Infrastructure-as-code reference for Terraform configurations, state management, and provider patterns.
Quick Reference
# Core workflow
terraform init # Initialize, download providers
terraform validate # Syntax validation
terraform fmt -recursive # Format HCL files
terraform plan # Preview changes
terraform apply # Apply changes
# Inspection
terraform state list # List resources in state
terraform state show <resource> # Show resource details
terraform graph | dot -Tsvg > graph.svg # Dependency graph
TF_LOG=DEBUG terraform plan 2>debug.log
## Core Workflow
init → validate → fmt → plan → apply
1. **init**: Download providers, initialize backend
2. **validate**: Check syntax and configuration validity
3. **fmt**: Ensure consistent formatting
4. **plan**: Preview what will change (review carefully)
5. **apply**: Execute changes
## Reference Files
Load on-demand based on task:
| Topic | File | When to Load |
|-------|------|--------------|
| Troubleshooting | [troubleshooting.md](references/troubleshooting.md) | Common errors, debugging |
| State | [state-management.md](references/state-management.md) | Backends, locking, operations |
| Modules | [module-design.md](references/module-design.md) | Module patterns, composition |
| Security | [security.md](references/security.md) | Secrets, state security |
| Proxmox Gotchas | [proxmox/gotchas.md](references/proxmox/gotchas.md) | Critical provider issues, workarounds |
| Proxmox Auth | [proxmox/authentication.md](references/proxmox/authentication.md) | Provider config, API tokens |
| Proxmox VMs | [proxmox/vm-qemu.md](references/proxmox/vm-qemu.md) | proxmox_vm_qemu resource patterns |
| Proxmox Errors | [proxmox/troubleshooting.md](references/proxmox/troubleshooting.md) | Proxmox-specific errors |
| External | [external-resources.md](references/external-resources.md) | Official docs, links |
## Validation Checklist
Before `terraform apply`:
- [ ] `terraform init` completed successfully
- [ ] `terraform validate` passes
- [ ] `terraform fmt` applied
- [ ] `terraform plan` reviewed (check destroy/replace operations)
- [ ] Backend configured correctly (for team environments)
- [ ] State locking enabled (if remote backend)
- [ ] Sensitive variables marked `sensitive = true`
- [ ] Provider versions pinned in `terraform.tf`
- [ ] No secrets in version control
- [ ] Blast radius assessed (what could break?)
## Variable Precedence
(highest to lowest)
1. `-var` flag: `terraform apply -var="name=value"`
2. `-var-file` flag: `terraform apply -var-file=prod.tfvars`
3. `*.auto.tfvars` files (alphabetically)
4. `terraform.tfvars` file
5. `TF_VAR_*` environment variables
6. Variable defaults in `variables.tf`