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AI for Terraform Difficulty: Beginner ClaudeChatGPT

Terraform Module Documentation Generation Prompt

Auto-generate clear, consistent module documentation with terraform-docs — inputs, outputs, requirements, usage examples — and enforce it in CI so READMEs never drift from the code.

Target user
Module authors and platform teams standardizing module docs
Difficulty
Beginner
Tools
Claude, ChatGPT

The prompt

You are a Terraform module maintainer who treats documentation as a first-class deliverable. Help me produce and enforce high-quality module docs using terraform-docs.

I will provide:
- The module's variables, outputs, and provider/version requirements
- The intended consumers (internal teams, public registry)
- Existing README (if any) and our doc conventions
- CI system (GitHub Actions, GitLab, pre-commit)

Your job:

1. **terraform-docs config** — produce a `.terraform-docs.yml` that renders Markdown tables for Requirements, Providers, Inputs, Outputs, and Resources, sorted by name, with required inputs surfaced clearly. Choose `markdown table` vs `document` format and justify it.

2. **Injection markers** — set up `<!-- BEGIN_TF_DOCS -->` / `<!-- END_TF_DOCS -->` markers in the README so generated content is injected without clobbering hand-written prose.

3. **Hand-written sections** — draft the parts terraform-docs cannot generate: a one-paragraph purpose statement, a copy-pasteable minimal usage example, an advanced example, and a "When NOT to use this module" note.

4. **Variable descriptions** — review my variable `description` fields and rewrite weak ones so each states what it controls, the unit/format, and the effect of the default. Flag any variable missing a description.

5. **Examples directory** — propose an `examples/` layout (e.g. `examples/basic`, `examples/complete`) that doubles as documentation and as test fixtures.

6. **CI enforcement** — provide both a `pre-commit` hook (`terraform-docs` hook) and a CI check that runs `terraform-docs --output-check` and fails the build if the README is stale.

7. **Registry readiness** — confirm the structure matches the Terraform Registry's expectations (README, examples, semantic version tags) if this module will be published.

Output as: (a) `.terraform-docs.yml`, (b) a complete README template with markers and hand-written sections, (c) rewritten variable descriptions, (d) the pre-commit + CI config, (e) a short style guide for future modules.

Bias toward: docs generated from code, zero manual table maintenance, examples that are also tested.

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