Configuration Directory

In this lesson, we explore the structure and naming conventions of the Terraform configuration directory to optimize project organization and enhance configuration management.

Previously, we worked with a single configuration file named local.tf located in the terraform-local-file directory. Below is an example demonstrating how to list the files in this directory along with the contents of local.tf:

[terraform-local-file]$ ls /root/terraform-local-file
local.tf

resource "local_file" "pet" {
  filename = "/root/pets.txt"
  content  = "We love pets!"
}

Terraform supports splitting configuration across multiple files. For instance, you can create an additional file named cat.tf that introduces a new resource using the same local_file provider:

[terraform-local-file]$ ls /root/terraform-local-file
local.tf  # Note: cat.tf is now also present in the directory.

resource "local_file" "cat" {
  filename = "/root/cat.txt"
  content  = "My favorite pet is Mr. Whiskers"
}

It is also common practice to consolidate resource definitions into one configuration file, often named main.tf. To further organize your configuration, you can use additional files such as:

These topics will be discussed in detail later in the lesson.

Now, let's continue with practical exercises to explore working with providers.