Generating Infrastructure As Code

Prerequisites

Before using this skill, ensure:

• Target cloud provider CLI is installed (aws-cli, gcloud, az)
• IaC tool is installed (Terraform, Pulumi, AWS CDK)
• Cloud credentials are configured locally
• Understanding of target infrastructure architecture
• Version control system for IaC storage

Instructions

1. Identify Platform: Determine IaC tool (Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi, ARM, CDK)
2. Define Resources: Specify cloud resources needed (compute, network, storage, database)
3. Establish Structure: Create modular file structure for maintainability
4. Generate Code: Write IaC configurations with proper syntax and formatting
5. Add Variables: Define input variables for environment-specific values
6. Configure Outputs: Specify outputs for resource references and integrations
7. Implement State: Set up remote state storage for team collaboration
8. Document Usage: Add README with deployment instructions and prerequisites

Output

Generates infrastructure as code files:

Terraform Example:

# {baseDir}/terraform/main.tf
terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.0"
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.0"
    }
  }
}

resource "aws_vpc" "main" {
  cidr_block = var.vpc_cidr
  enable_dns_hostnames = true

  tags = {
    Name = "${var.project}-vpc"
    Environment = var.environment
  }
}

CloudFormation Example:

# {baseDir}/cloudformation/template.yaml
AWSTemplateFormatVersion: '2010-09-09'
Description: Production VPC infrastructure

Parameters:
  VpcCidr:
    Type: String
    Default: 10.0.0.0/16

Resources:
  VPC:
    Type: AWS::EC2::VPC
    Properties:
      CidrBlock: !Ref VpcCidr
      EnableDnsHostnames: true

Pulumi Example:

// {baseDir}/pulumi/index.ts
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

const vpc = new aws.ec2.Vpc("main", {
    cidrBlock: "10.0.0.0/16",
    enableDnsHostnames: true,
    tags: {
        Name: "production-vpc"
    }
});

export const vpcId = vpc.id;

Error Handling

Common issues and solutions:

Syntax Errors

• Error: "Invalid resource syntax in configuration"
• Solution: Validate syntax with terraform validate or respective tool linter

Provider Authentication

• Error: "Unable to authenticate with cloud provider"
• Solution: Configure credentials via environment variables or CLI login

Resource Conflicts

• Error: "Resource already exists"
• Solution: Import existing resources or use data sources instead of creating new ones

State Lock Issues

• Error: "Error acquiring state lock"
• Solution: Ensure no other process is running, or force unlock if safe

Dependency Errors

• Error: "Resource depends on resource that does not exist"
• Solution: Check resource references and ensure proper dependency ordering

Resources

• Terraform documentation: https://www.terraform.io/docs/
• AWS CloudFormation guide: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cloudformation/
• Pulumi documentation: https://www.pulumi.com/docs/
• Azure ARM templates: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-resource-manager/
• IaC best practices guide in {baseDir}/docs/iac-standards.md