Merge pull request #6 from Jihillestad/feature/Dockerizing-Terraform

Blog post complete

content/blog/Dockerizing-Terraform.mdx

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+---
+title: Dockerizing Terraform
+description: Terraform is an amazing IaC tool. You can use Docker to run Terraform in a containerized environment. I'll share what I leared about Dockerizing Terraform.
+date: 2024-11-21
+published: true
+tags: ["docker", "azure", "terraform", "iac"]
+---
+
+<div className="flex gap-4">
+  <div>
+    <Image
+      alt="Terraform3001"
+      src="/terraform3001.png"
+      width={400}
+      height={400}
+    />
+  </div>
+  <div>
+    <Image alt="Docker1001  " src="/docker1001.png" width={400} height={400} />
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+# Why run Terraform in a Container?
+
+I like to keep my development environment as clean as possible. Containers are
+a great way to do that. You can run Terraform in a containerized environment to
+keep your host machine clean. You can also use containers to run Terraform in a
+CI/CD pipeline.
+
+# Prerequisites
+
+- Docker
+- A working directory with Terraform files
+- An environment which supports Terraform (e.g. Azure, AWS, GCP)
+- ARM_ACCESS_KEY environment variable (for Azure)
+
+# Docker Image
+
+We will be using the official HashiCorp Terraform Docker image. You can find
+the image on Docker Hub at [https://hub.docker.com/r/hashicorp/terraform](https://hub.docker.com/r/hashicorp/terraform).
+
+# Running Terraform in a Container
+
+You can run Terraform in a container using the following commands. The commands mount the current working directory to the container using `-v` and `-w` parameters, and set the `ARM_ACCESS_KEY` environment variable using the `-e` parameter. After running the commands, the containers are removed using the `-rm` parameter.
+
+## terraform init
+
+```bash
+docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest init
+```
+
+## terraform plan -out=main.tfplan
+
+```bash
+docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest plan -out=main.tfplan
+```
+
+## terraform apply main.tfplan
+
+```bash
+docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest apply main.tfplan
+```
+
+## terraform destroy
+
+```bash
+docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest destroy
+```
+
+# Using Aliases
+
+As you probably noticed, the commands to run Terraform in a container are quite
+long and cumbersome. I created aliases in my `.zshrc` file to make it easier to
+run Terraform in a container. Here are the aliases I use:
+
+```bash
+# Dockerized Terraform
+alias dtfinit="docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest init"
+alias dtfinitrc="docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest init -reconfigure"
+alias dtfplan="docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest plan -out main.tfplan"
+alias dtfapply="docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest apply main.tfplan"
+alias dtfdestroy="docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest destroy"
+alias dtfrefresh="docker run -i -t --rm -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace -e ARM_ACCESS_KEY=$ARM_ACCESS_KEY hashicorp/terraform:latest refresh"
+```
+
+# Conclusion
+
+Running Terraform in a container is a great way to keep your development
+environment clean. It is a good thing that Hashicorp provides an official
+Terraform Docker image. I try to use containers as much as possible in my
+workflow to learn more about containers and to get ready to move on to
+CI/CD pipelines and kubernetes soon. I hope you found this article helpful.
+Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.