13. Import to Terraform

Terraform import allows you to bring existing infrastructure resources under Terraform management. Here's how it works:

Prepare

First, you write a resource configuration block in your Terraform code that matches the resource you want to import.

Import

Then you use the terraform import command with the syntax:

terraform import [resource_type].[resource_instance] [resource_id]

The resource_idis resource-specific. You can find the required ID in the provider documentation for the resource you wish to import.

Result

Terraform will:

Find the existing resource
Add it to your state file
Allow you to manage it going forward with Terraform

Example

Let's assume we have a Cloudlet policy deployed and we want to manage it in Terraform going forward. The first step is to add the resource to the Terraform code:

main.tf

resource "akamai_cloudlets_policy" "policy" {
  name          = "my_cloudlet_policy"
  cloudlet_code = "ER"
  description   = "Marketing"
  group_id      = "12345"
  match_rules   = data.akamai_cloudlets_edge_redirector_match_rule.match_rules_er_default.json
  is_shared     = true
}

Observe the data source type for the match_rules argument must also exist because it is a dependency for the akamai_cloudlets_policy resource. We'll skip it for now but you can check the Cloudlets subprovider (opens in a new tab) for more information.

Once the resource has been defined in the main.tf file we can proceed with the import:

terraform import akamai_cloudlets_policy.policy my_cloudlet_policy

In this particular case the Cloudlet ID matches with the name argument in the resource definition. However, this may not always be the case. See the following import commands for other various resources:

# EdegeDNS
terraform import akamai_dns_zone.my_zone ZONE_NAME
 
#AppSec
terraform import akamai_appsec_configuration.my_config CONFIG_ID
 
# EdgeKV
terraform import akamai_edgekv.my_edgekv NAMESPACE:NETWORK
 
# CP Code
terraform import akamai_cp_code.my_cp_code CP_CDOE_ID,CONTRACT_ID,GROUP_ID
 
# Property
terraform import akamai_property.my_property PROPERTY_ID,CONTRACT_ID,GROUP_ID,PROPERTY_VERSION

Akamai CLI

What if there was a tool that did all this for you for Akamai resources. Well, there is! The Akamai CLI for Akamai Terraform Provider (opens in a new tab) can convert Akamai resources to Terraform resources and provide you with all the import commands to create the initial stage file.

Exercise

New File

Create a new gtm.tf file and add the akamai_gtm_domain resource with all the necessary parameters for the domain you want to import.

Plan

Run a terraform plan. Is Terraform going to add a new GTM domain or reuse the existing one at this point?

State

Run a terraform state list and look for the akamai_gtm_domain resource. Did you find it? Why not?

Import

Import the GTM domain into Terraform's state file.

ℹ️

Hint: refer to the akamai_gtm_domain resource documentation in Techdocs (opens in a new tab). You could also use the Akamai CLI to export a GTM domain.

Check the State

Run a terraform state list command to verify the new resource has been succeessfuly imported to the state file.

Plan

Run another terraform plan. What happens now?

Commit

Commit your changes and push them to GitHub.

State Best Practices Troubleshooting