Terraform Import

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What terraform import does (and does not do)

• terraform import connects an existing real resource to a declared resource block in your Terraform state.
• It does not generate HCL configuration, nor does it create, modify, or destroy the remote resource.
• After a successful import, the resource’s attributes are recorded in the Terraform state and Terraform will manage it going forward.

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Required arguments

1. ADDR — the resource address in your Terraform configuration (must already exist in your .tf files). Example: azurerm_storage_account.example.
2. ID — the provider-specific identifier of the real resource (format depends on provider).

terraform import ADDR ID

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ADDR vs ID — quick comparison

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Example: import an Azure Storage Account

terraform import azurerm_storage_account.example /subscriptions/SUBSCRIPTION_ID/resourceGroups/rg1/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/stacct1

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Trimmed help text (reference)

$ terraform import
The import command expects two arguments.
Usage: terraform [global options] import [options] ADDR ID

Import existing infrastructure into your Terraform state.

This will find and import the specified resource into your Terraform
state, allowing existing infrastructure to come under Terraform
management without having to be initially created by Terraform.

The ADDR specified is the address to import the resource to. Please
see the documentation online for resource addresses. The ID is a
resource-specific ID to identify that resource being imported. Please
reference the documentation for the resource type you're importing to
determine the ID syntax to use. It typically matches directly to the ID
that the provider uses.

This command will not modify your infrastructure, but it will make
network requests to inspect parts of your infrastructure relevant to
the resource being imported.

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Recommended import workflow (step-by-step)

1. Ensure the Terraform configuration contains a resource block that matches the resource type you intend to import. terraform import does not create this block for you.
2. Confirm the correct provider-specific ID format from provider docs (for Azure, use the ARM resource ID).
3. Run terraform import ADDR ID.
4. Immediately run terraform plan to detect any differences (drift) between the imported state and your HCL.
5. Reconcile your HCL: update default values, add missing attributes, or change values to reflect the desired configuration.
6. Run terraform plan again until the plan shows only intended changes, then terraform apply to persist any HCL-driven changes (if required).

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Best practices and important clarifications

• The resource block must exist in the configuration before importing. Terraform will not generate HCL for you.
• After import, the imported resource’s state attributes may differ from the configuration; always run terraform plan and reconcile differences.
• Import only affects the state file; it does not change configuration files or the remote resource.
• Use provider documentation to determine the correct ID format for imports. For Azure, this is usually the ARM resource ID.
• Consider using separate branches and state backups when importing multiple resources to reduce risk.

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Tools and further resources

• Azure: Microsoft maintains a tool called aztfexport which can help convert existing Azure infrastructure into HCL and assist in generating Terraform configuration for larger migrations: https://github.com/Azure/aztfexport
• Terraform docs: https://www.terraform.io/docs/cli/commands/import.html
• Azure Resource Manager ID docs: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/resource-name-rules