Terraform Practice Projects

This directory contains all Terraform practice projects - from local machine to cloud providers.

Project Structure

terraform-practice/
README.md # This file
TERRAFORM_CHEATSHEET.md # Complete reference
QUICK_REFERENCE.md # Quick overview

01-local-files/ # BEGINNER - Local files
main.tf
README.md

02-podman/ # BEGINNER - Podman containers
main.tf
variables.tf
terraform.tfvars.example
README.md

03-null-provider/ # INTERMEDIATE - Run scripts
main.tf
README.md

10-kvm-local/ # LOCAL VM - KVM/QEMU
main.tf
variables.tf
README.md

20-aws-ec2/ # CLOUD - AWS EC2
main.tf
variables.tf
README.md

30-gcp-vm/ # CLOUD - Google Cloud VM
main.tf
variables.tf
README.md

Learning Path

Week 1 - BASICS (LOCAL, SAFE)

Day 1-2: Local Files

cd 01-local-files
cat README.md # Read it
terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
terraform destroy

What you learn: init, plan, apply, destroy, resource, output

Day 3-4: Podman

cd 02-podman
cat README.md
terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
# Test: curl http://localhost:8080
terraform destroy

What you learn: provider, variable, docker/podman integration

Day 5-7: KVM Virtual Machine

cd 10-kvm-local
cat README.md
terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
# Wait 2-3 minutes
terraform output vm_ip
ssh ubuntu@<VM_IP>
terraform destroy

What you learn: cloud-init, networking, data source, dependencies

Week 2 - CLOUD BASICS

Day 1-3: AWS EC2 Free Tier

# 1. AWS account registration
# 2. AWS CLI configuration

cd 20-aws-ec2
cat README.md # IMPORTANT: read about costs!
export TF_VAR_project_id="terraform-practice" # Or terraform.tfvars

terraform init
terraform plan # Check the preview!
terraform apply

# Test
curl $(terraform output -raw web_url)

# IMPORTANT: Destroy!
terraform destroy

What you learn: VPC, Security Group, AWS provider, Free Tier

Day 4-7: Google Cloud VM Always Free

# 1. GCP account registration
# 2. gcloud CLI installation and configuration

cd 30-gcp-vm
cat README.md
export TF_VAR_project_id="YOUR_GCP_PROJECT_ID"

terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply

# Test
curl $(terraform output -raw web_url)

# Cleanup
terraform destroy

What you learn: GCP provider, firewall rules, static IP

Week 3 - ADVANCED CONCEPTS

Modules: Reusable components
State management: Remote backend (S3, GCS)
Workspaces: dev/staging/prod environments
For_each: Managing multiple resources
Data sources: Querying existing infrastructure

Quick Start - START NOW!

If you're completely new:

cd ~/terraform-practice/01-local-files
cat README.md
terraform init
terraform apply

If you have Terraform experience:

cd ~/terraform-practice/10-kvm-local
cat README.md
terraform init
terraform apply

If you want to practice cloud (after registration):

# AWS:
cd ~/terraform-practice/20-aws-ec2

# GCP:
cd ~/terraform-practice/30-gcp-vm

Cost Comparison

Project	Cost	Time Limit	Recommended
01-local-files	$0	∞	For beginners
02-podman	$0	∞	For beginners
10-kvm-local	$0	∞	Best for practice!
20-aws-ec2	$0*	12 months	For cloud learning
30-gcp-vm	$0*	Always Free!	Free forever!

*Staying within Free Tier limits

IMPORTANT WARNINGS

AWS

Free Tier: 750 hours/month (12 months)
ALWAYS destroy after practice!
Set up Billing Alert at $1!
Only use t2.micro instances!

Google Cloud

Always Free: 1 e2-micro (forever!)
$300 credit for 90 days
Only in us-central1, us-west1, us-east1 regions!
Set up Budget Alert!

KVM (Local)

Completely free
No time limit
Best for practice!
Uses laptop resources

Documentation

Terraform general:

TERRAFORM_CHEATSHEET.md - Complete reference (all keywords)
QUICK_REFERENCE.md - Quick overview (most important things)

Project-specific:

Every project has a detailed README.md
Installation guide
Usage examples
Troubleshooting
Practice exercises

Learning Tips

1. Start small

# DON'T:
terraform apply # Immediately

# DO:
terraform plan # Check it first!
terraform apply # Then apply

2. Read the plan output

terraform plan
# + create (new)
# ~ modify (change)
# - destroy (delete)
# -/+ destroy and create (replace)

3. Use variables

# DON'T:
resource "..." "..." {
port = 8080
}

# DO:
variable "port" { default = 8080 }
resource "..." "..." {
port = var.port
}

4. Output important information

output "vm_ip" {
value = resource.type.name.ip
}

5. ALWAYS destroy after practice

terraform destroy
# Otherwise:
# - KVM: Laptop resource waste
# - AWS/GCP: Costs incur!

Troubleshooting

"command not found: terraform"

# Install it:
sudo dnf install terraform

"Error: Failed to query available provider packages"

# Proxy or network issue
# Check internet connection

"Error: Unsupported argument"

# Syntax error
terraform validate # Check
terraform fmt # Format

KVM/Libvirt issues

# Libvirtd not running:
sudo systemctl start libvirtd

# User not in libvirt group:
sudo usermod -aG libvirt $USER
# Log out and back in!

AWS Credentials

# Not configured:
aws configure

# Or:
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="..."
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="..."

GCP Credentials

# Not logged in:
gcloud auth application-default login

# API not enabled:
gcloud services enable compute.googleapis.com

Next Steps After Practice

Create modules - Reusable components
Remote state - S3/GCS backend
CI/CD integration - GitHub Actions, GitLab CI
Kubernetes provider - Manage K8s resources
Helm provider - Helm charts with Terraform
Terragrunt - DRY Terraform config

Help

If you get stuck:

README.md - Every project has detailed description
CHEATSHEET.md - Terraform reference
Official docs: https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/docs
Provider docs:
AWS: https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/aws/latest/docs
GCP: https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/google/latest/docs
Libvirt: https://registry.terraform.io/providers/dmacvicar/libvirt/latest/docs

Checklist - Before Starting

Terraform installed (terraform version)
Git initialized (optional, but recommended)
SSH key created (~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub)
Chosen provider prerequisites (KVM/AWS/GCP)
README.md read
Always check plan output before apply
Destroy resources after practice

Happy practicing!

If you have questions, check the CHEATSHEET.md or project README!