Resources

Resources are the most important element when defining infrastructure in CDKTF applications. Each resource describes one or more infrastructure objects, such as virtual networks, compute instances, or higher-level components such as DNS records.

In your CDK for Terraform (CDKTF) application, you will use your preferred programming language to define the resources you want Terraform to manage on one or more providers. This page explains how to use resources in your application and how to use escape hatches to change resource behavior when necessary.

Define Resources

Resource definitions and properties vary depending on the type of resource and the provider. Consult your provider's documentation for a full list of available resources and their configuration options.

The following example defines a DynamoDB table resource on the AWS provider.

export class ResourcesStack extends TerraformStack {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string) {
    super(scope, id);

    new AwsProvider(this, "aws", {
      region: "eu-central-1",
    });

    const region = new DataAwsRegion(this, "region");

    new DynamodbTable(this, "first-table", {
      name: `my-first-table-${region.name}`,
      hashKey: "temp",
      attribute: [{ name: "id", type: "S" }],
      billingMode: "PAY_PER_REQUEST",
    });
  }
}

The examples page contains multiple example projects for every supported programming language.

Scope

You can instantiate the same resource multiple times throughout your infrastructure. For example, you may want to create multiple S3 Buckets with different configurations. Instances that share the same parent element are considered to be part of the same scope. You must set a different name property for each instance to avoid naming conflicts.

Refer to the constructs documentation for more details and an example.

References

You can reference resource properties throughout your configuration. For example, you may want to use the name of a parent resource when assigning names to related child resources. Refer to your provider's documentation for a full list of available properties for each resource type.

To create references, call myResource.<propertyName> on the resource instance. For example, you could use myResource.name to retrieve the name property from myResource. Terraform does not support passing an entire block (e.g. exampleNamespace.metadata) into a resource or data source, so you must create a reference for each individual property.

References are also useful when you need to track logical dependencies. For example, Kubernetes resources live in a namespace, so a namespace must exist before Terraform can provision the associated resources. The following example uses a reference for the namespace property in the the deployment. This reference tells Terraform that it needs to create the namespace before creating the resources.

const exampleNamespace = new Namespace(this, "tf-cdk-example", {
  metadata: {
    name: "tf-cdk-example",
  },
});

new Deployment(this, "nginx-deployment", {
  metadata: {
    name: "nginx",
    namespace: exampleNamespace.metadata.name, // Reference the namespace name propery
    labels: {
      app: "my-app",
    },
  },
  spec: {
    // ...
  },
});

import imports.kubernetes.namespace.Namespace;
import imports.kubernetes.namespace.NamespaceConfig;
import imports.kubernetes.namespace.NamespaceMetadata;
                Namespace exampleNamespace = new Namespace(this, "tf-cdk-example", NamespaceConfig.builder()
                                .metadata(NamespaceMetadata.builder()
                                                .name("tf-cdk-example")
                                                .build())
                                .build());

                new Deployment(this, "nginx-deployment", DeploymentConfig.builder()
                                .metadata(DeploymentMetadata.builder()
                                                .name("nginx")
                                                .namespace(exampleNamespace.getMetadata().getName()) // Reference the name property
                                                .labels(new HashMap<String, String>() {
                                                        {
                                                                put("app", app.toString());
                                                        }
                                                })
                                                .build())
                                .spec(DeploymentSpec.builder()
                                        .selector(DeploymentSpecSelector.builder()
                                                .matchLabels(new HashMap<String, String>(){{
                                                        put("app", app.toString());
                                                }})
                                                .build()
                                        )
                                        .replicas("1")
                                        .template(DeploymentSpecTemplate.builder()
                                                .metadata(DeploymentSpecTemplateMetadata.builder()
                                                        .labels(new HashMap<String, String>(){{
                                                                put("app", app.toString());
                                                        }})
                                                        .build()
                                                )
                                                .spec(DeploymentSpecTemplateSpec.builder()
                                                        .container(Arrays.asList(DeploymentSpecTemplateSpecContainer.builder()
                                                                        .image("nginx:1.7.9")
                                                                        .name("nginx")
                                                                        .build()
                                                                )
                                                        )
                                                        .build()
                                                )
                                                .build()
                                        )
                                        .build()
                                )
                                .build());

Refactoring & Renaming Resources

When working with your infrastructure definitions and the need arises to refactor or rename resources without destroying and recreating them, you can leverage the moveTo function like so:

new S3Bucket(this, "test-bucket-move-to", {
  bucket: "move-bucket-name",
}).addMoveTarget("move-s3");

new S3Bucket(this, "test-bucket-move-from", {
  bucket: "move-bucket-name",
}).moveTo("move-s3");

Refer to our Refactoring Guide for more information

Provisioners

Provisioners can be used to model specific actions on the local machine or on a remote machine in order to prepare servers or other infrastructure objects for service. You can find more information on the concept of provisioners in the Terraform docs. You can pass the provisioners key to define a list of provisioners, connections can be configured with the connection key. A working example can be found at examples/typescript/provisioner.

If you need to use the special self object that can only be used in provisioner and connection blocks to refer to the parent resource you can use the TerraformSelf class like this: TerraformSelf.getString("public_ip").

Custom Condition Checks

If you need to ensure a condition is met either before or after a resource was created you can specify conditions. To add one configure the lifecycle key on your resource with an object containing a precondition and / or a postcondition. These keys take a list of conditions with a condition key containing a Terraform Expression to be evaluated and an errorMessage key containing a string to be displayed if the condition is not met.

Importing Resources

If you have existing resources that you want to manage with CDKTF, you can import them into your CDKTF application. The best way to do this is using the import block feature of Terraform >= 1.5. You can do this in CDKTF either with a specified configuration or without.

How To Import

To import a resource, first instantiate an instance of the resource type you wish to import – in our case we'll be using an S3Bucket. No configuration is explicitly needed. You then call the importFrom method on the resource object. This method takes the ID of the resource to be imported as the first argument and the provider as an optional second. The provider is only required if you have multiple providers of the same type in your configuration.

new S3Bucket(this, "bucket", {}).importFrom(bucketId);

When running plan / apply you will get the information that your resource is going to be imported. Once you have ran apply, you can remove the importFrom call and the resource will become managed by CDKTF.

Please note that Terraform is going to update existing fields on the imported resource to match your configuration as it puts it under management. In our case we did not define any specific properties on the S3Bucket which causes Terraform e.g. to remove the tags currently defined on the resource (as can be seen on the plan below). If you want to keep existing settings, you can run a plan first, add everything that Terraform would change to your resource config, and only then apply the changes.

Your output might look as follows:

ts-import  Initializing the backend...
ts-import  Initializing provider plugins...
ts-import  - Reusing previous version of hashicorp/aws from the dependency lock file
ts-import  - Using previously-installed hashicorp/aws v5.5.0
ts-import  Terraform has been successfully initialized!

           You may now begin working with Terraform. Try running "terraform plan" to see
           any changes that are required for your infrastructure. All Terraform commands
           should now work.

           If you ever set or change modules or backend configuration for Terraform,
           rerun this command to reinitialize your working directory. If you forget, other
           commands will detect it and remind you to do so if necessary.
ts-import  aws_s3_bucket.bucket (bucket): Preparing import... [id=best-bucket-in-the-world]
ts-import  aws_s3_bucket.bucket (bucket): Refreshing state... [id=best-bucket-in-the-world]
ts-import  Terraform used the selected providers to generate the following execution
           plan. Resource actions are indicated with the following symbols:
             ~ update in-place

           Terraform will perform the following actions:
ts-import    # aws_s3_bucket.bucket (bucket) will be updated in-place
             # (imported from "best-bucket-in-the-world")
             ~ resource "aws_s3_bucket" "bucket" {
                   arn                         = "arn:aws:s3:::best-bucket-in-the-world"
                   bucket                      = "best-bucket-in-the-world"
                   bucket_domain_name          = "best-bucket-in-the-world.s3.amazonaws.com"
                   bucket_regional_domain_name = "best-bucket-in-the-world.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
                 + force_destroy               = false
                   hosted_zone_id              = "XXXXXXXXXXXXX"
                   id                          = "best-bucket-in-the-world"
                   object_lock_enabled         = false
                   region                      = "us-east-1"
                   request_payer               = "BucketOwner"
                 ~ tags                        = {
                     - "foo" = "bar" -> null
                   }
                 ~ tags_all                    = {
                     - "foo" = "bar"
                   } -> (known after apply)

                   grant {
                       id          = "XXXXXXXXXXXXX"
                       permissions = [
                           "FULL_CONTROL",
                       ]
                       type        = "CanonicalUser"
                   }

                   server_side_encryption_configuration {
                       rule {
                           bucket_key_enabled = true

                           apply_server_side_encryption_by_default {
                               sse_algorithm = "AES256"
                           }
                       }
                   }

                   versioning {
                       enabled    = true
                       mfa_delete = false
                   }
               }

           Plan: 1 to import, 0 to add, 1 to change, 0 to destroy.

           ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

           Saved the plan to: plan

           To perform exactly these actions, run the following command to apply:
               terraform apply "plan"

Generate Configuration For Import

If you don't want to specify the configuration of your imported resource yourself you can use the static method generateConfigForImport on the class of the resource you want to import. This method takes the scope as the first argument, the construct id of the resource to import to (as will be given in the generated config returned), the resource id of the resource to be imported, and the provider as an optional fourth. The provider is only required if you have multiple providers of the same type in your configuration.

S3Bucket.generateConfigForImport(this, "bucket", bucketId);

When running cdktf plan <stack-name> Terraform will generate code for the resource you are importing and CDKTF will convert it to the language you are using.

Your output might look as follows:

ts-import-with-configuration  Initializing the backend...
ts-import-with-configuration  Initializing provider plugins...
                              - Reusing previous version of hashicorp/aws from the dependency lock file
ts-import-with-configuration  - Using previously-installed hashicorp/aws v5.18.1

                              Terraform has been successfully initialized!
ts-import-with-configuration
                              You may now begin working with Terraform. Try running "terraform plan" to see
                              any changes that are required for your infrastructure. All Terraform commands
                              should now work.

                              If you ever set or change modules or backend configuration for Terraform,
                              rerun this command to reinitialize your working directory. If you forget, other
                              commands will detect it and remind you to do so if necessary.
ts-import-with-configuration  aws_s3_bucket.bucket: Preparing import... [id=best-bucket-in-the-world]
ts-import-with-configuration  aws_s3_bucket.bucket: Refreshing state... [id=best-bucket-in-the-world]
ts-import-with-configuration  Terraform will perform the following actions:
ts-import-with-configuration    # aws_s3_bucket.bucket will be imported
                                # (config will be generated)
                                  resource "aws_s3_bucket" "bucket" {
                                      arn                         = "arn:aws:s3:::best-bucket-in-the-world"
                                      bucket                      = "best-bucket-in-the-world"
                                      bucket_domain_name          = "best-bucket-in-the-world.s3.amazonaws.com"
                                      bucket_regional_domain_name = "best-bucket-in-the-world.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com"
                                      hosted_zone_id              = "Z3AQBSTGFYJSTF"
                                      id                          = "best-bucket-in-the-world"
                                      object_lock_enabled         = false
                                      region                      = "us-east-1"
                                      request_payer               = "BucketOwner"
                                      tags                        = {}
                                      tags_all                    = {}

                                      grant {
                                          id          = "554912fda2704333d162d216be50aefb05562e0bf1709997f1d9417cf46087d5"
                                          permissions = [
                                              "FULL_CONTROL",
                                          ]
                                          type        = "CanonicalUser"
                                      }

                                      server_side_encryption_configuration {
                                          rule {
                                              bucket_key_enabled = true

                                              apply_server_side_encryption_by_default {
                                                  sse_algorithm = "AES256"
                                              }
                                          }
                                      }

                                      versioning {
                                          enabled    = false
                                          mfa_delete = false
                                      }
                                  }

                              Plan: 1 to import, 0 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.
                              ╷
                              │ Warning: Config generation is experimental
                              │
                              │ Generating configuration during import is currently experimental, and the
                              │ generated configuration format may change in future versions.
                              ╵

                              ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

                              Terraform has generated configuration and written it to
                              generated_resources.tf. Please review the configuration and edit it as
                              necessary before adding it to version control.

                              Saved the plan to: plan

                              To perform exactly these actions, run the following command to apply:
                                  terraform apply "plan"
ts-import-with-configuration  Import without configuration detected. Terraform has created configuration for it:
                              # __generated__ by Terraform
                              # Please review these resources and move them into your main configuration files.

                              # __generated__ by Terraform from "best-bucket-in-the-world"
                              resource "aws_s3_bucket" "bucket" {
                                bucket              = "best-bucket-in-the-world"
                                bucket_prefix       = null
                                force_destroy       = null
                                object_lock_enabled = false
                                tags                = {}
                                tags_all            = {}
                              }


                              CDKTF has translated the code to the following:

                              import { Construct } from "constructs";
                              /*
                               * Provider bindings are generated by running `cdktf get`.
                               * See https://cdk.tf/provider-generation for more details.
                               */
                              import { S3Bucket } from "./.gen/providers/aws/s3-bucket";
                              class MyConvertedCode extends Construct {
                                constructor(scope: Construct, name: string) {
                                  super(scope, name);
                                  new S3Bucket(this, "bucket", {
                                    bucket: "best-bucket-in-the-world",
                                    bucketPrefix: [null],
                                    forceDestroy: [null],
                                    objectLockEnabled: false,
                                    tags: {},
                                    tagsAll: {},
                                  });
                                }
                              }


                              Please review the code and make any necessary changes before adding it to your codebase.
                              Make sure to only copy the code within the construct's constructor.

                              NOTE: Your resource has not yet become managed by CDKTF.
                              To finish the import remove the call "generateConfigForImport", add the above code within the construct's constructor, and then append the call importFrom(<resource_id_to_import_from>) to the generated code:

                              new SomeResource(...).importFrom("some_id")

Though at this point, your resource has not been imported. To import, first add the new generated configuration to your project, then remove the initial call of generateConfigForImport. Finally, follow the steps outlined in the section "How To Import" above. On apply, your resource will be imported, then becoming managed by CDKTF.

Escape Hatch

Terraform provides meta-arguments to change resource behavior. For example, the for_each meta-argument creates multiple resource instances according to a map, or set of strings. The escape hatch allows you to use these meta-arguments to your CDKTF application and to override attributes that CDKTF cannot yet fully express.

The following example defines a provisioner for a resource using the addOverride method.

const tableName = "my-second-table";

const table = new DynamodbTable(this, "second-table", {
  name: tableName,
  hashKey: "id",
  attribute: [{ name: "id", type: "S" }],
});

table.addOverride("provisioner", [
  {
    "local-exec": {
      command: `aws dynamodb create-backup --table-name ${tableName} --backup-name ${tableName}-backup`,
    },
  },
]);

When you run cdktf synth, CDKTF generates a Terraform configuration with the provisioner added to the JSON object.

{
  "resource": {
    "aws_dynamodb_table": {
      "helloterraHello69872235": {
        "hash_key": "temp",
        "name": "my-table",
        "attribute": [
          {
            "name": "id",
            "type": "S"
          }
        ],
        "provisioner": [
          {
            "local-exec": {
              "command": "aws dynamodb create-backup --table-name my-table --backup-name my-table-backup"
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

To override an attribute, include the resource attribute key in addOverride. The attribute in the escape hatch is in snake case because the Terraform JSON configuration uses snake case instead of camel case.

const topic = new SnsTopic(this, "Topic", {
  displayName: "will-be-overwritten",
});
topic.addOverride("display_name", "my-topic");

When you run cdktf synth, CDKTF generates a Terraform configuration with the value overwritten.

{
  "resource": {
    "aws_sns_topic": {
      "helloterraTopic6609C1D4": {
        "display_name": "my-topic"
      }
    }
  }
}

Use a dot notation to access elements in arrays: resource.addOverride("configurations.0.https", true).

Escape Hatch for Dynamic Blocks

Terraform configurations sometimes use dynamic blocks to create related resources based on dynamic data, or data that is only known after Terraform provisions the infrastructure. For example, you could create a series of nested blocks for a series of Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) ingress ports. A dynamic block loops over a complex value and generates a nested resource block for each element of that complex value.

In CDKTF applications, you must use an escape hatch when you want to loop through a dynamic value like a TerraformVariable or a resource output.

To use an escape hatch to loop over dynamic data, you must:

Set the first argument of addOverride to be dynamic.<attribute_name>.
Create a for_each value for the second argument and set it to the list you want to iterate over.
Take the attribute as base for the reference when you reference values from the list. For example, use "${<attribute_name>.value.nested_value}".

The following example adds ingress values by looping through the ports passed as TerraformVariable.

const portsList = new TerraformVariable(this, "ports", {
  type: "list",
  default: [22, 80, 443, 5432],
});

const sg = new SecurityGroup(this, "security1", {
  name: "security1",
  vpcId: "vpcs",
  egress: [
    {
      fromPort: 0,
      toPort: 0,
      cidrBlocks: ["0.0.0.0/0"],
      protocol: "-1",
    },
  ],
});
sg.addOverride("dynamic.ingress", {
  for_each: portsList.listValue,
  content: {
    from_port: "${ingress.value}",
    to_port: "${ingress.value}",
    cidr_blocks: ["0.0.0.0/0"],
    protocol: "-1",
  },
});

You should only use escape hatches when you need to work with dynamic values that are unknown until after Terraform provisions your infrastructure. If you are working with static values, we recommend using the functionality available in your preferred programming language to iterate through the array.

The following example loops through the ports without using an escape hatch.

const ports = [22, 80, 443, 5432];

new SecurityGroup(this, "security2", {
  name: "security2",
  vpcId: "vpcs",
  egress: [
    {
      fromPort: 0,
      toPort: 0,
      cidrBlocks: ["0.0.0.0/0"],
      protocol: "-1",
    },
  ],
  ingress: ports.map((port) => ({
    fromPort: port,
    toPort: port,
    cidrBlocks: ["0.0.0.0/0"],
    protocol: "-1",
  })),
});

Special Cases

Large Resource Configurations

A few individual Terraform Resources have very deeply nested schemas with a lot of attributes. This blows up the config classes and slows down the code generation for languages besides Typescript. To work around this we sometimes limit the depth of the config classes and use any on deeper level, some attributes we directly expose as any on the top level config class.

aws Provider:
- aws_quicksight_template.definition, aws_quicksight_dashboard.definition, and aws_quicksight_analysis.definition are set to any
- wafv2 related resources have a lot of deeply nested attributes that might be skipped