HashiCorp Terraform Associate (003) — Resources
Official docs and trustworthy references for Terraform Associate (003): product docs, language/CLI, state & backends, modules/registry, providers & auth, import/replace/refresh-only, Terraform Cloud/Enterprise, policy-as-code, CI/CD, and hands-on labs.
On this page
Use this page as your launchpad. Pair it with the Syllabus, Cheatsheet, and Practice.
Official Terraform docs (start here)
- Terraform Documentation Hub — product guides & navigation
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform - CLI Reference — commands, flags, exit codes
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli - Configuration Language (HCL) Reference — blocks, expressions, functions
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language - Providers — discover & read provider docs
https://registry.terraform.io/browse/providers - Modules — discover reusable modules
https://registry.terraform.io/browse/modules - Tutorials (Learn) — step-by-step labs for all levels
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/tutorials
Must-know language & workflow pages
- Files & Module Structure —
main.tf,variables.tf,outputs.tf, modules
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/modules/syntax - Variables / Outputs / Locals / Expressions
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/values/variables
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/values/outputs
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/values/locals
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/expressions - Provisioners (use sparingly)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/resources/provisioners/syntax - Functions catalog (string, collection, CIDR, JSON/YAML, etc.)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/functions
State, backends & locking (exam core)
- State Overview — what state is and why it matters
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/state - Backends — configure remote state
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/settings/backends/configuration - Common backends
- State CLI —
state list/show/mv/rm
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands/state
Change management: import / replace / refresh-only
- Resource Import (Import Blocks & CLI)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/import
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands/import - Intentional Replace (
-replace)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands/plan#replace-address - Refresh-only Plans
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands/plan#refresh-only
Modules & versioning
- Module Best Practices — inputs, outputs, versioning, docs
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/modules/develop - Version Constraints (
required_version, providers & modules)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/expressions/version-constraints - Dependency Lock File (
.terraform.lock.hcl)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands/providers/lock
Providers & authentication (multi-cloud)
- Provider Requirements & Configuration
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/providers/requirements
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/providers/configuration - AWS Provider (env vars, profiles, STS/SSO)
https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs - AzureRM Provider (az login / SPN)
https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/azurerm/latest/docs - Google Provider (ADC / JSON creds)
https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/google/latest/docs
Workspaces & environments
- Workspaces — multiple state instances per configuration
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/workspaces - Recommended isolation — when to prefer separate states/backends (design guidance within backends/state docs above)
Terraform Cloud & Enterprise (awareness)
- Terraform Cloud — remote state, remote runs, VCS, variables/workspaces
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs - Sentinel (policy-as-code, awareness level)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/policy-enforcement/sentinel - Run tasks, cost estimation (awareness)
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/integrations/run-tasks
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/cost-estimation
Policy & security (ecosystem)
- OPA / Rego (alternative policy-as-code)
https://www.openpolicyagent.org/docs/latest/ - CIS Benchmarks (cloud baselines)
https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-benchmarks - Secrets handling — provider-specific secret stores (Parameter Store/Secrets Manager, Key Vault, Secret Manager)
CI/CD patterns (reference)
- CLI in Automation — non-interactive usage, env vars, exit codes
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands#scripting-and-automation - Recommended pipelines —
fmt/validate/planon PR, gatedapply; keep provider versions aligned via the lock file
Handy one-pagers (for quick recall)
- CLI commands —
init,fmt,validate,plan,apply,destroy
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands - Lifecycle meta-arguments —
create_before_destroy,prevent_destroy,ignore_changes,replace_triggered_by
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/meta-arguments/lifecycle - Expressions & Loops —
for_each,for,dynamic, functions
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/expressions
https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/meta-arguments/for_each
Safe, free (or low-cost) lab ideas
- Remote state + locking (core):
Configure S3 (+DynamoDB), azurerm, or gcs backends; run concurrentplanto see locking in action. - Import & replace drill:
Create a resource manually, add HCL + import block, thenplan/apply. Practice-replacefor intentional re-create. - Drift detection:
Change a property out-of-band in the cloud console; runplan -refresh-onlyand decide remediation (ignore_changesvs config update). - Stable fan-out:
Convert acount-based resource tofor_eachwith meaningful keys; observe address stability. - Module hygiene:
Wrap a provider module call; pin versions; add variable validation and outputs; publish locally or test from registry source.
Keep a lab journal: for every operation, record the command(s), expected outcome, and result. Turning misses into 1–2 “rules of thumb” speeds retention.