https://github.com/cisco-open/stacks

Stacks, the Terraform code pre-processor
https://github.com/cisco-open/stacks

terraform

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Stacks, the Terraform code pre-processor

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/cisco-open/stacks
• Owner: cisco-open
• License: apache-2.0
• Created: 2023-03-15T20:40:01.000Z (about 2 years ago)
• Default Branch: main
• Last Pushed: 2025-04-01T13:15:58.000Z (14 days ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-04-02T04:05:12.940Z (14 days ago)
• Topics: terraform
• Language: Python
• Homepage:
• Size: 250 KB
• Stars: 178
• Watchers: 5
• Forks: 6
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
  • License: LICENSE
  • Codeowners: .github/CODEOWNERS

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README

        


	


	
Stacks for Terraform

	
The Terraform code pre-processor



## What is Stacks?

**Stacks** is a [Terraform](https://www.terraform.io/) code pre-processor.

Its primary goal is to minimize your total Terraform codebase without giving up on coverage. To do more with less.

As a code pre-processor, Stacks receives your "input code" and returns "output code" for Terraform to consume.

Stacks was originally developed and continues to be maintained by the Infrastructure SRE team at [Cisco ThousandEyes](https://www.thousandeyes.com/).

It was initially presented and open-sourced at [SREcon23 Americas](https://www.usenix.org/conference/srecon23americas/presentation/bejarano).

You can read "Terraform" and "OpenTofu" interchangeably, Stacks works with both but we've chosen to go with "Terraform" for readability.

The ["I am starting from scratch" quick-start guide](<2.2. I am starting from scratch.md>) is a good introduction to Stacks and what it does.

## Documentation

1. About

    1. [Considerations before using]()

    2. [Stacks vs. its alternatives]()

2. Quick-start guide

    1. [Installation instructions]()

    2. [I am starting from scratch]()

    3. [I am collaborating to an existing stack]()

    4. [I am collaborating to Stacks itself]()

3. Reference

    1. Native features

        1. [Global Terraform code]()

        2. [Reusable root modules]()

        3. [Jinja templating for Terraform]()

        4. [Jinja templating for variables]()

        5. [Custom Jinja functions]()

        6. [Inline secret encryption]()

        7. [Automatic variable initialization]()

    2. Features you can build with Stacks

        1. [Terraform state backend configuration]()

        2. [Terraform provider generation]()

        3. [Input validation]()

    3. Command-line interface

        1. [`stacks render`]()

        2. [`stacks terraform`]()

        3. [`stacks diff`]()

        4. [`stacks encrypt`]()

        5. [`stacks decrypt`]()

        6. [`stacks surgery list`]()

        7. [`stacks surgery import`]()

        8. [`stacks surgery remove`]()

        9. [`stacks surgery rename`]()

        10. [`stacks surgery move`]()

        11. [`stacks surgery edit`]()

        12. [`stacks version`]()

    4. [Directory structure]()

    5. [Special variables]()