How to Import an AWS ElastiCache Parameter Group into Terraform

Import AWS ElastiCache Parameter Group with Terraback (recommended)

Terraback reverse-engineers your live infrastructure: it reads the Amazon ElastiCache resource with read-only credentials, generates the HCL, and produces the exact import block. Two commands take you from a live AWS ElastiCache Parameter Group 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_elasticache_parameter_group.redis7
  id = "app-prod-redis7"
}

Example aws_elasticache_parameter_group configuration

Here is a realistic AWS ElastiCache Parameter Group block. Terraback generates a fuller version from your actual resource attributes; this is a minimal, valid starting point.

resource "aws_elasticache_parameter_group" "redis7" {
  name   = "app-prod-redis7"
  family = "redis7"

  parameter {
    name  = "maxmemory-policy"
    value = "allkeys-lru"
  }
}

Gotchas when importing a AWS ElastiCache Parameter Group

• Import by name; the parameter group ARN is not a valid import ID.
• AWS exposes many default parameters; a fresh import can surface parameter blocks you never set, so keep only your real overrides.
• family is immutable (for example redis7 vs redis6.x); changing it forces a destroy and recreate, so copy it exactly.
• Unlike RDS, ElastiCache parameter blocks have no apply_method field; some parameters still require a node reboot to take effect.

Doing it manually with terraform import

The native approach is to write the aws_elasticache_parameter_group block by hand, then run terraform import aws_elasticache_parameter_group.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