create-terraform-module

Create Terraform Module Skill

Create or revise Terraform module implementation details for AWS workloads.

Always pair this skill with terraform-risk-playbook. That skill is authoritative for the response contract, risk category, version/runtime floor, validation expectations, and rollback notes.

Authoritative precedence: when this skill and terraform-infrastructure are both active, this skill is authoritative for module layout, file set, and module interface details.

Step 1 - Define Module Contract

Define module inputs/outputs first:

• required vs optional variables
• typed structures (object, list(object)) where appropriate
• sensitive inputs marked with sensitive = true
• outputs scoped to consumer needs only
• do not treat sensitive = true as state protection; avoid module interfaces that require raw secret values when a reference/ARN can be passed instead

Step 2 - Create Module Structure

Use module-skeleton.md as the required baseline layout.

Rules:

• include README.md, versions.tf, providers.tf, main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf
• keep environment-specific values outside reusable modules
• avoid hidden dependencies on caller-side locals/naming
• child modules must not configure provider credentials/regions directly; define required_providers and let the root module pass provider instances/aliases

Step 3 - Implement AWS Resources Safely

Apply consistent tagging and naming conventions.

Implementation guardrails:

• explicit required_providers and Terraform version constraints
• lifecycle usage only when justified and documented
• stable resource addressing to reduce churn in plans
• prefer for_each over count when item identity must survive reordering or selective removal
• when refactoring addresses, emit moved blocks or explicit migration notes instead of rename-only changes
• verify runtime floor before suggesting import, moved, optional(), mock providers, or write_only patterns
• no plaintext secrets in code or defaults