cdktf
TLDR
Initialize a new CDKTF project
SYNOPSIS
cdktf command [options]
DESCRIPTION
CDK for Terraform (CDKTF) enables defining infrastructure using familiar programming languages instead of HCL. It generates Terraform JSON configuration, leveraging the full Terraform ecosystem while writing infrastructure code in TypeScript, Python, Java, C#, or Go.
CDKTF projects define constructs that represent infrastructure resources. The synth command compiles code to Terraform JSON in cdktf.out/, which can be inspected or applied manually. The deploy command handles synthesis and application in one step.
Provider bindings are generated from Terraform providers, providing type safety and IDE autocompletion. Complex logic, loops, and conditionals use native language features rather than HCL limitations.
PARAMETERS
init
Initialize a new CDKTF project.get
Generate provider bindings from cdktf.json.synth
Synthesize Terraform JSON configuration.diff
Show planned changes (terraform plan).deploy [stacks]
Deploy infrastructure (terraform apply).destroy [stacks]
Destroy infrastructure.convert
Convert HCL Terraform code to CDKTF.list
List all stacks in the application.output [stacks]
Show outputs from deployed stacks.--template name
Project template: typescript, python, java, csharp, go.--local
Use local Terraform state.--auto-approve
Skip interactive approval.-o, --output directory
Output directory for synthesized files.
CAVEATS
Requires Terraform CLI installed separately. Provider binding generation can be slow for providers with many resources. State management follows Terraform patterns; understand Terraform state before using CDKTF. Breaking changes may occur between CDKTF versions.
HISTORY
CDK for Terraform was announced by HashiCorp in partnership with AWS in July 2020, bringing the CDK (Cloud Development Kit) approach from AWS CDK to Terraform. It reached general availability in 2022. The project aims to make infrastructure code more accessible to developers familiar with application programming languages.
