> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://notes.kodekloud.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Terraform workspace
> Terraform workspaces allow management of multiple environments using a single configuration directory by isolating state files for different environments.
Terraform workspaces enable you to manage multiple environments—such as development and production—using a single configuration directory. In this guide, you'll learn how to leverage workspaces to isolate state files for different environments and adjust resource configurations accordingly.
Every Terraform configuration maintains a state file (either locally or remotely) to track resources. Traditionally, there is a one-to-one mapping between a configuration directory and its associated state file. Consider the following example of an AWS instance resource block named "webserver":
```hcl theme={null}
# main.tf
resource "aws_instance" "webserver" {
ami = var.ami
instance_type = var.instance_type
tags = {
Environment = "Development"
}
}
# variable.tf
variable "ami" {
default = "ami-24e140119877avm"
}
variable "instance_type" {
default = "t2.micro"
}
variable "region" {
default = "ca-central-1"
}
```
In this configuration, the AMI and instance type are tailored for a development web server. To create similar resources for a production environment using the same configuration files, Terraform workspaces become essential.
Terraform workspaces allow you to reuse the same configuration directory for multiple environments by isolating state files.
## Listing and Creating Workspaces
Every Terraform configuration automatically creates a workspace named "default." You can list all workspaces with:
```bash theme={null}
$ terraform workspace list
* default
```
To create new workspaces, such as one for production and another for development, use the `terraform workspace new` command:
```bash theme={null}
$ terraform workspace new production
Created and switched to workspace "production"!
You're now on a new, empty workspace. Workspaces isolate their state, so if you run "terraform plan" Terraform will not see any existing state for this configuration.
$ terraform workspace new development
Created and switched to workspace "development"!
You're now on a new, empty workspace. Workspaces isolate their state, so if you run "terraform plan" Terraform will not see any existing state for this configuration.
```
The asterisk (\*) in the output from `terraform workspace list` indicates the current active workspace:
```bash theme={null}
$ terraform workspace list
default
production
* development
```
## Configuring Different Environments
Assume that both production and development environments will deploy EC2 instances in the "ca-central-1" region with the same AMI. However, production demands a more powerful machine (using `m5.large`), while development will use `t2.micro`. To accommodate this difference, update your configuration to determine the instance type based on the active workspace. Convert the `instance_type` variable into a map and apply the `lookup` function.
### Updated Configuration
Make the following modifications to your resource block and variables:
```hcl theme={null}
# main.tf
resource "aws_instance" "webserver" {
ami = var.ami
instance_type = lookup(var.instance_type, terraform.workspace)
tags = {
Environment = terraform.workspace
}
}
# variable.tf
variable "ami" {
default = "ami-24e140119877avm"
}
variable "region" {
default = "ca-central-1"
}
variable "instance_type" {
type = map
default = {
development = "t2.micro"
production = "m5.large"
}
}
```
Here, the expression `terraform.workspace` returns the name of the current workspace. When used with the `lookup` function, it selects the appropriate instance type from the map. For instance, in the development workspace it returns "t2.micro," and in the production workspace it returns "m5.large."
You can verify this behavior using the Terraform console:
```bash theme={null}
$ terraform console
> terraform.workspace
development
> lookup(var.instance_type, terraform.workspace)
t2.micro
```
Switch to the production workspace to confirm:
```bash theme={null}
$ terraform workspace select production
$ terraform console
> terraform.workspace
production
> lookup(var.instance_type, terraform.workspace)
m5.large
```
When you run `terraform apply` in a particular workspace, Terraform selects the corresponding instance type and updates resource tags accordingly. For example, in the development workspace, the plan will show:
```plaintext theme={null}
$ terraform apply
Terraform will perform the following actions:
# aws_instance.webserver will be created
+ resource "aws_instance" "webserver" {
+ ami = "ami-24e140119877avm"
+ instance_type = "t2.micro"
+ tags = {
+ "Environment" = "development"
}
}
...
```
In contrast, in the production workspace:
```bash theme={null}
$ terraform workspace select production
Switched to workspace "production".
$ terraform apply
```
```plaintext theme={null}
Terraform will perform the following actions:
# aws_instance.webserver will be created
+ resource "aws_instance" "webserver" {
+ ami = "ami-24e140119877avm"
+ instance_type = "m5.large"
+ tags = {
+ "Environment" = "production"
}
}
...
```
## Workspace State Files
When using workspaces with local state, Terraform no longer uses a single `terraform.tfstate` file in the configuration directory. Instead, it stores each workspace’s state in a dedicated subdirectory within `terraform.tfstate.d`. For example, the directory structure might look like this:
```bash theme={null}
$ ls
main.tf provider.tf terraform.tfstate variables.tf
$ tree terraform.tfstate.d/
terraform.tfstate.d/
|-- development
| `-- terraform.tfstate
`-- production
`-- terraform.tfstate
2 directories, 2 files
```
Each workspace directory contains its own `terraform.tfstate` file, ensuring that the state for one environment doesn't interfere with another.
That concludes our guide on Terraform workspaces. Harness this feature to efficiently manage multiple infrastructure environments with a single configuration.
Proceed to the multiple-choice quiz to test your understanding of Terraform workspaces.