github.com/muratcelep/terraform@v1.1.0-beta2-not-internal-4/website/docs/language/files/index.html.md (about) 1 --- 2 layout: "language" 3 page_title: "Files and Directories - Configuration Language" 4 description: "Learn how to name, organize, and store Terraform configuration files. Also learn how Terraform evaluates modules." 5 --- 6 7 # Files and Directories 8 9 ## File Extension 10 11 Code in the Terraform language is stored in plain text files with the `.tf` file 12 extension. There is also 13 [a JSON-based variant of the language](/docs/language/syntax/json.html) that is named with 14 the `.tf.json` file extension. 15 16 Files containing Terraform code are often called _configuration files._ 17 18 ## Text Encoding 19 20 Configuration files must always use UTF-8 encoding, and by convention 21 usually use Unix-style line endings (LF) rather than Windows-style 22 line endings (CRLF), though both are accepted. 23 24 ## Directories and Modules 25 26 A _module_ is a collection of `.tf` and/or `.tf.json` files kept together in a 27 directory. 28 29 A Terraform module only consists of the top-level configuration files in a 30 directory; nested directories are treated as completely separate modules, and 31 are not automatically included in the configuration. 32 33 Terraform evaluates all of the configuration files in a module, effectively 34 treating the entire module as a single document. Separating various blocks into 35 different files is purely for the convenience of readers and maintainers, and 36 has no effect on the module's behavior. 37 38 A Terraform module can use [module calls](/docs/language/modules/index.html) to 39 explicitly include other modules into the configuration. These child modules can 40 come from local directories (nested in the parent module's directory, or 41 anywhere else on disk), or from external sources like the 42 [Terraform Registry](https://registry.terraform.io). 43 44 ## The Root Module 45 46 Terraform always runs in the context of a single _root module._ A complete 47 _Terraform configuration_ consists of a root module and the tree of child 48 modules (which includes the modules called by the root module, any modules 49 called by those modules, etc.). 50 51 - In Terraform CLI, the root module is the working directory where Terraform is 52 invoked. (You can use command line options to specify a root module outside 53 the working directory, but in practice this is rare. ) 54 - In Terraform Cloud and Terraform Enterprise, the root module for a workspace 55 defaults to the top level of the configuration directory (supplied via version 56 control repository or direct upload), but the workspace settings can specify a 57 subdirectory to use instead. 58