Terraform turns CloudFront configuration from a multi-screen console exercise into a single readable configuration file. The AWS CloudFront Terraform module enables you to efficiently provision and manage CloudFront distributions through Infrastructure as Code. This guide provides comprehensive instructions for using the AWS CloudFront Terraform module. It explains how to configure and implement CloudFront distributions using the Terraform AWS provider, covering basic to advanced usage patterns, key configuration options, and integration patterns with other AWS resources.
CloudFront is AWS's content delivery network, and it does a lot more than just caching static files. It handles SSL termination, custom domains, request routing, edge functions, and geographic restrictions. But configuring CloudFront through the console is painful - there are dozens of settings spread across multiple screens. Terraform turns all of that into a single, readable configuration file.
Core Concepts Before You Write Code
Understanding the CloudFront model is essential before translating it to Terraform.
- Origin: The source of the files that CloudFront delivers to clients. This can be an Amazon S3 container, an HTTP server, or other web servers.
- Edge Area: The physical location where content is stored and served to clients. These are decisively positioned all over the planet to guarantee low-inactivity access.
- Viewer Certificate: An SSL/TLS certificate used to scramble the association between CloudFront and end-users. It tends to be the default CloudFront certificate or a custom uploaded transferred to AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM).
- Every Distribution has a one of a kind CloudFront domain name.
Terraform is an open-source IaC tool that permits clients to characterize and automate the deployment of Infrastructure.
- Provider: In Terraform, a provider is liable for overseeing assets in a particular cloud or service. For AWS, the provider is "aws." without a provider we cannot create an infrastructure by using Terraform
- Resource: A block in Terraform setup that defines a particular infrastructure part (e.g., EC2 instance, S3 bucket, CloudFront distribution).
- Variable: A parameter in Terraform that allows you to enter values dynamically, giving adaptability to your infrastructure definitions.
- Module: An assortment of Terraform configuration files and scripts gathered to make reusable and shareable parts.
- State: The record of the present status of the foundation overseen by Terraform
The state document is fundamental for Terraform to understand the current infrastructure and track changes after some time.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): A technique for overseeing and provisioning framework utilizing code instead of manual cycles. Terraform is an open-source IaC tool that permits clients to characterize and automate the deployment of Infrastructure.
Managing CloudFront distributions can be a complex task, requiring constant updates to configuration files and balancing performance, security, and scalability. Terraform, an infrastructure as code (IaC) tool, simplifies this process by allowing you to define infrastructure in a human-readable configuration file
Provider and Environment Setup
Step-By-Step Process for AWS CloudFront Using Terraform
Step 1: Launch EC2 instance with Amazon Linux2 Kernel 5.10(AMI) along with port numbers set SSH – 22, HTTP 8o and select storage t3.micro.
Step 2: Now connect with git bash terminal by using SSH Client
Step 3: Now install terraform from official site of hashicorp or follow below commands
sudo yum install -y yum-utils
sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo https://rpm.releases.hashicorp.com/AmazonLinux/hashicorp.repo
sudo yum -y install terraform
Step 4: Now create a file for terraform configuration to write a script with .tf extension by using following command
vi <filename.tf>
Now write a terraform script to create AWS CloudFront
Provider section
This section specifies the AWS provider and sets the desired region to "us-east-1". Replace it with your preferred AWS region.
provider "aws" {
region = "us-east-1"
}
Creating S3 bucket
Here, you define an S3 bucket named "my-s3-bucket". The acl parameter sets the bucket access control list to "private"
resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
bucket = "my-s3-bucket"
acl = "private"
}
The most common pattern is serving static assets from an S3 bucket through CloudFront
CloudFront with S3 Origin
The most common pattern is serving static assets from an S3 bucket through CloudFront
Basic awscloudfrontdistribution Usage
A minimal distribution requires an origin and enabled flag.
```
Create a CloudFront Distribution
resource "awscloudfrontdistribution" "example" {
origin {
domainname = "example.com"
originid = "example.com"
}
enabled = true
}
```
This configuration file creates a CloudFront distribution with a single origin server and a custom cache behavior.
| Attribute | Purpose |
|---|---|
| origin.domain_name | The DNS name of the origin |
| origin.origin_id | Unique identifier for the origin |
| enabled | Enables the distribution |
Advanced Configuration: Cache Behavior and Restrictions
Advanced usage expands the distribution with cache policies, protocol enforcement, and geo restrictions.
```
Create a CloudFront Distribution with Custom Cache Behavior
resource "awscloudfrontdistribution" "example" {
origin {
domainname = "example.com"
originid = "example.com"
}
enabled = true
defaultcachebehavior {
allowedmethods = ["DELETE", "GET", "HEAD", "OPTIONS", "PATCH", "POST", "PUT"]
cachedmethods = ["GET", "HEAD"]
targetoriginid = "example.com"
forwardedvalues {
querystring = false
cookies {
forward = "none"
}
}
viewerprotocolpolicy = "redirect-to-https"
minttl = 0
defaultttl = 3600
maxttl = 86400
}
restrictions {
georestriction {
restrictiontype = "whitelist"
locations = ["US", "CA", "GB"]
}
}
viewercertificate {
cloudfrontdefaultcertificate = true
}
}
```
Key configuration options in this example:
- defaultcachebehavior controls how requests are forwarded to the origin
- viewerprotocolpolicy = "redirect-to-https" enforces HTTPS
- minttl, defaultttl, max_ttl define caching windows
- restrictions.georestriction with restrictiontype = "whitelist" and locations = ["US", "CA", "GB"]
- viewercertificate with cloudfrontdefault_certificate = true
The configuration file creates a CloudFront distribution with a single origin server and a custom cache behavior.
Outputs and State Management
Step 3: Create a Terraform Output File
Create a new file called output.tf
with the following code:
```
Output the CloudFront Distribution ID and Domain Name
output "cloudfrontdistributionid" {
value = awscloudfrontdistribution.example.id
}
output "cloudfrontdistributiondomainname" {
value = awscloudfrontdistribution.example.domainname
}
```
This file outputs the CloudFront distribution ID and domain name.
Outputs expose runtime values for CI/CD pipelines and for referencing in other modules. The state file tracks the distribution ID, domain name, and configuration drift over time.
Common Use Cases
Let's walk through building CloudFront distributions for the two most common use cases: serving a static website from S3, and putting CloudFront in front of an API.
For S3 origins, the origin block references the S3 bucket regional domain name and the distribution is configured with an origin access control to keep the bucket private. For API origins, the origin points to the API endpoint and cache behavior is tuned for dynamic content with short TTLs and query string forwarding.
Module Architecture and Reuse
The AWS CloudFront Terraform module enables you to efficiently provision and manage CloudFront distributions through Infrastructure as Code
For module architecture details, see Module Architecture.
The guide provides comprehensive instructions for using the AWS CloudFront Terraform module. It explains how to configure and implement CloudFront distributions using the Terraform AWS provider, covering basic to advanced usage patterns, key configuration options, and integration patterns with other AWS resources.
When building reusable modules, encapsulate provider configuration, origin definition, cache behavior, restrictions, and viewer certificate into variables with sensible defaults. This reduces repetition and enforces organizational standards across teams.
Practical Considerations
- Origin health and invalidation: Changing origin requires distribution invalidation. Plan TTLs accordingly.
- SSL termination: Viewer Certificate choice impacts cost and validation time. cloudfrontdefaultcertificate = true is quickest for initial deployment.
- Geographic restrictions: whitelist with locations ["US", "CA", "GB"] reduces exposure but can impact global users.
- Cache key control: forwardedvalues querystring = false and cookies forward = "none" create a cache-friendly setup for static content.
Terraform turns all of that into a single, readable configuration file.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The awscloudfrontdistribution resource provides full coverage of CloudFront capabilities through declarative code. Basic usage establishes an origin and enabled distribution, while advanced usage adds cache behavior tuning, protocol enforcement, geo restrictions, and viewer certificates. Pairing the resource with S3 origins covers the most common pattern is serving static assets from an S3 bucket through CloudFront, and extending it to API origins delivers a consistent edge layer for dynamic workloads.
Provider setup with region us-east-1, state tracking, and output files for distribution ID and domain name form the operational foundation. The step-by-step process of launching an EC2 instance, installing Terraform via yum, and authoring .tf files makes local experimentation repeatable. As distributions grow in complexity, module reuse and Infrastructure as Code principles keep configurations auditable, versioned, and portable across environments.