Provider Actions

Terraform Provider Actions

Terraform Actions enable imperative operations during the Terraform lifecycle — experimental features for performing provider operations at specific lifecycle events.

References:

• Terraform Plugin Framework
• Terraform Actions RFC

File Structure

internal/service/<service>/
├── <action_name>_action.go
├── <action_name>_action_test.go
└── service_package_gen.go        # Auto-generated registration

website/docs/actions/
└── <service>_<action_name>.html.markdown

.changelog/
└── <pr_number_or_description>.txt

Action Schema Definition

func (a *actionType) Schema(ctx context.Context, req action.SchemaRequest, resp *action.SchemaResponse) {
    resp.Schema = schema.Schema{
        Attributes: map[string]schema.Attribute{
            "resource_id": schema.StringAttribute{
                Required:    true,
                Description: "ID of the resource to operate on",
            },
            "timeout": schema.Int64Attribute{
                Optional:    true,
                Computed:    true,  // required when Default is set
                Description: "Operation timeout in seconds",
                Default:     int64default.StaticInt64(1800),
            },
        },
    }
}

Schema Pitfalls

1. Type mismatches — use fwtypes.String / fwtypes.StringType in model structs and schema (not types.String / types.StringType)

2. Missing ElementType on collections:

   // Wrong
   "items": schema.ListAttribute{Optional: true}
   // Correct
   "items": schema.ListAttribute{Optional: true, ElementType: fwtypes.StringType}
   

3. Computed + Optional — attributes with defaults need both Optional: true and Computed: true

4. Validator imports — use terraform-plugin-framework-validators/{int64validator,stringvalidator}

5. Region handling — use framework-provided region handling when available instead of manual schema definitions

Schema Checklist

Before proceeding, verify:

• All attributes have descriptions
• List/Map attributes have ElementType
• Validators imported and applied
• Model struct uses correct framework types (fwtypes.*)
• Optional + default attributes marked Computed
• go build passes without type errors

Action Invoke Method

func (a *actionType) Invoke(ctx context.Context, req action.InvokeRequest, resp *action.InvokeResponse) {
    var data actionModel
    resp.Diagnostics.Append(req.Config.Get(ctx, &data)...)

    conn := a.Meta().Client(ctx)
    resp.Progress.Set(ctx, "Starting operation...")

    // Implement action logic
    // Use context for timeout management
    // Poll for completion if async

    resp.Progress.Set(ctx, "Operation completed")
}

Implementation Requirements

Progress Reporting

• Use resp.SendProgress(action.InvokeProgressEvent{...}) for real-time updates
• Update at key milestones; include elapsed time for long operations

Timeout Management

• Include configurable timeout parameter (default: 1800s, range: 60-7200s)
• Use context.WithTimeout() for API calls
• Handle timeout errors gracefully

Error Handling

// Specific error
var notFound *types.ResourceNotFoundException
if errors.As(err, &notFound) {
    resp.Diagnostics.AddError(
        "Resource Not Found",
        fmt.Sprintf("Resource %s was not found", resourceID),
    )
    return
}

// Generic error — include context and identifiers
resp.Diagnostics.AddError(
    "Operation Failed",
    fmt.Sprintf("Could not complete operation for %s: %s", resourceID, err),
)

Guidelines:

• Provide clear error messages with resource identifiers
• Map provider error types to user-friendly messages
• Document all possible error cases

Provider SDK Integration

• Use SDK clients from a.Meta().<Service>Client(ctx)
• Handle pagination for list operations
• Implement retry logic for transient failures

Polling and Waiting

result, err := wait.WaitForStatus(ctx,
    func(ctx context.Context) (wait.FetchResult[*ResourceType], error) {
        resource, err := findResource(ctx, conn, id)
        if err != nil {
            return wait.FetchResult[*ResourceType]{}, err
        }
        return wait.FetchResult[*ResourceType]{
            Status: wait.Status(resource.Status),
            Value:  resource,
        }, nil
    },
    wait.Options[*ResourceType]{
        Timeout:            timeout,
        Interval:           wait.FixedInterval(5 * time.Second),
        SuccessStates:      []wait.Status{"AVAILABLE", "COMPLETED"},
        TransitionalStates: []wait.Status{"CREATING", "PENDING"},
        ProgressInterval:   30 * time.Second,
        ProgressSink: func(fr wait.FetchResult[any], meta wait.ProgressMeta) {
            resp.SendProgress(action.InvokeProgressEvent{
                Message: fmt.Sprintf("Status: %s, Elapsed: %v", fr.Status, meta.Elapsed.Round(time.Second)),
            })
        },
    },
)

Common Action Patterns

Action Triggers

action "provider_service_action" "name" {
  config {
    parameter = value
  }
}

resource "terraform_data" "trigger" {
  lifecycle {
    action_trigger {
      events  = [after_create]
      actions = [action.provider_service_action.name]
    }
  }
}

Available Trigger Events (Terraform 1.14.0)

Testing

Acceptance Test Pattern

func TestAccServiceAction_basic(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := acctest.Context(t)
    resource.ParallelTest(t, resource.TestCase{
        PreCheck:                 func() { acctest.PreCheck(ctx, t) },
        ProtoV5ProviderFactories: acctest.ProtoV5ProviderFactories,
        TerraformVersionChecks: []tfversion.TerraformVersionCheck{
            tfversion.SkipBelow(tfversion.Version1_14_0),
        },
        Steps: []resource.TestStep{
            {
                Config: testAccActionConfig_basic(),
                Check: resource.ComposeTestCheckFunc(
                    testAccCheckResourceExists(ctx, "provider_resource.test"),
                ),
            },
        },
    })
}

Test Sweep (cleanup test resources)

func sweepResources(region string) error {
    ctx := context.Background()
    client := /* get client for region */
    var sweeperErrs *multierror.Error

    pages := service.NewListPaginator(client, &service.ListInput{})
    for pages.HasMorePages() {
        page, err := pages.NextPage(ctx)
        if err != nil {
            sweeperErrs = multierror.Append(sweeperErrs, err)
            continue
        }
        for _, item := range page.Items {
            if !strings.HasPrefix(item.Id, "tf-acc-test") {
                continue
            }
            if _, err := client.Delete(ctx, &service.DeleteInput{Id: item.Id}); err != nil {
                sweeperErrs = multierror.Append(sweeperErrs, err)
            }
        }
    }
    return sweeperErrs.ErrorOrNil()
}

Testing Notes

• Check service-specific prerequisites before running action tests
• Terraform wraps action errors — use flexible regex: regexache.MustCompile(\(?s)Error Title.*key phrase`)`
• Actions trigger on lifecycle events, not config reapplication
• before_destroy / after_destroy tests unsupported in Terraform 1.14.0

Running Tests

go test -c -o /dev/null ./internal/service/<service>           # compile check
TF_ACC=1 go test ./internal/service/<service> -run TestAccServiceAction_ -v  # run
TF_ACC=1 go test ./internal/service/<service> -sweep=<region> -v            # sweep

Documentation Standards

Each action doc file includes:

1. Front matter — subcategory, layout, page_title, description
2. Header — beta/alpha notice, warning about unintended consequences
3. Example usage — basic, advanced, trigger-based, real-world
4. Argument reference — required/optional args with descriptions and defaults
5. Formatting — run terrafmt fmt and verify with terrafmt diff

Changelog Entry

.changelog/<pr_number_or_description>.txt

Format:

action/provider_service_action: Brief description of the action

Pre-Submission Checklist

• go build -o /dev/null . passes
• go test -c -o /dev/null ./internal/service/<service> passes
• make fmt applied
• terrafmt fmt applied to documentation
• Changelog entry created
• Schema uses correct types with ElementType on collections
• Progress updates implemented for long operations
• Error messages include context and resource identifiers
• Documentation includes examples and prerequisite warnings

References

• Terraform Plugin Framework
• terraform-plugin-framework (GitHub)
• terraform-plugin-testing