Tfvars: Full Layering
Terraspace Layering in it’s full form allows you to use the same infrastructure code and deploy to different environments, regions, accounts, providers, etc. This table shows the full layering order. For the sake of concisness, the layers are shown in levels, IE: base.tfvars, dev.tfvars, and instance.tfvars.
| Folder/Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| tfvars root folder | base.tfvars, dev.tfvars, and instance.tfvars |
| region | us-west-2/{base,dev,instance}.tfvars |
| namespace | 112233445566/{base,dev,instance}.tfvars |
| namespace/region | 112233445566/us-west-2/{base,dev,instance}.tfvars |
| provider | aws/{base,dev,instance}.tfvars |
| provider/region | aws/us-west-2/{base,dev,instance}.tfvars |
| provider/namespace | aws/112233445566/{base,dev,instance}.tfvars |
| provider/namespace/region | aws/112233445566/us-west-2/{base,dev,instance}.tfvars |
All layers except for the first, tfvars root folder, are provider specific. For example, the namespace is provider dependent. IE: For AWS it’s account, for Azure it’s subscription, and for Google it’s project. Also, for Azure region maps to location.
For an explanation of instance.tfvars, see: Instance Option.
Env Folders
The simple layering structure is having the files at the top-level like so:
app/stacks/server/tfvars
├── base.tfvars
├── dev.tfvars
└── prod.tfvars
You can also structure your tfvars so that they are within env folders like so:
app/stacks/server/tfvars
├── base.tfvars
├── dev
│ └── base.tfvars
└── prod
└── base.tfvars
Generally, the simplier structure is should be used. Unless you’re using the Instance Option, where it becomes useful for tidying up the multiple instance based tfvars files.
Project-level and Stack-level Layering
Layering is performed both at the project-level and stack-level.
- Project-level Layering: These are project-wide tfvars set for every stack. These files live in
config/terraform/tfvars - Stack-level Layering: This are targetted tfvars set the specific stack being deployed. These files can live in the specific stack folder, IE:
app/stacks/demo/tfvars
Here’s a short example to explain. First, the project-level tfvars:
config/terraform/tfvars/base.tfvars
tags = ["common-tag"]
config/terraform/tfvars/dev.tfvars
tags = ["tag-for-all-dev-envs"]
Second, the stack-level tfvars.
app/stacks/demo/tfvars/base.tfvars
labels = ["demo-stack-common-tag"]
app/stacks/demo/tfvars/dev.tfvars
labels = ["demo-stack-tag-for-all-dev-envs"]
Building or deploying the demo stack produces:
$ terraspace build demo
$ ls .terraspace-cache/us-west-2/dev/stacks/demo/*.tfvars
.terraspace-cache/us-west-2/dev/stacks/demo/1-project-base.auto.tfvars
.terraspace-cache/us-west-2/dev/stacks/demo/2-project-dev.auto.tfvars
.terraspace-cache/us-west-2/dev/stacks/demo/3-base.auto.tfvars
.terraspace-cache/us-west-2/dev/stacks/demo/4-dev.auto.tfvars
$
Terraspace layering gives you the power to create shared tfvars at the project-level, and also create targetted tfvars for specific stacks.
Notice how only base.tfvars and dev.tfvars is copied over. Only these specific files are used to control layer ordering.
If you that is not enough for your needs, you can even customize layering itself: Custom Layering.
