terraform

name	terraform
description	Terraform infrastructure-as-code reference for HCL syntax, state management, module design, and provider configuration. Use when working with Terraform configurations (.tf files), running terraform commands, troubleshooting state issues, or designing modules. Includes Telmate Proxmox provider patterns. Triggers: terraform, tfstate, .tf files, HCL, modules, providers, proxmox_vm_qemu.
agent	terraform-expert

Terraform Skill

Infrastructure-as-code reference for Terraform configurations, state management, and provider patterns.

Quick Reference

# Core workflow
terraform init              # Initialize, download providers
terraform validate          # Syntax validation
terraform fmt -recursive    # Format HCL files
terraform plan              # Preview changes
terraform apply             # Apply changes

# Inspection
terraform state list                    # List resources in state
terraform state show <resource>         # Show resource details
terraform graph | dot -Tsvg > graph.svg # Dependency graph

# Debug
TF_LOG=DEBUG terraform plan 2>debug.log

Core Workflow

init → validate → fmt → plan → apply

1. init: Download providers, initialize backend
2. validate: Check syntax and configuration validity
3. fmt: Ensure consistent formatting
4. plan: Preview what will change (review carefully)
5. apply: Execute changes

Reference Files

Load on-demand based on task:

Topic	File	When to Load
Troubleshooting	troubleshooting.md	Common errors, debugging
State	state-management.md	Backends, locking, operations
Modules	module-design.md	Module patterns, composition
Security	security.md	Secrets, state security
Proxmox Gotchas	proxmox/gotchas.md	Critical provider issues, workarounds
Proxmox Auth	proxmox/authentication.md	Provider config, API tokens
Proxmox VMs	proxmox/vm-qemu.md	proxmox_vm_qemu resource patterns
Proxmox Errors	proxmox/troubleshooting.md	Proxmox-specific errors
External	external-resources.md	Official docs, links

Validation Checklist

Before terraform apply:

• terraform init completed successfully
• terraform validate passes
• terraform fmt applied
• terraform plan reviewed (check destroy/replace operations)
• Backend configured correctly (for team environments)
• State locking enabled (if remote backend)
• Sensitive variables marked sensitive = true
• Provider versions pinned in terraform.tf
• No secrets in version control
• Blast radius assessed (what could break?)

Variable Precedence

(highest to lowest)

1. -var flag: terraform apply -var="name=value"
2. -var-file flag: terraform apply -var-file=prod.tfvars
3. *.auto.tfvars files (alphabetically)
4. terraform.tfvars file
5. TF_VAR_* environment variables
6. Variable defaults in variables.tf