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Testing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is critical to prevent outages and misconfigurations. Terraform, a leading IaC tool, requires rigorous validation before deployment. This article explores automating Terraform module testing using CI/CD pipelines and AWS.
You Should Know:
1. Terraform Validate & Plan
Before applying changes, always validate and plan:
terraform init terraform validate terraform plan -out=tfplan
2. Automated Testing with Terratest
Terratest is a Go library for IaC testing. Example test structure:
package test
import (
"testing"
"github.com/gruntwork-io/terratest/modules/terraform"
)
func TestTerraformAWSExample(t testing.T) {
terraformOptions := &terraform.Options{
TerraformDir: "../examples/aws",
}
defer terraform.Destroy(t, terraformOptions)
terraform.InitAndApply(t, terraformOptions)
}
3. CI/CD Integration (GitHub Actions Example)
name: Terraform Test on: [bash] jobs: test: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v2 - uses: hashicorp/setup-terraform@v1 - run: terraform init - run: terraform validate - run: go test -v ./test/...
4. AWS-Specific Checks
Use AWS CLI to verify deployed resources:
aws ec2 describe-instances --filters "Name=tag:Name,Values=my-terraform-instance" aws s3 ls | grep my-terra-bucket
5. Security Scanning with Checkov
pip install checkov checkov -d /path/to/terraform
6. Automated Rollback Mechanism
Store previous state files in S3 for rollback:
aws s3 cp terraform.tfstate s3://my-state-bucket/backup-$(date +%F).tfstate
What Undercode Say
Automated Terraform testing reduces human error and ensures infrastructure reliability. Combining Terratest, CI/CD, and AWS tooling creates a robust validation pipeline. Always test in staging before production.
Expected Output:
- Terraform module tests executed in CI/CD
- AWS resources validated via CLI
- Security scans passed
- Rollback state stored in S3
Prediction
As IaC adoption grows, automated testing frameworks like Terratest will become standard in DevOps pipelines, reducing cloud misconfigurations by 40%.
URL: Build an Automated Terraform Module Test Factory
IT/Security Reporter URL:
Reported By: Darryl Ruggles – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
