Wrapper Module Approach

The wrapper module pattern builds on top of existing community modules, enabling you to enforce organizational standards while reusing battle-tested code. This approach reduces maintenance overhead, maintains upstream compatibility, and ensures consistency across environments.

Why Use Wrapper Modules?

Consistency
Enforce company-wide naming conventions, tag policies, and resource configurations through standardized inputs.
Scoped Customization
Override only the settings you need, leaving the underlying community module intact for easier upstream upgrades.
Maintainability
Minimize drift from official releases by wrapping instead of forking—updating to new versions becomes straightforward.

Common Use Cases

Use Case	Description
Standardizing Inputs	Enforce naming conventions, tagging policies, or sizing guidelines for all deployments.
Adding Defaults	Provide default values for certain inputs (e.g., instance types, region) while allowing overrides.
Injecting Organization Settings	Preconfigure logging levels, monitoring hooks, or security controls across all modules.

Implementation Example

Create your wrapper module directory:
modules/my-wrapper/
In modules/my-wrapper/main.tf, call the community module and map your inputs:

# modules/my-wrapper/main.tf
module "eks" {
  source       = "git::https://github.com/terraform-aws-modules/eks/aws"
  cluster_name = var.cluster_name       # mapped from wrapper input
  vpc_id       = var.vpc_id             # mapped from wrapper input
  tags = merge(
    var.organization_tags,              # enforced by your organization
    var.user_tags                       # additional user-provided tags
  )
  # ...other required community inputs
}

Declare only the variables your team needs in variables.tf:

# modules/my-wrapper/variables.tf
variable "cluster_name" {
  description = "Name of the EKS cluster"
  type        = string
}

variable "vpc_id" {
  description = "VPC ID for the EKS cluster"
  type        = string
}

variable "organization_tags" {
  description = "Tags enforced by the organization"
  type        = map(string)
  default     = { Project = "AcmeCorp" }
}

variable "user_tags" {
  description = "Additional tags from the user"
  type        = map(string)
  default     = {}
}

By exposing only selected inputs, you maintain a clear contract for your internal teams while still benefitting from community-driven improvements.

In your root Terraform or Terragrunt configuration, invoke modules/my-wrapper instead of the community module directly.

module "production_eks" {
  source = "../modules/my-wrapper"

  cluster_name       = "prod-cluster"
  vpc_id             = "vpc-0123456789abcdef0"
  organization_tags  = { Environment = "production", Team = "infra" }
  user_tags          = { Owner = "alice" }
}

Choosing Between Community, Custom, and Wrapper Modules

Criteria	Community Modules	Custom Modules	Wrapper Modules
Reusability	High	Low	Medium
Development Speed	Fast	Slow	Moderate
Maintenance Overhead	Low	High	Medium
Upstream Compatibility	Direct upgrades	N/A	Retained with mapping
Flexibility	Limited to inputs	Full control	Control over inputs only

When to Use What

Community Modules: Go-to for rapid prototyping or teams with minimal customization needs.
Custom Modules: Best for specialized architectures requiring bespoke resource definitions.
Wrapper Modules: Ideal for enforcing organizational governance on top of community best practices.

Avoid forking community modules unless you require deep structural changes. Wrapping keeps you in sync with upstream fixes and feature releases.

Introduction

Terragrunt - Good to Know Concepts & Ideas

Terragrunt Configuration

Terragrunt Commands

Terragrunt Functions

Terragrunt Blocks

Terragrunt Attributes

Managing Remote State with Terragrunt

Terragrunt Modules

Building our first AWS Demo with Terragrunt

Conclusion

Terragrunt - Basic Concepts

Wrapper Module Approach

Why Use Wrapper Modules?

Common Use Cases

Implementation Example

Choosing Between Community, Custom, and Wrapper Modules

When to Use What

References

Watch Video

​Why Use Wrapper Modules?

​Common Use Cases

​Implementation Example

​Choosing Between Community, Custom, and Wrapper Modules

​When to Use What

​References

Watch Video

Why Use Wrapper Modules?

Common Use Cases

Implementation Example

Choosing Between Community, Custom, and Wrapper Modules

When to Use What

References