🚀 Terraform Directory Structure – The Right Way!

When building cloud infrastructure using Terraform, your directory structure matters more than you think.

A well-structured Terraform layout helps you:

• Scale easily across environments
• Reuse code with modules
• Avoid production mistakes
• Automate safely with scripts

In this post, I’ll show you the best practices I follow for organizing Terraform projects used in Dev, Stage, and Prod.

📁 1. Environment Separation: Dev, Stage, Prod

Organize each environment in its own folder:

terraform/
├── dev/
│   ├── main.tf
│   ├── variables.tf
│   ├── outputs.tf
├── stage/
│   └── ...
├── prod/
│   └── ...
└── env/
    ├── dev.tfvars
    ├── stage.tfvars
    └── prod.tfvars

✅ Pro tip: Keep .tfvars values in a separate env/ directory for cleaner management.

Why it matters:

• Prevents accidental changes to production
• Clear separation of responsibilities
• Easier CI/CD integration

📦 2. Reuse Code with Modules

Instead of copying and pasting the same code, create reusable modules:

modules/
├── vpc/
│   ├── main.tf
│   ├── variables.tf
│   └── outputs.tf
├── ec2/
│   └── ...

Usage example:

module "vpc" {
  source     = "../../modules/vpc"
  cidr_block = var.vpc_cidr
}

Benefits:
💡 Define once, use everywhere
🔄 Ensures consistency across environments
🧩 Simplifies testing and debugging

🤖 3. Automate with Scripts

Use shell scripts to handle Terraform operations like init, apply, and destroy.

scripts/
├── init.sh        # terraform init
├── plan.sh        # terraform plan
├── apply.sh       # terraform apply
└── teardown.sh    # terraform destroy

Why script it?
⏱️ Saves time
🔐 Reduces manual error
⚙️ Fits into CI/CD pipelines seamlessly

🧠 4. Core Terraform Files

Each environment/module folder typically contains:

• main.tf: Infrastructure definitions
• variables.tf: Variable declarations
• outputs.tf: Exposed outputs
• terraform.tfvars: Variable values (optional if using env/*.tfvars)
• provider.tf: Cloud provider setup
• backend.tf: Remote state configuration

🛡️ Store state remotely (e.g., S3 + DynamoDB) for security and team collaboration.

🖼️ Visual: Terraform Directory Structure

Infographic: High-level layout of a scalable Terraform project

✅ Summary: Why This Structure Works

✅ Modular and reusable
✅ Safer deployments
✅ DevOps- and CI/CD-friendly
✅ Environment-ready (Dev, Stage, Prod)

💬 What’s your Terraform setup look like?

Do you structure things differently?

Have tips for managing multiple environments or state files?

Let’s share ideas in the comments 💬👇

#Terraform #DevOps #InfrastructureAsCode #AWS #GCP #Azure #CloudEngineering #SRE #CI/CD #IaC