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Terraform

This page provides example Terraform configurations for managing virtual machines on OpenShift Virtualization using the alekc/kubectl provider.

Component Version
OpenShift v4.22.3
OpenShift Virt v4.22.2
Terraform v1.12.2

Prerequisites

Install Terraform on macOS
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brew tap hashicorp/tap
brew install hashicorp/tap/terraform

Deploy a VM

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curl -L -O https://examples.openshift.pub/kubevirt/terraform/main.tf

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terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.5.0"
  required_providers {
    kubectl = {
      source  = "alekc/kubectl"
      version = "~> 2.1"
    }
  }
}

provider "kubectl" {
  config_path = "kubeconfig-terraform"
  insecure    = true
}

variable "namespace" {
  default = "rbohne-kubevirt-terraform"
}

resource "kubectl_manifest" "rhel9_vm" {
  timeouts {
    create = "20m"
  }

  wait_for {
    field {
      key   = "status.printableStatus"
      value = "Running"
    }
  }

  yaml_body = yamlencode({
    apiVersion = "kubevirt.io/v1"
    kind       = "VirtualMachine"
    metadata = {
      name      = "rhel9"
      namespace = var.namespace
    }
    spec = {
      runStrategy = "Always"
      dataVolumeTemplates = [
        {
          metadata = {
            name = "rhel9-root"
          }
          spec = {
            storage = {
              accessModes = ["ReadWriteMany"]
              resources = {
                requests = {
                  storage = "30Gi"
                }
              }
            }
            sourceRef = {
              kind      = "DataSource"
              name      = "rhel9"
              namespace = "openshift-virtualization-os-images"
            }
          }
        }
      ]
      template = {
        metadata = {
          labels = {
            "kubevirt.io/vm" = "rhel9"
          }
        }
        spec = {
          domain = {
            cpu = {
              cores = 2
            }
            memory = {
              guest = "4Gi"
            }
            resources = {
              requests = {
                memory = "4Gi"
              }
            }
            devices = {
              disks = [
                {
                  name      = "root"
                  bootOrder = 1
                  disk = {
                    bus = "virtio"
                  }
                }
              ]
              interfaces = [
                {
                  name   = "coe"
                  model  = "virtio"
                  bridge = {}
                }
              ]
            }
          }
          networks = [
            {
              name = "coe"
              multus = {
                networkName = "coe-bridge"
              }
            }
          ]
          volumes = [
            {
              name = "root"
              dataVolume = {
                name = "rhel9-root"
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  })
}
Initialize and apply
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cp -v $KUBECONFIG kubeconfig-terraform
terraform init
terraform apply
terraform apply output 
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Terraform used the selected providers to generate the following execution plan. Resource actions are indicated
with the following symbols:
  + create

Terraform will perform the following actions:

  # kubectl_manifest.rhel9_vm will be created
  + resource "kubectl_manifest" "rhel9_vm" {
      + api_version             = "kubevirt.io/v1"
      + apply_only              = false
      + field_manager           = "kubectl"
      + force_conflicts         = false
      + force_new               = false
      + id                      = (known after apply)
      + kind                    = "VirtualMachine"
      + live_manifest_incluster = (sensitive value)
      + live_uid                = (known after apply)
      + name                    = "rhel9"
      + namespace               = "rbohne-kubevirt-terraform"
      + server_side_apply       = false
      + uid                     = (known after apply)
      + upgrade_api_version     = false
      + validate_schema         = true
      + wait_for_rollout        = true
      + yaml_body               = (sensitive value)
      + yaml_body_parsed        = <<-EOT
            apiVersion: kubevirt.io/v1
            kind: VirtualMachine
            metadata:
              name: rhel9
              namespace: rbohne-kubevirt-terraform
            spec:
              dataVolumeTemplates:
              - metadata:
                  name: rhel9-root
                spec:
                  sourceRef:
                    kind: DataSource
                    name: rhel9
                    namespace: openshift-virtualization-os-images
                  storage:
                    accessModes:
                    - ReadWriteMany
                    resources:
                      requests:
                        storage: 30Gi
              runStrategy: Always
              template:
                metadata:
                  labels:
                    kubevirt.io/vm: rhel9
                spec:
                  domain:
                    cpu:
                      cores: 2
                    devices:
                      disks:
                      - bootOrder: 1
                        disk:
                          bus: virtio
                        name: root
                      interfaces:
                      - bridge: {}
                        model: virtio
                        name: coe
                    memory:
                      guest: 4Gi
                    resources:
                      requests:
                        memory: 4Gi
              networks:
              - multus:
                  networkName: coe-bridge
                name: coe
              volumes:
              - dataVolume:
                  name: rhel9-root
                name: root
        EOT
      + yaml_incluster          = (sensitive value)

      + timeouts {
          + create = "20m"
        }

      + wait_for {
          + field {
              + key        = "status.printableStatus"
              + value      = "Running"
              + value_type = "eq"
            }
        }
    }

Plan: 1 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.

Do you want to perform these actions?
  Terraform will perform the actions described above.
  Only 'yes' will be accepted to approve.

  Enter a value: yes

kubectl_manifest.rhel9_vm: Creating...
kubectl_manifest.rhel9_vm: Still creating... [00m10s elapsed]
kubectl_manifest.rhel9_vm: Still creating... [00m20s elapsed]
kubectl_manifest.rhel9_vm: Creation complete after 22s [id=/apis/kubevirt.io/v1/namespaces/rbohne-kubevirt-terraform/virtualmachines/rhel9]

Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.
2026-07-30 2026-07-30 Contributors: Robert Bohne