terraform-docs/terraform-docs
Terraform Docs
terraform-docs is a Terraform module documentation generator and infrastructure as code documenter. It extracts inputs, outputs, and resources from Terraform configuration files to automatically create formatted technical guides and metadata exports.
The tool functions as a multi-format metadata exporter, transforming module information into Markdown tables, AsciiDoc, JSON, YAML, XML, and TOML. It also serves as a CI/CD documentation automator, allowing for the integration of documentation updates into commit hooks and deployment pipelines.
Capability areas include module documentation extraction, resource exclusion filtering, and the injection of real-time state file values. The project supports customization through template-driven rendering, custom header and footer injection, and the use of external plugins for non-standard output structures.
The utility provides a command-line interface with support for containerized execution and YAML-based configuration management.
Features
- Documentation Generators - Automatically extracts inputs and outputs from Terraform code to create human-readable guides in multiple formats.
- Infrastructure Metadata Extraction - Extracts inputs, outputs, and resources from Terraform configuration files to create formatted documentation.
- Documentation Automation - Integrates documentation updates into CI/CD pipelines and git hooks to keep records synchronized.
- Metadata Exporters - Converts Terraform module definitions into structured JSON, YAML, or XML for use by other tools.
- Multi-Format Serializers - Transforms extracted infrastructure metadata into various interchange formats including JSON, YAML, TOML, and XML.
- Documentation Generators - Extracts variable definitions and metadata to generate human-readable documentation files.
- Infrastructure as Code Generators - Extracts inputs, outputs, and resources from Terraform configuration files to create formatted documentation.
- Documentation Automation - Integrates automatic infrastructure documentation updates into commit hooks and deployment pipelines.
- Documentation Automation - Provides integrations that trigger documentation updates via automated workflows or commit hooks during code changes.
- Infrastructure as Code Documentation - Provides automated creation of technical guides based on Terraform source code and variable definitions.
- Infrastructure Documentation Standards - Standardizes how infrastructure variables and requirements are presented using consistent templates.
- Template-Driven Rendering Engines - Uses an external templating engine to map extracted module metadata into customized human-readable formats.
- Module Metadata Retrievers - Retrieves raw module data structures to allow the building of complex custom resource lists.
- AST Extraction - Parses HCL source code into abstract syntax trees to extract module variables and outputs without executing the code.
- Metadata - Generates a JSON representation of module inputs and outputs for consumption by other automated tooling.
- Markdown Table Generators - Creates formatted Markdown tables listing infrastructure inputs, outputs, and requirements.
- Documentation Configuration - Provides comprehensive configuration options to control the behavior and content of generated documentation.
- Documentation Generators - Generates technical documentation in AsciiDoc format detailing module inputs, outputs, and requirements.
- Markdown Documentation Tools - Transforms Terraform module metadata into structured Markdown tables for use in repositories.
- Metadata Exporters - Exports Terraform module information into JSON, YAML, XML, TOML, and AsciiDoc formats.
- Resource Visibility Filters - Omits specific resources or variables from the documentation based on keywords found in comments.
- Documentation Generation - Automatically produces technical documentation for a main module and all nested sub-modules in one execution.
- Comment-Based Filtering - Scans source code comments for specific keywords to omit resources or variables from the final documentation.
- YAML Configuration Files - Supports tool behavior and preference configuration via YAML files.
- Output Visibility Controls - Allows toggling specific content sections on or off via flags or configuration to customize output.
- Recursive Directory Traversers - Walks through nested directory structures to discover and document all sub-modules in a single pass.
- State Value Injection - Injects real-time values from a Terraform state file into documentation to show actual deployment results.
- UI Template Customization - Uses a template engine to rearrange sections and define custom document structures.
- Workflow Automation - Generate documentation from modules.
- Workflow Utilities - Utility for generating documentation from modules.
