How to Import an AWS API Gateway REST API into Terraform

Import AWS API Gateway REST API with Terraback (recommended)

Terraback reverse-engineers your live infrastructure: it reads the Amazon API Gateway resource with read-only credentials, generates the HCL, and produces the exact import block. Two commands take you from a live AWS API Gateway REST API to managed Terraform.

terraback scan all aws --region us-east-1

terraback aws import --method bulk

The Terraform import block

Terraback emits a Terraform 1.5+ import block like the one below. Because the block lives in your configuration, the import is reviewable in a pull request and repeatable across environments.

import {
  to = aws_api_gateway_rest_api.main
  id = "a1b2c3d4e5"
}

Example aws_api_gateway_rest_api configuration

Here is a realistic AWS API Gateway REST API block. Terraback generates a fuller version from your actual resource attributes; this is a minimal, valid starting point.

resource "aws_api_gateway_rest_api" "main" {
  name        = "orders-api"
  description = "Orders service REST API"

  endpoint_configuration {
    types = ["REGIONAL"]
  }
}

Gotchas when importing a AWS API Gateway REST API

• Importing the REST API does not import its resources, methods, integrations, stages, or deployments; each is a separate Terraform resource (aws_api_gateway_resource, aws_api_gateway_method, aws_api_gateway_deployment, and so on).
• The import ID is the short REST API ID, not the API name or the invoke URL.
• If the API was built from an OpenAPI/Swagger document via the body argument, reconciling the imported child resources with that document is error-prone; pick one management style.
• A redeployment (aws_api_gateway_deployment) is usually required before changes go live, even after a clean import.

Doing it manually with terraform import

The native approach is to write the aws_api_gateway_rest_api block by hand, then run terraform import aws_api_gateway_rest_api.example <import-id> for every resource, one at a time. That works for a handful of resources, but it does not scale: you author all the HCL yourself and repeat the command for each item. Terraback generates the HCL and the import blocks for your whole account in one pass.

Import other AWS resources