terraform-style-guide_skill

Overview

This skill generates Terraform HCL that follows HashiCorp’s official style conventions and recommended best practices. It produces well-organized files, consistent formatting, secure defaults, and sensible naming so configurations are easy to review, reuse, and maintain. Use it when creating, reviewing, or automating Terraform code to ensure policy-aligned output.

How this skill works

The skill outputs Terraform code organized into standard files (terraform.tf, providers.tf, main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf, locals.tf) and follows a generation strategy: provider/version constraints first, then data sources, resources by dependency, variables for configurable values, and outputs for key attributes. It enforces formatting rules (two-space indentation, aligned equals), block ordering, naming conventions, and security hardening like encryption, private networking, and no hardcoded secrets.

When to use it

• Scaffolding a new Terraform module or project
• Automating infrastructure generation from templates or inputs
• Reviewing or refactoring existing Terraform code to match style guidelines
• Generating examples or documentation-ready HCL
• Enforcing team-wide style and security standards during CI/CD pipelines

Best practices

• Start with terraform and provider version constraints and pin providers appropriately
• Organize files by responsibility: providers, variables (alphabetical), locals, main, outputs (alphabetical)
• Use descriptive, lowercase_with_underscores names for resources and variables
• Declare type and description for every variable; mark sensitive values with sensitive = true
• Prefer for_each for multiple named resources and use count only for simple conditional creation
• Run terraform fmt -recursive and terraform validate, and use tflint / checkov / tfsec for additional checks

Example use cases

• Generate a new AWS VPC module with variables, locals, secure S3 bucket, and outputs
• Convert an ad-hoc set of resources into a cleanly organized repository with pinned versions and provider blocks
• Produce CI-ready Terraform artifacts that pass formatting and validation before merge
• Create infrastructure examples for documentation that follow naming, formatting, and security rules
• Automate multi-region provider configuration with aliased providers and clear defaults