Terraform on AWS [Cheat Sheet]

So you need to deploy new or manage existing cloud infrastructure. What’s the best approach to get it done? The best way is to use Infrastructure as Code (IaC), which allows you to define and manage your infrastructure through code.

Rather than manually navigating the AWS console to create, configure, or update resources, (aka “ClickOps”) you describe your desired infrastructure state using code, and your IaC of choice will make sure that your infrastructure is in that state.

This has a lot of benefits for your cloud infrastructure, including:

• It makes it consistent and repeatable and helps prevent and correct drift
• It becomes version controlled
• You can run it through functional and security tests before deploying
• It enables automation that wouldn’t otherwise be possible
• It simplifies multi-account and multi-cloud deployments

The coding language you use depends entirely on the IaC tool you’re using. For example, Terraform created its own configuration language called HCL. Whereas an alternative like Pulumi gives you the choice between JS/TypeScript, Go, Python, YAML, and more. CloudFormation gives you either YAML or JSON as options. Etc..

To celebrate Cybr’s latest course Terraform on AWS: From Zero to Cloud Infrastructure, we created a cheat sheet to help you get started using Terraform.

This cheat sheet covers essential CLI commands, outlines the basic file structure (with guidance on what to include in each file), and explains how Terraform state tracks the status of resources, mapping them to your configuration. It also provides insights into providers, resources, defining and using variables, and introduces you to creating modules to effectively define, organize, and reuse your code.

Feel free to download it, share it, and use it as a reference guide!

Infrastructure as Code on AWS with Terraform

Deploy infrastructure securely and repeatably on the AWS cloud.

Cybr cybr.com Christophe Limpalair

What is Terraform and Infrastructure as Code (IaC)?

Terraform is an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool that allows you to define and manage your infrastructure through code. Rather than manually navigating the AWS console to create, configure, or update resources, you describe your desired infrastructure state in code. Terraform then automates the process by provisioning and managing the resources to match the specified configuration, ensuring consistency and reducing the potential for human error.

This does a few things to your cloud infrastructure:

• It makes it consistent and repeatable
• It becomes version controlled
• You can run it through functional and security tests before deploying
• It enables automation that wouldn’t otherwise be possible
• It simplifies multi-account and multi-cloud deployments

Common alternatives:

• Pulumi
• OpenTofu
• CloudFormation / CDK
• Azure Resource Manager

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AWS•••

Google CloudAzure

Important Commands

› terraform -hUsage: terraform [global options] [args]...

› terraform init

Initializes a Terraform working directory. Run this after writing Terraform configuration files or cloning an exiting project.

› terraform plan

Show changes required by the current configuration.

› terraform apply

Apply changes to reach the desired state of the configuration.

› terraform destroy

Destroy Terraform-managed infrastructure.

› terraform fmt

Format Terraform code according to style conventions.

› terraform validate

Validate the Terraform configuration files.

› terraform output

Display output values from the state file.

› terraform state

View, move, or remove items in the Terraform state.

› terraform import

Import existing infrastructure into Terraform.

Basic File Structure

main.tfCore infrastructure code

variables.tfDefines variables used in the project

output.tfDefine output values

terraform.tfvarsSets values for variables defined in variables.tf

provider.tfConfigure providers like AWS, Azure, ...

backend.tfConfigure the backend to store the state

Terraform State

State tracks the current status of resources, mapping them to your configuration code. This enables Terraform to determine what changes are needed to align your infrastructure with the desired state.

• State file(terraform.tfstate) - Stores the current state of your infrastructure.
• Remote state - Store the state file remotely (ie: for team collaboration).
• State locking - Prevent simultaneous modifications to state.
• Terraform state list - List resources currently in the state.
• Terraform state rm - Remove a resource from the state.

Terraform Configuration

Providers

Define providers (ie: AWS, Azure, GCP) and their configuration (ie: version, credentials, etc)

provider.tf

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.63.1"
    }
  }
}

provider.tf

provider "aws" {
  region = var.aws_region
}

Resources

Define infrastructure components

main.tf

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
  bucket = "my-example-bucket"
  acl    = "private"
}

Variables

Defining & using variables:

variables.tf

variable "bucket_name" {
  description = "The name of the S3 bucket"
  type        = string
  default     = "my-default-bucket"
}

variable "bucket_acl" {
  description = "The access control list for the bucket"
  type        = string
  default     = "private"
}

terraform.tfvars

bucket_name = "cybr-is-awesome"
bucket_acl  = "private"

main.tf

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
  bucket = var.bucket_name
  acl    = var.bucket_acl
}

Outputs

output.tf

output "instance_ip" {
  value = aws_instance.example.public_ip
}

Modules

Modules enable you to define, organize, and reuse code

modules/vpc/main.tf

module "network" {
  source = "./modules/network"
  vpc_id = var.vpc_id
}

modules/s3/main.tf

module "s3_bucket" {
  source      = "./modules/s3_bucket"
  bucket_name = var.bucket_name
  bucket_acl  = var.bucket_acl
}

Modules File Structure

$ tree complete-module/
.
├── README.md
├── main.tf
├── variables.tf
├── outputs.tf
├── ...
├── modules/
│   ├── nestedA/
│   │   ├── README.md
│   │   ├── variables.tf
│   │   ├── main.tf
│   │   └── outputs.tf
│   └── nestedB/
│       └── .../
└── examples/
    ├── exampleA/
    │   └── main.tf
    └── exampleB/
        └── .../

Learn Terraform By DoingTerraform on AWS: From Zero to Cloud InfrastructureCourse & Hands-On Labs↗ https://cybr.com/terraform

Use this cheat sheet with AI

Copy a ready-to-use prompt into your preferred AI assistant.

Goal Help me build with TerraformExplain the Terraform workflow

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Prompt Use this Cybr cheat sheet as reference: Infrastructure as Code on AWS with Terraform Source: https://cybr.com/cheat-sheets/terraform-on-aws/ My goal: Help me build with Terraform Help me build AWS infrastructure with Terraform. Ask what I want to deploy, my account and region, and whether this is an existing project. Provide a small coherent configuration with provider requirements, variables, outputs, and state handling. Walk through init, fmt, validate, plan, and apply, explaining the plan and how to verify the result and clean up. Use the included reference material even if you cannot open the source URL. Ask for missing context rather than inventing my environment. Explain assumptions. For version-sensitive service behavior or commands, consult current official documentation when available, cite it, and explain any differences from this reference. If you cannot verify something, say so. Reference material from the cheat sheet (structured text or a curated summary): Terraform defines AWS infrastructure declaratively through providers and resources. The core workflow is terraform init, terraform fmt, terraform validate, terraform plan, and terraform apply. Providers expose resource types and data sources; variables parameterize configuration, outputs expose results, and modules group reusable configuration. State maps configuration to deployed resources and can contain sensitive values. Shared workflows need remote state and concurrency control. Review proposed changes before applying and use terraform destroy for cleanup when appropriate.

If you want to learn more and get started with IaC and Terraform on AWS, check out our hands-on and project-based course.

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