terraform-search-import

Q: How do I install terraform-search-import?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/hashicorp/agent-skills --skill terraform-search-import in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/terraform-search-import/ (personal) or .claude/skills/terraform-search-import/ (project).

by hashicorp OfficialDevOps & Cloud

Discover existing cloud resources using Terraform Search queries and bulk import them into Terraform management. Use when bringing unmanaged infrastructure under Terraform control, auditing cloud resources, or migrating to IaC.

Installs: 4.9K
Last 24h: +23
Trending rank: #5113
Security: Pass

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/hashicorp/agent-skills --skill terraform-search-import

01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads terraform-search-import automatically when relevant.
03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.

Security audits

Independent scans of the skill's instructions and bundled files.

Gen Agent Trust Hub PassSAFE ·This skill provides a helper script and workflows for discovering existing cloud resources and performing bulk imports using Terraform. The skill follows safe practices and contains standard infrastructure management commands.

Socket PassNo alerts

Snyk PassLOW ·Risk: LOW · No issues

Runlayer PassLOW ·2/3 files flagged

ZeroLeaks PassNONE ·Score: 93/100 · 2 sections analyzed

SKILL.md

The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.

Terraform Search and Bulk Import

Discover existing cloud resources using declarative queries and generate configuration for bulk import into Terraform state.

References:

When to Use

Bringing unmanaged resources under Terraform control
Auditing existing cloud infrastructure
Migrating from manual provisioning to IaC
Discovering resources across multiple regions/accounts

IMPORTANT: Check Provider Support First

BEFORE starting, you MUST verify the target resource type is supported:

# Check what list resources are available
./scripts/list_resources.sh aws      # Specific provider
./scripts/list_resources.sh          # All configured providers

Decision Tree

Identify target resource type (e.g., aws_s3_bucket, aws_instance)
Check if supported: Run ./scripts/list_resources.sh <provider>
Choose workflow:
- ** If supported**: Check for terraform version available.
- ** If terraform version is above 1.14.0** Use Terraform Search workflow (below)
- ** If not supported or terraform version is below 1.14.0 **: Use Manual Discovery workflow (see references/MANUAL-IMPORT.md)
Note: The list of supported resources is rapidly expanding. Always verify current support before using manual import.

Prerequisites

Before writing queries, verify the provider supports list resources for your target resource type.

Discover Available List Resources

Run the helper script to extract supported list resources from your provider:

# From a directory with provider configuration (runs terraform init if needed)
./scripts/list_resources.sh aws      # Specific provider
./scripts/list_resources.sh          # All configured providers

Or manually query the provider schema:

terraform providers schema -json | jq '.provider_schemas | to_entries | map({key: (.key | split("/")[-1]), value: (.value.list_resource_schemas // {} | keys)})'

Terraform Search requires an initialized working directory. Ensure you have a configuration with the required provider before running queries:

# terraform.tf
terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 6.0"
    }
  }
}

Run terraform init to download the provider, then proceed with queries.

Terraform Search Workflow (Supported Resources Only)

Create .tfquery.hcl files with list blocks defining search queries
Run terraform query to discover matching resources
Generate configuration with -generate-config-out=<file>
Review and refine generated resource and import blocks
Run terraform plan and terraform apply to import

Query File Structure

Query files use .tfquery.hcl extension and support:

provider blocks for authentication
list blocks for resource discovery
variable and locals blocks for parameterization

# discovery.tfquery.hcl
provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2"
}

list "aws_instance" "all" {
  provider = aws
}

List Block Syntax

list "<list_type>" "<symbolic_name>" {
  provider = <provider_reference>  # Required

  # Optional: filter configuration (provider-specific)
  # The `config` block schema is provider-specific. Discover available options using `terraform providers schema -json | jq '.provider_schemas."registry.terraform.io/hashicorp/<provider>".list_resource_schemas."<resource_type>"'`

  config {
    filter {
      name   = "<filter_name>"
      values = ["<value1>", "<value2>"]
    }
    region = "<region>"  # AWS-specific
  }
  # Optional: limit results
  limit = 100
}

Supported List Resources

Provider support for list resources varies by version. Always check what's available for your specific provider version using the discovery script.

Query Examples

Basic Discovery

# Find all EC2 instances in configured region
list "aws_instance" "all" {
  provider = aws
}

Filtered Discovery

# Find instances by tag
list "aws_instance" "production" {
  provider = aws

  config {
    filter {
      name   = "tag:Environment"
      values = ["production"]
    }
  }
}

# Find instances by type
list "aws_instance" "large" {
  provider = aws

  config {
    filter {
      name   = "instance-type"
      values = ["t3.large", "t3.xlarge"]
    }
  }
}

Multi-Region Discovery

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2"
}

locals {
  regions = ["us-west-2", "us-east-1", "eu-west-1"]
}

list "aws_instance" "all_regions" {
  for_each = toset(local.regions)
  provider = aws

  config {
    region = each.value
  }
}

Parameterized Queries

variable "target_environment" {
  type    = string
  default = "staging"
}

list "aws_instance" "by_env" {
  provider = aws

  config {
    filter {
      name   = "tag:Environment"
      values = [var.target_environment]
    }
  }
}

Running Queries

# Execute queries and display results
terraform query

# Generate configuration file
terraform query -generate-config-out=imported.tf

# Pass variables
terraform query -var='target_environment=production'

Query Output Format

list.aws_instance.all   account_id=123456789012,id=i-0abc123,region=us-west-2   web-server

Columns: <query_address> <identity_attributes> <name_tag>

Generated Configuration

The -generate-config-out flag creates:

# __generated__ by Terraform
resource "aws_instance" "all_0" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
  instance_type = "t2.micro"
  # ... all attributes
}

import {
  to       = aws_instance.all_0
  provider = aws
  identity = {
    account_id = "123456789012"
    id         = "i-0abc123"
    region     = "us-west-2"
  }
}

Post-Generation Cleanup

Generated configuration includes all attributes. Clean up by:

Remove computed/read-only attributes
Replace hardcoded values with variables
Add proper resource naming
Organize into appropriate files

# Before: generated
resource "aws_instance" "all_0" {
  ami                    = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
  instance_type          = "t2.micro"
  arn                    = "arn:aws:ec2:..."  # Remove - computed
  id                     = "i-0abc123"        # Remove - computed
  # ... many more attributes
}

# After: cleaned
resource "aws_instance" "web_server" {
  ami           = var.ami_id
  instance_type = var.instance_type
  subnet_id     = var.subnet_id

  tags = {
    Name        = "web-server"
    Environment = var.environment
  }
}

Import by Identity

Generated imports use identity-based import (Terraform 1.12+):

import {
  to       = aws_instance.web
  provider = aws
  identity = {
    account_id = "123456789012"
    id         = "i-0abc123"
    region     = "us-west-2"
  }
}

Verifying Imported State

After running terraform apply to import resources, verify what actually landed in state. Prefer the documented, stable, and more token-efficient commands over reading the raw state file:

# Confirm resources are now managed (also confirms addresses)
terraform state list

# Inspect resolved attribute values for imported resources
terraform show -json | jq '.values.root_module.resources[] | {address, type, name}'

terraform show -json requires providers to be installed (terraform init), since it renders values against provider schemas. Fall back to the raw state (terraform state pull / terraform.tfstate) only when providers aren't available and init can't run, you need only coarse info (addresses, outputs, serial/lineage), or you must avoid executing Terraform. Avoid parsing the raw version-4 state format as a stable interface. Note: state contains sensitive values in plaintext in every format — never echo state contents into logs or output.

Best Practices

Query Design

Start broad, then add filters to narrow results
Use limit to prevent overwhelming output
Test queries before generating configuration

Configuration Management

Review all generated code before applying
Remove unnecessary default values
Use consistent naming conventions
Add proper variable abstraction

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
"No list resources found"	Check provider version supports list resources
Query returns empty	Verify region and filter values
Generated config has errors	Remove computed attributes, fix deprecated arguments
Import fails	Ensure resource not already in state

Complete Example

# main.tf - Initialize provider
terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.14"
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 6.0"  # Always use latest version
    }
  }
}

# discovery.tfquery.hcl - Define queries
provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2"
}

list "aws_instance" "team_instances" {
  provider = aws

  config {
    filter {
      name   = "tag:Owner"
      values = ["platform"]
    }
    filter {
      name   = "instance-state-name"
      values = ["running"]
    }
  }

  limit = 50
}

# Execute workflow
terraform init
terraform query
terraform query -generate-config-out=generated.tf
# Review and clean generated.tf
terraform plan
terraform apply

FAQ

What does the terraform-search-import skill do?

How do I install terraform-search-import?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/hashicorp/agent-skills --skill terraform-search-import in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/terraform-search-import/ (personal) or .claude/skills/terraform-search-import/ (project).

Which AI agents can use terraform-search-import?

Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.

Is terraform-search-import safe to install?

Security partners have reviewed it: Gen Agent Trust Hub passed; Socket passed; Snyk passed; Runlayer passed; ZeroLeaks passed. As with any skill, read the SKILL.md and bundled scripts before installing.

Who maintains terraform-search-import?

It is published by hashicorp in hashicorp/agent-skills, and it is an official skill from the maker of the technology it covers. It has 4,916 recorded installs.

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terraform-search-import

Install

Install

Describe the task

Review the result

Security audits

SKILL.md

Terraform Search and Bulk Import

When to Use

IMPORTANT: Check Provider Support First

Decision Tree

Prerequisites

Discover Available List Resources

Terraform Search Workflow (Supported Resources Only)

Query File Structure

List Block Syntax

Supported List Resources

Query Examples

Basic Discovery

Filtered Discovery

Multi-Region Discovery

Parameterized Queries

Running Queries

Query Output Format

Generated Configuration

Post-Generation Cleanup

Import by Identity

Verifying Imported State

Best Practices

Query Design

Configuration Management

Troubleshooting

Complete Example

FAQ

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