Overview

Updated in May 2025. This course now features Coursera Coach! A smarter way to learn with interactive, real-time conversations that help you test your knowledge, challenge assumptions, and deepen your understanding as you progress through the course. This advanced Terraform course teaches you how to master variables, modules, and state management. By the end, you'll be proficient in defining and implementing input variables, validating and typing them, and managing data structures like maps and objects. You’ll learn to handle sensitive data securely, use .tfvars and .auto.tfvars files, and write clean Terraform code. The course includes hands-on exercises to apply features like count and for_each to manage multiple resources, and covers module design, including reusable AWS modules for EC2 and VPCs. You’ll also learn best practices for organizing, testing, and publishing Terraform modules to enhance workflow efficiency. As you progress, you’ll explore state management, including importing, refactoring, and removing infrastructure. You’ll master tools like the taint command and validating resources with preconditions and postconditions, enabling confident handling of complex deployments. This course is ideal for professionals with prior experience in Terraform or cloud infrastructure management looking to refine modular design and state management skills.

Syllabus

Handling Input Variables, Locals, and Outputs

In this module, we will explore how to effectively handle input variables, locals, and outputs within Terraform. You will learn how to define flexible input variables, utilize locals for enhanced manageability, and manage outputs to pass key information between different parts of your infrastructure. Additionally, we will cover techniques to securely manage sensitive values and ensure configurations remain robust and clean.

Using Expressions and Functions

In this module, we will dive into using expressions and functions to enhance your Terraform configurations. You'll learn how to work with operators, iterate over data structures with for expressions, and apply built-in functions to transform data. Additionally, we will explore splat expressions for efficient referencing of multiple resource attributes and demonstrate methods for converting between lists and maps.

Managing Multiple Resources

In this module, we will cover managing multiple resources in Terraform using the count and for_each meta-arguments. You will practice creating EC2 instances dynamically using list and map variables, and learn how to extend configurations to handle subnet information for efficient resource placement. Additionally, we will explore validation techniques to maintain data integrity and consistency across your infrastructure.

Project - Managing IAM Users

In this section, we will guide you through a hands-on project to manage IAM users in AWS. You will learn how to define users, roles, and permissions, securely configure passwords, and implement AWS managed policies. By the end of the project, you’ll have practical experience in managing IAM users and roles and ensuring the security of your AWS environment.

Working with Modules

In this module, we will focus on Terraform modules, helping you structure and reuse configurations more efficiently. You will explore public modules from the Terraform Registry, practice building custom modules, and learn how to test and publish them. Best practices for module design will also be covered to ensure that your code is both maintainable and reusable.

Validating Objects

In this module, we will explore the use of preconditions, postconditions, and check blocks to validate and verify your Terraform resources. You will learn how to implement these features to ensure that your resources are deployed and configured correctly, reducing the chance of errors. By automating validation, you can maintain a consistent and reliable infrastructure.

Managing State in Terraform

In this module, we will explore how to manage Terraform's state file and perform operations like refactoring resources, importing existing infrastructure, and removing resources from the state. You will learn to manipulate the state file effectively and use commands like taint to ensure that resources are properly replaced or managed, all while maintaining the integrity of your infrastructure.