root-folder> --var-file environments/dev.tfvars graph --local-only

iam-policy-json-to-terraform

Convert an IAM Policy in JSON format into a Terraform aws_iam_policy_document

LATEST=$(curl --silent "https://api.github.com/repos/flosell/iam-policy-json-to-terraform/releases/latest" | jq -r .tag_name); echo $LATEST
sudo curl -L https://github.com/flosell/iam-policy-json-to-terraform/releases/download/${LATEST}/iam-policy-json-to-terraform_amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/iam-policy-json-to-terraform
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/iam-policy-json-to-terraform

# Usage:
iam-policy-json-to-terraform < some-policy.json

terraform-visual

# Install
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install nodejs npm
sudo npm install -g @terraform-visual/cli

# Usage
terraform plan -out=plan.out                # Run plan and output as a file
terraform show -json plan.out > plan.json   # Read plan file and output it in JSON format
terraform-visual --plan plan.json
firefox terraform-visual-report/index.html

driftctl

Measures infrastructure as code coverage, and tracks infrastructure drift. IaC: Terraform, Cloud providers: AWS, GitHub (Azure and GCP on the roadmap for 2021). Spot discrepancies as they happen: driftctl is a free and open-source CLI that warns of infrastructure drifts and fills in the missing piece in your DevSecOps toolbox.

Features docs

Scan cloud provider and map resources with IaC code
Analyze diffs, and warn about drift and unwanted unmanaged resources
Allow users to ignore resources
Multiple output formats

Install

curl -L https://github.com/snyk/driftctl/releases/latest/download/driftctl_linux_amd64 -o driftctl
install ./driftctl /usr/local/bin/driftctl
driftctl version

Detect drift on GCP

source <(driftctl completion bash)
export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS=$HOME/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json
export CLOUDSDK_CORE_PROJECT=<myproject_id>
driftctl scan --to="gcp+tf"
driftctl scan --to="gcp+tf" --deep --output html://output.html
driftctl scan --to="gcp+tf" --from tfstate+gs://my-bucket/path/to/state.tfstate # Use this when working with workspaces

infracost

Infracost shows cloud cost estimates for infrastructure-as-code projects such as Terraform.

# Downloads the CLI based on your OS/arch and puts it in /usr/local/bin
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/infracost/infracost/master/scripts/install.sh | sh

# Register for a free API key
infracost register # The key is saved in ~/.config/infracost/credentials.yml.

# Show cost breakdown on live infra
infracost breakdown --path terraform_nlb_static_eips

# Show cost breakdown based on Terraform plan
cd path/to/src_code
terraform init
terraform plan -out  tfplan.binary
terraform show -json tfplan.binary > plan.json

## run via binary
infracost breakdown --path plan.json
infracost breakdown --path plan.json --show-skipped --format html > /vagrant/infracost.html
infracost diff      --path plan.json

## run via Docker
docker run -it --rm --volume "$(pwd):/src" -u $(id -u) -e INFRACOST_API_KEY=$INFRACOST_API_KEY infracost/infracost:0.9.15 breakdown --path /src/plan.json
docker run -it --rm --volume "$(pwd):/src" -u $(id -u) -e INFRACOST_API_KEY=$INFRACOST_API_KEY infracost/infracost:0.9.15 diff      --path /src/plan.json

Example output

## Cost breakdown
docker run -it --rm --volume "$(pwd):/src" -u $(id -u) -e INFRACOST_API_KEY=$INFRACOST_API_KEY infracost/infracost:0.9.15 breakdown --path /src/plan.json
Detected Terraform plan JSON file at /src/plan.json
✔ Calculating monthly cost estimate 

Project: /src/plan.json
 Name                                                              Monthly Qty  Unit   Monthly Cost 
 module.gke.google_container_cluster.primary                                                        
 ├─ Cluster management fee                                                 730  hours        $73.00 
 └─ default_pool                                                                                    
    ├─ Instance usage (Linux/UNIX, on-demand, e2-medium)                 6,570  hours       $242.16 
    └─ Standard provisioned storage (pd-standard)                          900  GiB          $36.00 
 module.gke.google_container_node_pool.pools["default-node-pool"]                                   
 ├─ Instance usage (Linux/UNIX, on-demand, e2-medium)                    6,570  hours       $242.16 
 └─ Standard provisioned storage (pd-standard)                             900  GiB          $36.00 
 OVERALL TOTAL                                                                              $629.31 
──────────────────────────────────
11 cloud resources were detected, rerun with --show-skipped to see details:
∙ 2 were estimated, 2 include usage-based costs, see https://infracost.io/usage-file
∙ 9 were free

## Cost difference
docker run -it --rm --volume "$(pwd):/src" -u $(id -u) -e INFRACOST_API_KEY=$INFRACOST_API_KEY infracost/infracost:0.9.15 diff --path /src/plan.json
Detected Terraform plan JSON file at /src/plan.json
✔ Calculating monthly cost estimate 

Project: /src/plan.json

+ module.gke.google_container_cluster.primary
  +$351
    + Cluster management fee
      +$73.00
    + default_pool
        + Instance usage (Linux/UNIX, on-demand, e2-medium)
          +$242
        + Standard provisioned storage (pd-standard)
          +$36.00
    + node_pool[0]
        + Instance usage (Linux/UNIX, on-demand, e2-medium)
          $0.00
        + Standard provisioned storage (pd-standard)
          $0.00
+ module.gke.google_container_node_pool.pools["default-node-pool"]
  +$278
    + Instance usage (Linux/UNIX, on-demand, e2-medium)
      +$242
    + Standard provisioned storage (pd-standard)
      +$36.00
Monthly cost change for /src/plan.json
Amount:  +$629 ($0.00 → $629)

──────────────────────────────────
Key: ~ changed, + added, - removed

11 cloud resources were detected, rerun with --show-skipped to see details:
∙ 2 were estimated, 2 include usage-based costs, see https://infracost.io/usage-file
∙ 9 were free

Resources:

DockerHub: https://hub.docker.com/r/infracost/infracost/tags

tfautomv - Terraform refactor

Tfautomv writes moved blocks for you so your refactoring is quicker and less error-prone.

tfautomv -dry-run
tfautomv -show-analysis

Subnetting

Very useful page for subnetting: https://www.davidc.net/sites/default/subnets/subnets.html

Resources

apparentlymart The Hero! discuss.hashicorp.com
Comprehensive-guide-to-terraform gruntwork.io
Terraform good practices naming conventions, etc..
Atlantis Terraform Pull Request Automation, Listens for webhooks from GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket/Azure DevOps, Runs terraform commands remotely and comments back with their output.

Terraform

Install terraform

tfenv - manage multiple versions of Teraform

IDE

Basic configuration

Azure

AWS

Local state

Remote state (single) for multi account deployments

GCP Google Cloud Platform

Plan / apply

Meaning of markings in a plan output

Plan and apply

Show

AWS credentials profiles and variable files

AWS example

Run a plan

Terraform apply

Terraform destroy

Terraform taint

Use ansible from Terraform - Provision using Ansible

Debug

Output complex object

Debug

Debug and analyze logs

Debug using terraform console

Log user_data to console logs

terraform graph to visualise configuration

Graph dependencies

Remote state

Enable

Locking

Workspaces

Variables

Syntax Terraform 0.12.6+

Map and nested block

Plan is more readable and explicit

Rich Value Types - for previewing whole resource object

for

Manipulate list and complex object

Terraform Merge on Wildcard Tuple

function: replace, regex

References

Syntax Terraform ~0.11

if statements

Modules

Templates

template json files

Resource

Execute arbitrary code using null_resource and local-exec

terraform providers

cache terraform plugins

AWS - RDS aurora - versioning

localstack - Mock AWS Services

tfsec - Security Scanning TF code

tflint - validate provider-specific issues

terraform-docs - generate Terraform documentation

InfraMap - plot your Terraform state

Resources

Navigation menu

Search

Debug using `terraform console`

`for`

`if` statements

`terraform providers`