Provider

What is a Terraform Provider?¶

A Terraform provider is a plugin that allows Terraform to interact with cloud platforms, SaaS services, or any third-party APIs to provision and manage infrastructure.

Providers are responsible for: - Authenticating with the target platform - Translating Terraform configurations into API calls - Managing the lifecycle of resources (create, read, update, delete)

High-level Architecture¶

flowchart LR
    A[Terraform Core] --> B[Terraform Registry]
    A --> C[Provider Plugin]
    C --> D[Cloud / Third-Party APIs]

Terraform Core Version vs Provider Version¶

• Terraform Core

• The Terraform CLI and engine

• Handles state management, dependency graph, and execution plan

• Provider

• Independent plugins maintained separately

• Each provider has its own version lifecycle
• Must be compatible with the Terraform Core version

Terraform Core and Providers are versioned independently, but compatibility matters.

Why Provider Version Matters¶

Using correct provider versions ensures:

• Stability and predictable behavior
• Access to new resources and features
• Bug fixes and security patches
• Avoidance of breaking changes

Problems caused by incorrect versions:

• Breaking schema changes
• Deprecated or removed resources
• Incompatible APIs
• Failed plans or applies

Version Constraints in Terraform¶

Terraform allows you to restrict provider versions using version constraints.

Common Version Operators¶

Example: Provider Version Constraint¶

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.0"
    }
  }
}

🔹 ~> 5.0 allows:

• 5.0.x, 5.1.x, 5.9.x
• ❌ Not 6.0.0

Best Practices¶

• Always pin provider versions
• Use ~> for safe upgrades
• Lock versions using terraform.lock.hcl
• Test provider upgrades in non-production environments
• Track provider changelogs before upgrading