Convox CLI and Terraform

Your Terraform config directory (see Back up your Terraform state) contains these files:

• vars.json: your rack parameters. For example:

  {
    "name": "docspring-enterprise",
    "release": "3.19.6"
  }

• main.tf: generated by the Convox CLI from the values in vars.json.

When you run convox rack params set ..., the Convox CLI:

• Updates vars.json with the new parameters.
• Regenerates main.tf to use them.
• Upgrades all Terraform modules (which updates .terraform.lock.hcl).
• Runs terraform apply to update your infrastructure with the new configuration.
• Updates terraform.tfstate with the current state of every managed resource in your AWS account.

Caution

Make sure you back up terraform.tfstate. If you lose it, you won’t be able to manage your Convox Rack. It is possible to recreate it by hand, but that takes hours of work.

When you run convox rack update, the CLI does something very similar:

• Bumps the Convox version in vars.json.
• Regenerates main.tf.
• Installs new Terraform modules.
• Runs terraform apply and updates terraform.tfstate.

To run these steps yourself, see Upgrade the rack by hand with Terraform.