terraform-documentation-generator

Terraform Documentation Generator

This skill helps generate and maintain Terraform module documentation using terraform-docs.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Creating README.md for a new module
• Updating documentation after module changes
• Generating input/output reference tables automatically
• Ensuring consistent documentation across modules

Using terraform-docs

Installation

# macOS
brew install terraform-docs

# Linux
curl -sSLo ./terraform-docs.tar.gz https://terraform-docs.io/dl/latest/terraform-docs-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf terraform-docs.tar.gz
chmod +x terraform-docs
mv terraform-docs /usr/local/bin/

# Or use Go
go install github.com/terraform-docs/terraform-docs@latest

Basic Usage

# Generate markdown documentation
terraform-docs markdown table . > README.md

# Preview without writing
terraform-docs markdown table .

# Generate for specific directory
terraform-docs markdown table ./modules/vpc > ./modules/vpc/README.md

Configuration File

Create .terraform-docs.yml in module root for consistent formatting:

formatter: "markdown table"

header-from: main.tf

sections:
  show:
    - header
    - requirements
    - providers
    - inputs
    - outputs
    - resources

content: |-
  {{ .Header }}
  
  ## Usage
  
  ```hcl
  module "example" {
    source = "./modules/example"
    
    # Add your example here
  }

{{ .Requirements }} {{ .Providers }} {{ .Inputs }} {{ .Outputs }} {{ .Resources }}

output: file: "README.md" mode: inject template: |- {{ .Content }}

sort: enabled: true by: required

### Auto-Generate Documentation

```bash
# With config file
terraform-docs .

# Inject into existing README between markers
terraform-docs markdown table --output-file README.md --output-mode inject .

Output Formats

# Markdown table (most common)
terraform-docs markdown table .

# Markdown document
terraform-docs markdown document .

# JSON
terraform-docs json .

# YAML
terraform-docs yaml .