How to Import an Azure Container Registry into Terraform

Import Azure Container Registry with Terraback (recommended)

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

terraback scan all azure --subscription-id YOUR_ID

terraback azure 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 = azurerm_container_registry.main
  id = "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/prod-rg/providers/Microsoft.ContainerRegistry/registries/prodacr"
}

Example azurerm_container_registry configuration

Here is a realistic Azure Container Registry block. Terraback generates a fuller version from your actual resource attributes; this is a minimal, valid starting point.

resource "azurerm_container_registry" "main" {
  name                = "prodacr"
  resource_group_name = "prod-rg"
  location            = "eastus"
  sku                 = "Standard"
  admin_enabled       = false
}

Gotchas when importing a Azure Container Registry

• The registry name must be globally unique and alphanumeric only (no hyphens), 5-50 characters.
• Webhooks, scope maps, tokens, and replications are separate azurerm_container_registry_* resources.
• Geo-replication (georeplications block) and zone redundancy require the Premium SKU.
• admin_enabled defaults to false and the admin username/password outputs are sensitive; prefer token or AAD auth.

Doing it manually with terraform import

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