terraform/website/docs/language/meta-arguments/depends_on.mdx

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---
page_title: The depends_on Meta-Argument - Configuration Language
description: >-
The depends_on meta-argument allows you to handle hidden resource or module
dependencies.
sidebar_title: The depends_on Meta-Argument
---
# The `depends_on` Meta-Argument
-> **Version note:** Module support for `depends_on` was added in Terraform 0.13, and
previous versions can only use it with resources.
Use the `depends_on` meta-argument to handle hidden resource or module dependencies that
Terraform can't automatically infer.
Explicitly specifying a dependency is only necessary when a resource or module relies on
some other resource's behavior but _doesn't_ access any of that resource's data
in its arguments.
This argument is available in `module` blocks and in all `resource` blocks,
regardless of resource type. For example:
```hcl
resource "aws_iam_role" "example" {
name = "example"
# assume_role_policy is omitted for brevity in this example. See the
# documentation for aws_iam_role for a complete example.
assume_role_policy = "..."
}
resource "aws_iam_instance_profile" "example" {
# Because this expression refers to the role, Terraform can infer
# automatically that the role must be created first.
role = aws_iam_role.example.name
}
resource "aws_iam_role_policy" "example" {
name = "example"
role = aws_iam_role.example.name
policy = jsonencode({
"Statement" = [{
# This policy allows software running on the EC2 instance to
# access the S3 API.
"Action" = "s3:*",
"Effect" = "Allow",
}],
})
}
resource "aws_instance" "example" {
ami = "ami-a1b2c3d4"
instance_type = "t2.micro"
# Terraform can infer from this that the instance profile must
# be created before the EC2 instance.
iam_instance_profile = aws_iam_instance_profile.example
# However, if software running in this EC2 instance needs access
# to the S3 API in order to boot properly, there is also a "hidden"
# dependency on the aws_iam_role_policy that Terraform cannot
# automatically infer, so it must be declared explicitly:
depends_on = [
aws_iam_role_policy.example,
]
}
```
The `depends_on` meta-argument, if present, must be a list of references
to other resources or child modules in the same calling module.
Arbitrary expressions are not allowed in the `depends_on` argument value,
because its value must be known before Terraform knows resource relationships
and thus before it can safely evaluate expressions.
The `depends_on` argument should be used only as a last resort. When using it,
always include a comment explaining why it is being used, to help future
maintainers understand the purpose of the additional dependency.