Provider Test Patterns

This gives Claude the patterns for writing Terraform provider acceptance tests with terraform-plugin-testing and the Plugin Framework. It covers the test lifecycle (plan, apply, refresh, final plan check), modern ConfigStateChecks with statecheck implementations versus legacy TestCheckFunc patterns, import testing with ImportStateKind, sweepers, and ephemeral resource testing. The source includes actual code examples for test structure, config helpers with numbered format verbs, and scenario patterns like basic/update combinations and disappears tests. Use it when you're writing or reviewing provider tests and need to know how to structure assertions, verify import behavior, or understand why CompareValue exists for cross-step checks. It assumes you know Terraform providers but need the testing framework conventions.

skills.sh installs: 3.4K
GitHub stars: 924
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add hashicorp/agent-skills --skill provider-test-patterns --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Provider Acceptance Test Patterns

Patterns for writing acceptance tests using terraform-plugin-testing with the Plugin Framework.

Source: HashiCorp Testing Patterns

References (load when needed):

references/checks.md — statecheck, plancheck, knownvalue types, tfjsonpath, comparers
references/sweepers.md — sweeper setup, TestMain, dependencies
references/ephemeral.md — ephemeral resource testing, echoprovider, multi-step patterns

Test Lifecycle

The framework runs each TestStep through: plan → apply → refresh → final plan. If the final plan shows a diff, the test fails (unless ExpectNonEmptyPlan is set). After all steps, destroy runs followed by CheckDestroy. This means every test automatically verifies that configurations apply cleanly and produce no drift — no assertions needed for that.