Tools: How I Documented My Terraform DevSecOps Project

Documenting a Terraform DevSecOps project effectively combines automated documentation, clear architecture visualization, and reproducible setup instructions—mirroring real-world DevOps practices where clarity, consistency, and collaboration are critical. Using tools like terraform-docs, you can automatically generate and maintain up-to-date READMEs, while integrating diagrams and step-by-step guides ensures onboarding and audits are seamless. ****Step-by-step instructions Install terraform-docs using a package manager (e.g., choco install terraform-docs on Windows, brew install terraform-docs on macOS, or download from terraform-docs GitHub) Organize your Terraform project with clear module structure (e.g., main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf) Write descriptive comments for variables, outputs, and resources using the description field Create a .terraform-docs.yml configuration file in the project root to define the README structure: Run terraform-docs markdown table --output-file README.md . to auto-generate the documentation block inside README.md. Manually add sections above or below the auto-generated content: name: Generate Terraform Docs
on: pull_request: branches: [ main ]
jobs: docs: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v3 - name: Generate README.md with terraform-docs uses: terraform-docs/[email protected] with: output-file: README.md output-method: inject git-push: "true" Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Are you sure you want to hide this comment? It will become hidden in your post, but will still be visible via the comment's permalink. Hide child comments as well For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse CODE_BLOCK:
Terraform CLI
terraform-docs (installed locally or in CI)
Markdown editor
Diagramming tool (e.g., Lucidchart, Draw.io, or Excalidraw)
GitHub or similar repo platform Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK:
Terraform CLI
terraform-docs (installed locally or in CI)
Markdown editor
Diagramming tool (e.g., Lucidchart, Draw.io, or Excalidraw)
GitHub or similar repo platform CODE_BLOCK:
Terraform CLI
terraform-docs (installed locally or in CI)
Markdown editor
Diagramming tool (e.g., Lucidchart, Draw.io, or Excalidraw)
GitHub or similar repo platform COMMAND_BLOCK:
version: "1"
sections: show: - requirements - providers - inputs - outputs - resources
content: | # {{ .Escape .Name }} {{ if .Has .Content }}{{ .Content }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Requirements }}## Requirements{{ .Requirements }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Providers }}## Providers{{ .Providers }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Modules }}## Modules{{ .Modules }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Inputs }}## Inputs{{ .Inputs }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Outputs }}## Outputs{{ .Outputs }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Resources }}## Resources{{ .Resources }}{{ end }} Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode COMMAND_BLOCK:
version: "1"
sections: show: - requirements - providers - inputs - outputs - resources
content: | # {{ .Escape .Name }} {{ if .Has .Content }}{{ .Content }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Requirements }}## Requirements{{ .Requirements }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Providers }}## Providers{{ .Providers }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Modules }}## Modules{{ .Modules }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Inputs }}## Inputs{{ .Inputs }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Outputs }}## Outputs{{ .Outputs }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Resources }}## Resources{{ .Resources }}{{ end }} COMMAND_BLOCK:
version: "1"
sections: show: - requirements - providers - inputs - outputs - resources
content: | # {{ .Escape .Name }} {{ if .Has .Content }}{{ .Content }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Requirements }}## Requirements{{ .Requirements }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Providers }}## Providers{{ .Providers }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Modules }}## Modules{{ .Modules }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Inputs }}## Inputs{{ .Inputs }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Outputs }}## Outputs{{ .Outputs }}{{ end }} {{ if .Has .Resources }}## Resources{{ .Resources }}{{ end }} CODE_BLOCK:
- Project Title and Description
- Architecture Flow (embed or link a diagram showing CI/CD pipeline, IaC flow, security gates)
- Setup Instructions: Clone the repo Run terraform init Run terraform plan to review changes Run terraform apply to deploy - DevSecOps Integration Notes (e.g., Checkov for static analysis, GitHub Actions for CI/CD) - Commit both .terraform-docs.yml and updated README.md to version control
(Optional) Set up a GitHub Action to auto-update the README on pull requests: Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode CODE_BLOCK:
- Project Title and Description
- Architecture Flow (embed or link a diagram showing CI/CD pipeline, IaC flow, security gates)
- Setup Instructions: Clone the repo Run terraform init Run terraform plan to review changes Run terraform apply to deploy - DevSecOps Integration Notes (e.g., Checkov for static analysis, GitHub Actions for CI/CD) - Commit both .terraform-docs.yml and updated README.md to version control
(Optional) Set up a GitHub Action to auto-update the README on pull requests: CODE_BLOCK:
- Project Title and Description
- Architecture Flow (embed or link a diagram showing CI/CD pipeline, IaC flow, security gates)
- Setup Instructions: Clone the repo Run terraform init Run terraform plan to review changes Run terraform apply to deploy - DevSecOps Integration Notes (e.g., Checkov for static analysis, GitHub Actions for CI/CD) - Commit both .terraform-docs.yml and updated README.md to version control
(Optional) Set up a GitHub Action to auto-update the README on pull requests: CODE_BLOCK:
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode - Install terraform-docs using a package manager (e.g., choco install terraform-docs on Windows, brew install terraform-docs on macOS, or download from terraform-docs GitHub)
- Organize your Terraform project with clear module structure (e.g., main.tf, variables.tf, outputs.tf)
- Write descriptive comments for variables, outputs, and resources using the description field
- Create a .terraform-docs.yml configuration file in the project root to define the README structure: - Run terraform-docs markdown table --output-file README.md . to auto-generate the documentation block inside README.md.
- Manually add sections above or below the auto-generated content: