How to Import an Azure Virtual Network Peering into Terraform

Import Azure Virtual Network Peering 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 Peering 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_peering.hub_to_spoke
  id = "/subscriptions/00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000/resourceGroups/prod-rg/providers/Microsoft.Network/virtualNetworks/hub-vnet/virtualNetworkPeerings/hub-to-spoke"
}

Example azurerm_virtual_network_peering configuration

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

resource "azurerm_virtual_network_peering" "hub_to_spoke" {
  name                      = "hub-to-spoke"
  resource_group_name       = "prod-rg"
  virtual_network_name      = "hub-vnet"
  remote_virtual_network_id = azurerm_virtual_network.spoke.id
}

Gotchas when importing a Azure Virtual Network Peering

• Peering is directional: each side is its own resource, so you must import (or create) both hub-to-spoke and spoke-to-hub for connectivity.
• The ID nests under the source VNet: .../virtualNetworks/<vnet>/virtualNetworkPeerings/<name>.
• allow_gateway_transit and use_remote_gateways must be set consistently on the two sides or peering stays disconnected.
• remote_virtual_network_id is immutable; re-pointing a peering forces recreation.

Doing it manually with terraform import

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