How to Import an Azure Virtual Network into Terraform

Import Azure Virtual Network with Terraback (recommended)

Terraback reverse-engineers your live infrastructure: it reads the Azure Networking resource with read-only credentials, generates the HCL, and produces the exact import block. Two commands take you from a live Azure Virtual Network 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_virtual_network.main
  id = "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/prod-rg/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/prod-vnet"
}

Example azurerm_virtual_network configuration

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

resource "azurerm_virtual_network" "main" {
  name                = "prod-vnet"
  resource_group_name = "prod-rg"
  location            = "eastus"
  address_space       = ["10.0.0.0/16"]
}

Gotchas when importing a Azure Virtual Network

• Subnets can be declared inline or as separate azurerm_subnet resources, but not both; pick one model.
• Importing the VNet does not import its subnets, peerings, or NSG associations.
• location and resource_group_name are immutable; a mismatch forces recreation.

Doing it manually with terraform import

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