github.com/hugorut/terraform@v1.1.3/website/docs/language/files/index.mdx (about)

     1  ---
     2  page_title: Files and Directories - Configuration Language
     3  description: >-
     4    Learn how to name, organize, and store Terraform configuration files. Also
     5    learn how Terraform evaluates modules.
     6  ---
     7  
     8  # Files and Directories
     9  
    10  ## File Extension
    11  
    12  Code in the Terraform language is stored in plain text files with the `.tf` file
    13  extension. There is also
    14  [a JSON-based variant of the language](/language/syntax/json) that is named with
    15  the `.tf.json` file extension.
    16  
    17  Files containing Terraform code are often called _configuration files._
    18  
    19  ## Text Encoding
    20  
    21  Configuration files must always use UTF-8 encoding, and by convention
    22  usually use Unix-style line endings (LF) rather than Windows-style
    23  line endings (CRLF), though both are accepted.
    24  
    25  ## Directories and Modules
    26  
    27  A _module_ is a collection of `.tf` and/or `.tf.json` files kept together in a
    28  directory.
    29  
    30  A Terraform module only consists of the top-level configuration files in a
    31  directory; nested directories are treated as completely separate modules, and
    32  are not automatically included in the configuration.
    33  
    34  Terraform evaluates all of the configuration files in a module, effectively
    35  treating the entire module as a single document. Separating various blocks into
    36  different files is purely for the convenience of readers and maintainers, and
    37  has no effect on the module's behavior.
    38  
    39  A Terraform module can use [module calls](/language/modules) to
    40  explicitly include other modules into the configuration. These child modules can
    41  come from local directories (nested in the parent module's directory, or
    42  anywhere else on disk), or from external sources like the
    43  [Terraform Registry](https://registry.terraform.io).
    44  
    45  ## The Root Module
    46  
    47  Terraform always runs in the context of a single _root module._ A complete
    48  _Terraform configuration_ consists of a root module and the tree of child
    49  modules (which includes the modules called by the root module, any modules
    50  called by those modules, etc.).
    51  
    52  - In Terraform CLI, the root module is the working directory where Terraform is
    53    invoked. (You can use command line options to specify a root module outside
    54    the working directory, but in practice this is rare. )
    55  - In Terraform Cloud and Terraform Enterprise, the root module for a workspace
    56    defaults to the top level of the configuration directory (supplied via version
    57    control repository or direct upload), but the workspace settings can specify a
    58    subdirectory to use instead.