AWS provider

Q: How deeply does Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu cover AWS provider?

Explains dependency declaration, regional configuration, credentials, initialization, planning, and application, but not provider internals.

As explained in Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu

The AWS provider is a Terraform provider that manages resources and data exposed by Amazon Web Services.

The AWS provider gives Terraform access to Amazon Web Services resources and data sources, such as an AWS instance. Configure its dependency and version in required_providers, then configure its AWS region in the provider block. section 2.1.3

Listing 2.1 Configuring required providers

terraform {                               #1
  required_providers {                    #2
    aws = {                               #3
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.0"
    }
  }
}
 
provider "aws" {                          #4
  region = "us-east-1"                    #5
}

Use this configuration to install the HashiCorp AWS provider at a compatible 5.x version and target the us-east-1 region. section 2.1.3

A practical AWS-provider workflow is:

Declare hashicorp/aws and constrain its version in required_providers; relying on automatic installation prevents explicit version selection and can allow breaking changes. section 2.1.3
Configure AWS credentials through the AWS CLI with aws configure, because the provider follows the standard configuration used by AWS tools such as Boto3 and the CLI. section 2.1.6
Run terraform init to download providers, terraform plan to inspect intended actions, and terraform apply after confirming the plan. section 2.1.6

Launching an AWS instance

With the provider configured, Terraform can read AWS data sources such as a VPC, AMI, and subnets, then plan creation of aws_instance.hello_world. Applying the approved plan creates the instance and reports its AWS ID.

How Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu covers it

Cover of Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu

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Related concepts

aws_instanceused by · aws_instance is a Terraform resource type that declares and manages an Amazon EC2 virtual machine instance.
provider blockconfigured by · A provider block is a Terraform configuration block that configures a provider's settings, such as the target cloud region.
Terraform providerkind of · A Terraform provider is a plugin that enables Terraform to manage resources and data sources on a specific infrastructure platform or service through its API.
required_providers blockconfigured by · A required_providers block is a Terraform configuration block that declares the providers a configuration requires and can constrain their versions.
terraform initused by · terraform init is a Terraform command that initializes a working directory and installs or configures its required providers, modules, and backend.
AWS CLIuses · The AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI) is a command-line tool for managing Amazon Web Services resources and services.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.