How to Import an Azure Custom Role Definition into Terraform

Import Azure Custom Role Definition with Terraback (recommended)

Terraback reverse-engineers your live infrastructure: it reads the Azure RBAC resource with read-only credentials, generates the HCL, and produces the exact import block. Two commands take you from a live Azure Custom Role Definition 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_role_definition.deploy
  id = "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/providers/Microsoft.Authorization/roleDefinitions/11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111|/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"
}

Example azurerm_role_definition configuration

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

resource "azurerm_role_definition" "deploy" {
  name        = "Custom Deploy Operator"
  scope       = "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000"
  description = "Can deploy but not delete"

  permissions {
    actions      = ["Microsoft.Resources/deployments/*"]
    not_actions  = []
  }

  assignable_scopes = [
    "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
  ]
}

Gotchas when importing a Azure Custom Role Definition

• The import ID is a composite: the role definition resource ID, a pipe, then the scope (.../roleDefinitions/<guid>|<scope>), because Azure tracks role definitions per scope.
• Only custom roles can be managed; built-in roles are read-only and should be referenced via the azurerm_role_definition data source instead.
• Granting a role to a principal is a separate azurerm_role_assignment, not part of the definition.
• scope and assignable_scopes are distinct: scope is where the role is created, assignable_scopes lists where it may be assigned.

Doing it manually with terraform import

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