How to Import an Azure SQL Virtual Network Rule into Terraform

Import Azure SQL Virtual Network Rule with Terraback (recommended)

Terraback reverse-engineers your live infrastructure: it reads the Azure SQL Database resource with read-only credentials, generates the HCL, and produces the exact import block. Two commands take you from a live Azure SQL Virtual Network Rule 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_mssql_virtual_network_rule.main
  id = "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/prod-rg/providers/Microsoft.Sql/servers/prod-sql/virtualNetworkRules/allow-app-subnet"
}

Example azurerm_mssql_virtual_network_rule configuration

Here is a realistic Azure SQL Virtual Network Rule block. Terraback generates a fuller version from your actual resource attributes; this is a minimal, valid starting point.

resource "azurerm_mssql_virtual_network_rule" "main" {
  name      = "allow-app-subnet"
  server_id = azurerm_mssql_server.main.id
  subnet_id = azurerm_subnet.app.id
}

Gotchas when importing a Azure SQL Virtual Network Rule

• The rule is a child of the server: its ARM ID nests under .../servers/<server>/virtualNetworkRules/<name>, and it is configured with server_id (not server_name).
• subnet_id must reference a subnet that has the Microsoft.Sql service endpoint enabled; otherwise apply fails unless ignore_missing_vnet_service_endpoint is set true.
• This is the modern replacement for azurerm_sql_virtual_network_rule; import each rule under exactly one of the two resource types.
• The rule allows traffic from the subnet but does not by itself disable public network access on the server.

Doing it manually with terraform import

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