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Terragrunt’s built-in function find_in_parent_folders enables recursive searches up your directory tree to locate a specific file or folder. This approach is invaluable when you need to reference shared configurations or modules in a multi-layered project, removing the brittleness of hardcoded relative paths.
The image shows a hierarchical arrangement of folder icons with the label "find_in_parent_folders" at the top and "Functionality" at the bottom. It appears to represent a file system structure or search functionality within parent folders.

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Why Use find_in_parent_folders?

By leveraging this function, you can:
  • Dynamically adapt configuration based on files located higher in the hierarchy
  • Inherit and override settings across environments without manual path tweaks
  • Maintain cleaner, DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) configurations
The image is a presentation slide titled "find_in_parent_folders," highlighting two benefits: adapting based on configurations from parent folders and flexible configuration inheritance.

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Best Practices

  • Organize projects into clear, modular, hierarchical folders
  • Use find_in_parent_folders inside include blocks to locate root-level terragrunt.hcl
  • Avoid embedding static paths; let Terragrunt resolve them dynamically
The image is a diagram titled "find_in_parent_folders" with icons and text explaining its use in modular environments and include blocks, along with a "Best Practices" button.
find_in_parent_folders stops when it hits the filesystem root or finds the target file. If the file isn’t present, Terragrunt throws an error.

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Real-World Example

Imagine a VPC module that relies on common variables from common.hcl. Before (hardcoded path): 
terraform {
  source = "tfr://terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws//?version=5.8.1"
}

locals {
  common_vars = read_terragrunt_config("../common.hcl")
}

inputs = {
  name = "${local.common_vars.inputs.project}-${local.common_vars.inputs.environment}-VPC"
}
After (dynamic lookup): 
terraform {
  source = "tfr://terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws//?version=5.8.1"
}

locals {
  common_vars = read_terragrunt_config(find_in_parent_folders("common.hcl"))
}

inputs = {
  name = "${local.common_vars.inputs.project}-${local.common_vars.inputs.environment}-VPC"
}
Now, no matter how deep your vpc/ folder is nested, Terragrunt will climb up until it finds common.hcl.

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Verify with Terragrunt

Run: 
~/workspace/vpc
> terragrunt plan
You should see the VPC name generated using values from common.hcl, for example: 
KodeKloudDevVPC

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common.hcl

inputs = {
  project     = "KodeKloud"
  environment = "dev"
}

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References

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