Terraform Workspaces
Terraform workspaces allow you to manage multiple distinct states for the same configuration. They are useful for environments like dev, stage, and prod without duplicating code.
What Are Workspaces?
A workspace is a named state container. The default workspace is called
default. You can create additional workspaces, and each has its own state file. This lets you use the same configuration to deploy infrastructure to different environments.Workspaces keep multiple independent states within the same configuration.
Workspace Commands
- List workspaces:
terraform workspace list - Create a new workspace:
terraform workspace new dev - Switch workspace:
terraform workspace select dev - Show current workspace:
terraform workspace show
Using Workspace Name in Configuration
Access the current workspace name with
terraform.workspace. Use it to differentiate resources.resource "aws_instance" "web" {
ami = "ami-abc123"
instance_type = terraform.workspace == "prod" ? "t3.large" : "t2.micro"
tags = {
Name = "web-${terraform.workspace}"
}
}Workspaces and Remote State
When using remote backends (e.g., S3), workspaces map to different state files. For S3, the key pattern becomes
env:/<workspace>/terraform.tfstate.When to Use Workspaces
Workspaces are great for small differences (like names or instance sizes). For more complex differences (e.g., completely different VPCs), consider using separate configurations or modules with variables. Many teams prefer using variable files (
.tfvars) over workspaces.Two Minute Drill
- Workspaces manage multiple states for the same configuration.
- Commands:
workspace new,select,list,show. - Use
terraform.workspaceto access the current workspace name. - Each workspace has its own state file (local or remote).
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