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Terraform Best Practices

Version Control

  • Use Version Control: Always use version control (e.g., Git) for your Terraform code.

    This helps track changes, collaborate with team members, and rollback if necessary.

  • Prevent Manual Changes: Avoid manual changes to managed infrastructure.

    All changes should be done through Terraform to maintain state consistency.

Code Organization

  • Reusable Components: Write reusable components when creating Terraform code to avoid redundancy and improve maintainability.

  • Separate Environments: Separate Terraform configurations for different environments (e.g., dev, staging, prod).

    Use different state files and configurations for each environment.

State Management

  • Remote State: Use remote state to store your Terraform state file.

    This ensures that your state is stored securely and can be accessed by your team.

    Popular options include AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Terraform Cloud.

Import Existing Infrastructure

  • Import Existing Infrastructure: If you have existing infrastructure, import it into Terraform state to ensure that Terraform can manage it moving forward.

Variables

  • Use Variables: Use variables to avoid hardcoding values.

    This makes your code more flexible and reusable.

  • Organize Variables: Organize all variables in a single file named variables.tf to keep your codebase clean and organized.

  • Variable Validations: Implement variable validations to ensure that the inputs to your variables meet expected criteria.

Outputs

  • Organize Outputs: Organize all outputs into a single file called outputs.tf.

    This helps in keeping track of all outputs in a centralized manner.

Formatting and Validation

  • Format and Validate: Always format your Terraform code using terraform fmt and validate it using terraform validate before applying changes.

Naming Conventions

  • Consistent Naming: Use a consistent naming convention for all your resources, variables, and files.

    This improves readability and maintainability.

File and Folder Structure

  • Consistent Structure: Maintain a consistent file and folder structure.

    They should be logically organized in a numbered layers, with higher layers depending on lower, but not the other way around.

A sample structure is as follows:

├── 01_network.tf
├── 02_frontend.tf
  ├── FRONTEND_SERVERS
  ├── FRONTEND_NSG
  ├── FRONTEND_KEYVAULT
├── 03_backend.tf
  ├── BACKEND_SERVERS
  ├── BACKEND_NSG
  ├── BACKEND_KEYVAULT
├── 04_backup.tf

Tagging

  • Tag Resources: Always tag your resources for better organization, cost management, and automation.

Testing

  • Test Your Code: Regularly test your Terraform code using tools like terraform plan to ensure that your changes will work as expected without affecting existing infrastructure.

Modules

  • Use Community Modules: Utilize existing community modules whenever possible.

    Only build your own modules if there are no suitable community modules available.

Advanced Features

  • Loops, Conditionals, and Functions: Take advantage of loops, conditionals, and functions in Terraform to simplify your configurations and make them more dynamic.

  • Dynamic Blocks: Use dynamic blocks only when necessary to avoid overcomplicating your code.

IDE Extensions

  • IDE Extensions: Use IDE extensions for Terraform (e.g., Visual Studio Code Terraform extension) to benefit from features like syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and linting.