Tfvars Location Thoughts
Since Terraspace 2.2.15, the recommended location for tfvars in the config/stacks folder. For example:
config/stacks/demo/tfvars/dev.tfvars
The Reasons
The reasoning behind this recommendation:
- It makes it a lot easier to see what has been deployed by looking at the
config/stacksdirectory. You can simply runtree config/stacks. - Often people use
app/stacksfor the reusable code and don’t even bother withapp/modules. They configure their business-specific logic with tfvars files. By having tfvars in theconfig/stacksfolder as mirror image of theapp/stacksfolder, you can separate the business-logic and reuse stacks. - The idea is that stacks can optionally ship with default tfvars files in
app/stacks/demo/tfvars, and users can coverride them withapp/stacks/demo/tfvarswithout touching the stack code.
It’s easy to see what’s been deployed by simply running tree config/stacks
❯ tree config/stacks
config/stacks
└── demo
└── tfvars
└── dev.tfvars
Layering
Layering is performed in this order:
config/terraform/tfvars/dev.tfvars
app/stacks/demo/tfvars/dev.tfvars
config/stacks/demo/tfvars/dev.tfvars <= highest precedence
Notice how app/stacks/demo/tfvars still works and is layered. So this recommendation completely compatiable with older stack code that has tfvars in the same folder.
Move Script
If your tfvars files are in app/stacks and want to move them to config/stacks, here’s a useful move-tfvars.rb script that you can use to quickly move your tfvars files from app/stacks to config/stacks. Although, the script will prompt you before moving the tfvars over, you should commit and backup your code before running the script.
Usage: To use the script download it and then run it from your terraspace project folder. Here’s an example:
❯ ruby move-tfvars.rb
Will move tfvars to new recommended location.
Will move app/stacks/*/tfvars to config/stacks/*/.tfvars
Any existing config/stacks/*/tfvars folders will be removed and replaced.
It's recommended that you commit and save your code before running this script.
Previewing move of tfvars files:
app/stacks/demo/tfvars => config/stacks/demo/tfvars
Are you sure you want to move all tfvars files? [y/N] y
Moving tfvars files:
app/stacks/demo/tfvars => config/stacks/demo/tfvars
❯
Double check:
❯ tree config/stacks
config/stacks
└── demo
└── tfvars
└── dev.tfvars
