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Terraform variable file

A Terraform variable file is a configuration file that assigns values to input variables for a Terraform configuration.

How 2 Manning books explain it

Effective Platform Engineering

A Terraform variable file is a configuration file that assigns values to input variables for a Terraform configuration.

How it is used
Supplies Terraform plan jobs with configuration values, including values generated during pipeline execution.
How deep it goes
Shows command-level integration and runtime generation, without detailing variable-file syntax or Terraform evaluation internals.
Examples
Uses a computed local varfile created after checkout and passed to terraform plan through a reusable job parameter.
What you can do after
Apply it via a reusable CircleCI Terraform plan job that accepts static or runtime-generated variable files.

Read how Effective Platform Engineering explains Terraform variable file →

Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu

A tfvars file is a Terraform variable-definition file containing values that can be loaded into a configuration.

How it is used
Separates environment-specific root-module inputs from configuration and supplies them consistently to plans and automated deployments.
How deep it goes
Defines HCL and JSON formats, naming conventions, loading flags, and security implications without detailing Terraform evaluation internals.
Examples
Uses production.tfvars commands plus HCL and JSON assignments for VPC identifiers and instance counts.
What you can do after
Operate Terraform plans with repeatable environment values by selecting files explicitly or through automatic loading conventions.

Read how Terraform in Depth: Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and OpenTofu explains Terraform variable file →

Related concepts

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