59 lines
2.4 KiB
Plaintext
59 lines
2.4 KiB
Plaintext
---
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page_title: Files and Directories - Configuration Language
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description: >-
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Learn how to name, organize, and store Terraform configuration files. Also
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learn how Terraform evaluates modules.
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---
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# Files and Directories
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## File Extension
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Code in the Terraform language is stored in plain text files with the `.tf` file
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extension. There is also
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[a JSON-based variant of the language](/language/syntax/json) that is named with
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the `.tf.json` file extension.
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Files containing Terraform code are often called _configuration files._
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## Text Encoding
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Configuration files must always use UTF-8 encoding, and by convention
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usually use Unix-style line endings (LF) rather than Windows-style
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line endings (CRLF), though both are accepted.
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## Directories and Modules
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A _module_ is a collection of `.tf` and/or `.tf.json` files kept together in a
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directory.
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A Terraform module only consists of the top-level configuration files in a
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directory; nested directories are treated as completely separate modules, and
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are not automatically included in the configuration.
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Terraform evaluates all of the configuration files in a module, effectively
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treating the entire module as a single document. Separating various blocks into
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different files is purely for the convenience of readers and maintainers, and
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has no effect on the module's behavior.
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A Terraform module can use [module calls](/language/modules) to
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explicitly include other modules into the configuration. These child modules can
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come from local directories (nested in the parent module's directory, or
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anywhere else on disk), or from external sources like the
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[Terraform Registry](https://registry.terraform.io).
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## The Root Module
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Terraform always runs in the context of a single _root module._ A complete
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_Terraform configuration_ consists of a root module and the tree of child
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modules (which includes the modules called by the root module, any modules
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called by those modules, etc.).
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- In Terraform CLI, the root module is the working directory where Terraform is
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invoked. (You can use command line options to specify a root module outside
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the working directory, but in practice this is rare. )
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- In Terraform Cloud and Terraform Enterprise, the root module for a workspace
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defaults to the top level of the configuration directory (supplied via version
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control repository or direct upload), but the workspace settings can specify a
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subdirectory to use instead.
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