Is the generated main.tf ready to run with `terraform apply`?

It's a realistic starting skeleton, not a drop-in production config. AWS output still needs a real `ami_id` supplied, Azure needs an `azurerm_resource_group` and `azurerm_network_interface` defined elsewhere in the module, and Google needs a valid `project_id`. Treat it as the resource and variable/output wiring you'd otherwise type by hand, then fill in the environment-specific values.

Why does it only generate one resource per provider?

Real Terraform configs mix dozens of resource types, so a generator that tried to cover all of them would be more confusing than useful. This tool focuses on the most common starting point, a single compute instance per provider, so you get correct block syntax and naming conventions you can copy for other resource types.

How do the tags I enter map to the provider's field name?

AWS and Azure both use a `tags` map, while Google Cloud uses `labels` instead of `tags` at the API level, so this tool automatically renders your key/value pairs under the correct field name for whichever provider you pick.

Can I generate resources for more than one provider at once?

No, pick one provider per generation since a single Terraform root module normally targets one cloud at a time. Run the tool again with a different provider selected if you need a second skeleton to paste into a separate module.

Terraform Generator - Build a main.tf Skeleton

Overview

Introduction

Every Terraform root module starts the same way: a provider block, one resource, a variable or two, and an output to confirm what got created. Typing that boilerplate from memory for a provider you don't touch often means re-checking the exact argument names every time.

This tool generates that starting skeleton for AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, a provider block, a common compute resource with name/type/region/tags, a matching variable declaration, and an output stub, entirely client-side.

What Is Terraform Config Generator?

A Terraform main.tf generator that produces a provider block plus one representative compute resource, aws_instance for AWS, azurerm_linux_virtual_machine for Azure, or google_compute_instance for Google Cloud, along with the variables the resource references and an output exposing its ID.

The output is plain HCL text you can paste straight into a main.tf file or use as a reference for the correct argument names and block structure for that provider.

How Terraform Config Generator Works

You pick a provider, then fill in a resource name, an instance/machine type, a region (or location), and any number of key/value tags.

The tool assembles a provider block, the corresponding resource block with provider-appropriate argument names (instance_type vs. size vs. machine_type), a variables block declaring the inputs the resource references, and an output block exposing the created resource's ID, all validated to be syntactically well-formed HCL.

When To Use Terraform Config Generator

Use it when starting a new Terraform module and you want a correct skeleton for a specific provider's compute resource without hunting through provider documentation for exact argument names.

It's also handy for quickly comparing how the same conceptual resource, a VM, is expressed differently across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud's Terraform providers.

Often used alongside Terraform Variables Generator, Terraform Outputs Generator and Terraform Backend Generator.

Features

Advantages

Produces provider-correct argument names (instance_type for AWS, size for Azure, machine_type for Google) instead of a generic placeholder structure.
Includes the variable declarations and output block the resource actually references, not just the resource block in isolation.
Runs entirely in the browser, nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Limitations

Only generates one resource type per provider (a virtual machine/instance); it doesn't cover storage, networking, or IAM resources.
Doesn't create supporting resources the skeleton references, such as an Azure resource group or network interface, you still need to define those.

Examples

AWS instance skeleton

Input

provider: aws, resourceName: web, instanceType: t3.micro, region: us-east-1, tags: [{Name: web-server}]

Output

provider "aws" {
  region = var.region
}

resource "aws_instance" "web" {
  ami           = var.ami_id
  instance_type = var.instance_type

  tags = {
    Name = "web-server"
  }
}

variable "region" {
  type        = string
  description = "Region (or location) to deploy into."
  default     = "us-east-1"
}

variable "instance_type" {
  type        = string
  description = "Machine/instance size."
  default     = "t3.micro"
}

variable "ami_id" {
  type        = string
  description = "AMI ID to launch the instance from."
}

output "web_id" {
  description = "ID of the created resource."
  value       = aws_instance.web.id
}

AWS requires an explicit ami_id variable since AWS has no default image, so the generator adds that variable automatically alongside region and instance_type.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

Rename the generated resource label from the default to something descriptive of its role (e.g. web, db, bastion) before committing it.
Pin the provider version in a separate `required_providers` block rather than relying on whatever version Terraform happens to fetch.
Move hardcoded defaults like region into a terraform.tfvars file per environment instead of editing the variable's default directly.

Developer Notes

The generator maps each provider to one representative resource type (aws_instance, azurerm_linux_virtual_machine, google_compute_instance) and renders provider-specific argument names and required companion resources as comments/expectations rather than pretending they don't exist; Google Cloud's tags render as a `labels` map since GCP has no native tags concept on compute instances, while AWS and Azure both use `tags`.

Terraform Config Generator Use Cases

Scaffolding a new Terraform module's first resource without re-deriving argument names from provider docs
Producing a quick side-by-side comparison of the same VM resource across three cloud providers
Teaching or demonstrating Terraform's HCL resource/variable/output structure

Common Mistakes

Applying the AWS skeleton without supplying a real ami_id, since AWS instances always require an explicit AMI.
Forgetting that the Azure skeleton references a resource group and network interface that must be defined elsewhere in the module.

Tips

Use the Terraform Backend Generator next to add remote state storage for the module this resource lives in.

Terraform Config Generator