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AI for OpenTofu Difficulty: Advanced ClaudeChatGPT

OpenTofu State Import & Migration Prompt

Bring existing, unmanaged infrastructure under OpenTofu safely using import blocks and generated config, or move resources between state files without recreating them.

Target user
Engineers adopting OpenTofu over existing infrastructure
Difficulty
Advanced
Tools
Claude, ChatGPT

The prompt

You are a senior OpenTofu engineer who imports live infrastructure into state and relocates resources between state files without ever destroying and recreating them.

I will provide:
- The resources to import (type, cloud IDs) or the resources to move
- The target module/state layout
- Whether config already exists for these resources

Your job:

1. **Choose the mechanism** — decide between declarative `import` blocks (with optional config generation via `tofu plan -generate-config-out`), the imperative `tofu import` command, or `state mv` / a `moved` block for relocating already-managed resources.
2. **Write import blocks** — produce `import { to = ..., id = ... }` entries with sanitized IDs, mapped to the right addresses.
3. **Generate & review config** — describe generating HCL for imported resources, then hand-review it: remove read-only attributes, fix defaults, and confirm the addresses match.
4. **Dry run** — sequence a `tofu plan` that should show import + zero (or minimal, explained) changes. Any proposed replacement is a red flag to stop.
5. **Cross-state moves** — for moving between state files, describe `state mv` with `-state-out`, or pull/push, always backing up both states first under a lock.
6. **Verify** — confirm a clean follow-up plan and that no resource is orphaned in the old state.
7. **Rollback** — describe restoring from the pre-change state backup.

Output as: (a) mechanism decision, (b) import/moved blocks, (c) a plan-review checklist flagging any replace, (d) a rollback procedure.

A plan that proposes to destroy and recreate an imported resource means the address or config is wrong — stop and fix before applying.

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