How to Import an AWS Kinesis Data Stream into Terraform

Import AWS Kinesis Data Stream with Terraback (recommended)

Terraback reverse-engineers your live infrastructure: it reads the Amazon Kinesis Data Streams resource with read-only credentials, generates the HCL, and produces the exact import block. Two commands take you from a live AWS Kinesis Data Stream 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_kinesis_stream.events
  id = "events-stream"
}

Example aws_kinesis_stream configuration

Here is a realistic AWS Kinesis Data Stream block. Terraback generates a fuller version from your actual resource attributes; this is a minimal, valid starting point.

resource "aws_kinesis_stream" "events" {
  name             = "events-stream"
  shard_count      = 2
  retention_period = 24

  stream_mode_details {
    stream_mode = "PROVISIONED"
  }

  tags = {
    Environment = "production"
  }
}

Gotchas when importing a AWS Kinesis Data Stream

• Import by the stream name, not by ARN.
• shard_count is required for PROVISIONED mode but must be omitted for ON_DEMAND mode; match the live stream_mode or apply fails.
• Stream consumers (aws_kinesis_stream_consumer) registered for enhanced fan-out are separate resources.
• retention_period is in hours (24 to 8760); the generated config often sets prevent_destroy to protect in-flight data.

Doing it manually with terraform import

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