Chapter 12: Terraform Introduction
12.6 Variables, tfvars and outputs
| File | Role |
|---|---|
variables.tf |
Declare knobs |
terraform.tfvars / *.auto.tfvars |
Assign values (often gitignored for personal IPs) |
outputs.tf |
Print useful IDs after apply |
# .gitignore excerpt for Terraform labs
.terraform/
*.tfstate
*.tfstate.*
crash.log
terraform.tfvars
*.tfvars
!example.tfvars
override.tf
Ship example.tfvars with fake placeholders so teammates know keys — not your real IP.
Practice task
Write an example.tfvars with clearly fake vpc_id and my_ip_cidr values and a one-line comment that real values stay local.