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Terraform
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Quick Start

Quick Start

Learn core Terraform concepts and Infrastructure as Code patterns. This Quick Start teaches essential Terraform skills.

🎯 What You’ll Learn

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll understand:

  • Resources and providers
  • Variables and outputs
  • State management
  • Modules and best practices

📋 Prerequisites

📦 Resources and Providers 

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2"
}

resource "aws_instance" "web" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
  instance_type = "t2.micro"

  tags = {
    Name = "WebServer"
  }
}

🔧 Variables and Outputs 

variable "instance_type" {
  description = "EC2 instance type"
  type        = string
  default     = "t2.micro"
}

variable "environment" {
  description = "Environment name"
  type        = string
}

resource "aws_instance" "web" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
  instance_type = var.instance_type

  tags = {
    Name = "${var.environment}-web"
  }
}

output "instance_id" {
  value = aws_instance.web.id
}

output "public_ip" {
  value = aws_instance.web.public_ip
}

Apply with variables:

terraform apply -var="environment=dev"

💾 State Management 

terraform {
  backend "s3" {
    bucket = "my-terraform-state"
    key    = "prod/terraform.tfstate"
    region = "us-west-2"
  }
}

🧩 Modules

Create modules/vpc/main.tf:

resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
  cidr_block = var.cidr_block

  tags = {
    Name = var.vpc_name
  }
}

variable "cidr_block" {
  type = string
}

variable "vpc_name" {
  type = string
}

output "vpc_id" {
  value = aws_vpc.main.id
}

Use the module:

module "vpc" {
  source     = "./modules/vpc"
  cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"
  vpc_name   = "production-vpc"
}

output "vpc_id" {
  value = module.vpc.vpc_id
}

✅ Next Steps

You now understand Terraform essentials!

  1. Try the examples: Create infrastructure configurations
  2. Explore By Example: Terraform By Example

🎯 Self-Assessment

After completing this Quick Start, you should be able to:

  • Define resources and providers
  • Use variables and outputs
  • Manage state
  • Create and use modules
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