github.com/terramate-io/tf@v0.0.0-20230830114523-fce866b4dfcd/website/docs/language/providers/index.mdx (about)

     1  ---
     2  page_title: Providers - Configuration Language
     3  description: >-
     4    An overview of how to install and use providers, Terraform plugins that
     5    interact with services, cloud providers, and other APIs.
     6  ---
     7  
     8  # Providers
     9  
    10  > **Hands-on:** Try the [Perform CRUD Operations with Providers](/terraform/tutorials/configuration-language/provider-use?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS) tutorial.
    11  
    12  Terraform relies on plugins called providers to interact with cloud providers,
    13  SaaS providers, and other APIs.
    14  
    15  Terraform configurations must declare which providers they require so that
    16  Terraform can install and use them. Additionally, some providers require
    17  configuration (like endpoint URLs or cloud regions) before they can be used.
    18  
    19  ## What Providers Do
    20  
    21  Each provider adds a set of [resource types](/terraform/language/resources)
    22  and/or [data sources](/terraform/language/data-sources) that Terraform can
    23  manage.
    24  
    25  Every resource type is implemented by a provider; without providers, Terraform
    26  can't manage any kind of infrastructure.
    27  
    28  Most providers configure a specific infrastructure platform (either cloud or
    29  self-hosted). Providers can also offer local utilities for tasks like
    30  generating random numbers for unique resource names.
    31  
    32  ## Where Providers Come From
    33  
    34  Providers are distributed separately from Terraform itself, and each provider
    35  has its own release cadence and version numbers.
    36  
    37  The [Terraform Registry](https://registry.terraform.io/browse/providers)
    38  is the main directory of publicly available Terraform providers, and hosts
    39  providers for most major infrastructure platforms.
    40  
    41  ## Provider Documentation
    42  
    43  Each provider has its own documentation, describing its resource
    44  types and their arguments.
    45  
    46  The [Terraform Registry](https://registry.terraform.io/browse/providers)
    47  includes documentation for a wide range of providers developed by HashiCorp, third-party vendors, and our Terraform community. Use the
    48  "Documentation" link in a provider's header to browse its documentation.
    49  
    50  Provider documentation in the Registry is versioned; you can use the version
    51  menu in the header to change which version you're viewing.
    52  
    53  For details about writing, generating, and previewing provider documentation,
    54  see the [provider publishing documentation](/terraform/registry/providers/docs).
    55  
    56  ## How to Use Providers
    57  
    58  Providers are released separately from Terraform itself and have their own version numbers. In production we recommend constraining the acceptable provider versions in the configuration's provider requirements block, to make sure that `terraform init` does not install newer versions of the provider that are incompatible with the configuration.
    59  
    60  To use resources from a given provider, you need to include some information
    61  about it in your configuration. See the following pages for details:
    62  
    63  - [Provider Requirements](/terraform/language/providers/requirements)
    64    documents how to declare providers so Terraform can install them.
    65  
    66  - [Provider Configuration](/terraform/language/providers/configuration)
    67    documents how to configure settings for providers.
    68  
    69  - [Dependency Lock File](/terraform/language/files/dependency-lock)
    70    documents an additional HCL file that can be included with a configuration,
    71    which tells Terraform to always use a specific set of provider versions.
    72  
    73  ## Provider Installation
    74  
    75  - Terraform Cloud and Terraform Enterprise install providers as part of every run.
    76  
    77  - Terraform CLI finds and installs providers when
    78    [initializing a working directory](/terraform/cli/init). It can
    79    automatically download providers from a Terraform registry, or load them from
    80    a local mirror or cache. If you are using a persistent working directory, you
    81    must reinitialize whenever you change a configuration's providers.
    82  
    83    To save time and bandwidth, Terraform CLI supports an optional plugin
    84    cache. You can enable the cache using the `plugin_cache_dir` setting in
    85    [the CLI configuration file](/terraform/cli/config/config-file).
    86  
    87  To ensure Terraform always installs the same provider versions for a given
    88  configuration, you can use Terraform CLI to create a
    89  [dependency lock file](/terraform/language/files/dependency-lock)
    90  and commit it to version control along with your configuration. If a lock file
    91  is present, Terraform Cloud, CLI, and Enterprise will all obey it when
    92  installing providers.
    93  
    94  > **Hands-on:** Try the [Lock and Upgrade Provider Versions](/terraform/tutorials/configuration-language/provider-versioning?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS) tutorial.
    95  
    96  ## How to Find Providers
    97  
    98  To find providers for the infrastructure platforms you use, browse
    99  [the providers section of the Terraform Registry](https://registry.terraform.io/browse/providers).
   100  
   101  Some providers on the Registry are developed and published by HashiCorp, some
   102  are published by platform maintainers, and some are published by users and
   103  volunteers. The provider listings use the following badges to indicate who
   104  develops and maintains a given provider.
   105  
   106  <ProviderTable />
   107  <p></p>
   108  
   109  ## How to Develop Providers
   110  
   111  Providers are written in Go, using the Terraform Plugin SDK. For more
   112  information on developing providers, see:
   113  
   114  - The [Plugin Development](/terraform/plugin) documentation
   115  - The [Call APIs with Terraform Providers](/terraform/tutorials/providers-plugin-framework?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS) tutorials