Terraform is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool that allows you to automate the creation, modification, and deletion of cloud resources from various providers, such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and more.
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Terraform is an IaC tool that enables you to define your infrastructure as code using a declarative language.
- Provider-agnostic: Terraform is provider-agnostic, which means you can use it to manage infrastructure from various cloud providers using the same tool and language.
- Declarative language: Terraform uses a declarative language called HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) to define infrastructure resources and their configurations.
- State management: Terraform keeps track of the state of the infrastructure it manages and can automatically make changes to bring the actual infrastructure state to the desired state.
- Plan and Apply: Terraform uses a two-step process called plan and apply to make changes to the infrastructure. During the plan phase, Terraform shows you the changes it intends to make, and during the apply phase, it applies those changes.
- Modules: Terraform allows you to organize your infrastructure code into reusable modules, making it easier to manage complex infrastructure.
- Version control: Terraform integrates well with version control systems like Git, allowing you to track changes to your infrastructure code over time.
- Community-driven: Terraform has a large and active community of users and contributors who provide support, share best practices, and contribute to the development of the tool.
Terraform Commands and phases:
- terraform init – initialize state
- terraform validate – validate your templates
- terraform plan – plan your deployment, see what will occur
- terraform apply – execute the deployment
- terraform destroy – delete your deployment
