This cheat sheet is based on my notes from online courses, Hashicorp documentation, and missing & updated concepts for the Terraform Associate 004 exam after completing the exam. It is optimized for quick revision before the exam.
Core Commands
terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
terraform destroy
Typical Workflow
Write .tf files
terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
Blocks
resource "aws_instance" "example" {}
| Block | Purpose |
| provider | Define cloud provider |
| resource | Infrastructure object |
| variable | Input variable |
| output | Export values |
| data | Read external data |
| module | Reusable configuration |
| terraform | Backend & version config |
| action | Invoke provider-defined action |
| check | Validate your infrastructure |
| ephermal | define temporary resources |
| import | import existing infrastructure |
| locals | define values and reuse |
| moved | change the address of a resource |
| removed | remove from state without changing infra |
3. Providers
Provider Types
Official
Partner
Community
Provider Configuration
provider "aws" {
region = "us-east-1"
}
Version Constraints
terraform {
required_providers {
aws = {
source = "hashicorp/aws"
version = "~> 5.0"
}
}
}
Version rules:
>= 1.2.0
<= 2.0.0
~> 1.2 → >=1.2,<2.0
!= 1.4.0
4. Variables
Declare Variables
variable "filename" {
type = string
description = "File name"
default = "/tmp/file.txt"
}
Types
string
number
bool
list(type)
map(type)
object({})
tuple([])
Variable Precedence (High → Low)
CLI var
.tfvars or var-file
Environment (TF_VAR_name)
Default
5. Resource Attributes & References
${resource_type.resource_name.attribute}
Example:
aws_instance.web.public_ip
6. Dependencies
Implicit
instance_id = aws_instance.web.id
Explicit
depends_on = [aws_instance.web]
7. Output Values
output "public_ip" {
value = aws_instance.web.public_ip
}
Commands:
terraform output
terraform output public_ip
Purpose
State Storage
Local (default)
Remote (recommended):
S3
Terraform Cloud
GCS
Consul
Remote state locking is available, depending on whether the backend supports
Remote Backend (S3 Example)
terraform {
backend "s3" {
bucket = "tf-state-bucket"
key = "prod/terraform.tfstate"
region = "us-east-1"
dynamodb_table = "terraform-locks"
}
}
terraform state list
terraform state show <resource>
terraform state mv
terraform state rm
terraform state pull
10. Lifecycle Rules
lifecycle {
create_before_destroy = true
prevent_destroy = true
ignore_changes = [tags]
}
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/meta-arguments
| Argument | Description |
| depends_on | Explicit dependency |
| count | Create multiple resources |
| for_each | Iterate over map/set |
| lifecycle | Control resource behavior |
| provider | specifies which provider to use |
| providers | specify an alternate provider specification |
count vs for_each
count → indexed list
for_each → map or set
12. Data Sources
Used to read existing resources:
data "aws_ami" "amazon_linux" {
most_recent = true
}
13. Provisioners (Use Sparingly)
Local Exec
provisioner "local-exec" {
command = "echo Hello"
}
Remote Exec
Requires SSH access.
⚠️ Not recommended for production
terraform import aws_instance.web i-123456
⚠️ Does NOT generate .tf code. Only updates the state file.
terraform workspace new dev
terraform workspace list
terraform workspace select dev
Each workspace has separate state.
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/functions
Numeric
max()
min()
ceil()
floor()
String
lower()
upper()
split()
join()
substr()
Collection
length()
contains()
element()
lookup()
terraform console
Used for testing expressions.
18. Debugging
export TF_LOG=TRACE
export TF_LOG_PATH=/tmp/terraform.log
Levels:
TRACE
DEBUG
INFO
WARN
ERROR
module "vpc" {
source = "terraform-aws-modules/vpc/aws"
version = "5.0.0"
}
Commands:
terraform get
20. Security Best Practices
21. Quick Commands Summary
terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
terraform destroy
terraform fmt
terraform validate
terraform providers
terraform output
terraform graph
terraform workspace list
The HashiCorp Cloud Platform — https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs
In my experience in this exam, you have to know what they are; there is no need to dig deep, so briefly review these topics, and let me know your experience:
