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init Generator

The init generator adds the nx-terraform plugin to your Nx workspace configuration. This is the first step required when adding Terraform support to an existing Nx workspace.

Usage​

nx g nx-terraform:init

Options​

This generator has no options or parameters. It simply registers the plugin in your workspace configuration.

What It Does​

  • Reads the current nx.json configuration
  • Checks if the nx-terraform plugin is already registered
  • Adds the plugin to nx.json.plugins array if not present: 
    {
      "plugin": "nx-terraform",
      "options": {}
    }
  • Formats modified files

Behavior​

  • Idempotent: Safely re-runnable - checks if plugin already exists before adding
  • Non-destructive: Only adds plugin entry, doesn't modify existing configuration
  • No file generation: Only modifies nx.json

Examples​

Adding Terraform Support to Existing Workspace​

# Add nx-terraform plugin to workspace
nx g nx-terraform:init

# Now you can create Terraform projects
nx g nx-terraform:terraform-backend my-backend --backendType=local

Verifying Plugin Registration​

After running the generator, check nx.json:

{
  "plugins": [
    {
      "plugin": "nx-terraform",
      "options": {}
    }
  ]
}

Configuring Target Arguments​

You can override target arguments in individual project.json files using options.args and configurations. See the Configuration guide for examples of using args with -var-file for different environments.

When to Use​

  • Adding Terraform support to an existing Nx workspace
  • Manual setup when you don't want to use the preset generator
  • Incremental adoption of Terraform in a workspace that already has other projects
  • preset: Automatically runs init as part of complete workspace setup
  • terraform-backend: Creates backend projects (requires init to be run first)
  • terraform-module: Creates module projects (requires init to be run first)

Notes​

  • This generator is automatically invoked by the preset generator
  • The plugin registration enables automatic discovery of Terraform projects: the plugin scans **/project.json and creates Terraform targets for projects that have metadata['nx-terraform'].projectType set (use the generators to create projects with this metadata)