How to access Terraform module in AWS CodeArtifact

Question

I created a Terraform module and stored the *.tar.gz file in AWS CodeArtifact. Now I want to access that module in a subsequent Terraform module like this:

```
module "foo" {
   source = ""
}
```

When I look at the entry in CodeArtifact, I don't see any URL or endpoint construct that I can use to download/access. Can I not store TF modules in CodeArtifact, using them in other TF modules? Is it only for storing upstream packages used in clients such as npm or maven? Do I need to go to something such as Artifactory or some other software package storage mechanism (I was trying to stay within the AWS ecosphere)? I am specifically looking to see if this is possible in CodeArtifact (as opposed to CodeCommit or posting this module to some S3 bucket).

Answer

CodeArtifact doesn't have native support for Terraform modules. However, you likely can store these in CodeArtifact.

Looking at [the Terraform docs](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/modules/sources#http-urls), Terraform can load tar.gz files from arbitrary URLs. You could push your .tar.gz to CodeArtifact as a Maven asset (see [Publishing with curl](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codeartifact/latest/ug/maven-curl.html)), then put the CodeArtifact URL for the asset into the `source =` line. You would also have to arrange for Terraform to pass a CodeArtifact authentication token which is likely possible using .netrc:

> If an HTTP/HTTPS URL requires authentication credentials, use a .netrc file to configure the credentials. By default, Terraform searches for the .netrc file in your HOME directory. However, you can override the default filesystem location by setting the NETRC environment variable. For information on the .netrc format, refer to the documentation for using it in curl.

Another option would be to store the .tar.gz as a [generic asset](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/codeartifact/latest/ug/using-generic.html), use the AWS CLI to download it before you run Terrafom, and reference it as a [local module](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/language/modules/sources#local-paths), but not sure this is any better than putting the module in S3.

I haven't tried either option, so consider these as suggestions not working solutions.

How to access Terraform module in AWS CodeArtifact

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