Provider Configuration Documentation

7 minute read

Provider Documentation Overview

The provider configuration documentation is the entry point for users. It must clearly explain authentication, configuration options, and getting started.

Page Structure

---
page_title: "Provider: CacheCloud"
description: |-
  The CacheCloud provider is used to interact with CacheCloud resources.
---

# CacheCloud Provider

[Overview]

## Example Usage

[Quick Start]

## Authentication

[Auth Methods]

## Schema

[Configuration Options]

Provider Overview

Clear Introduction

# CacheCloud Provider

The CacheCloud provider allows Terraform to create and manage resources in CacheCloud, a managed caching service supporting Redis and Memcached.

## Features

- **Multi-Engine Support**: Manage both Redis and Memcached caches
- **High Availability**: Configure multi-AZ deployments with automatic failover
- **Security**: Built-in support for encryption and VPC networking
- **Monitoring**: Integrated metrics and alerting
- **Backup & Recovery**: Automated backups with point-in-time recovery

## Supported Resources

- **Caches**: Create and manage cache instances
- **Clusters**: Configure cache clusters
- **Parameter Groups**: Customize cache parameters
- **Users**: Manage cache access control
- **Snapshots**: Create and restore backups

Getting Started

## Getting Started

### 1. Install the Provider

The provider is automatically downloaded when you run `terraform init`.

```terraform
terraform {
  required_providers {
    cachecloud = {
      source  = "example/cachecloud"
      version = "~> 1.0"
    }
  }
}

2. Configure Authentication

Set your API key:

export CACHECLOUD_API_KEY="your-api-key"

3. Create Your First Cache

provider "cachecloud" {}

resource "cachecloud_cache" "example" {
  name      = "my-first-cache"
  engine    = "redis"
  node_type = "cache.t3.micro"
}

4. Apply Configuration

terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply

## Example Usage

### Basic Configuration

```markdown
## Example Usage

### Basic Setup

```terraform
provider "cachecloud" {
  api_key  = var.cachecloud_api_key
  endpoint = "https://api.cachecloud.example.com"
}

### Multiple Environments

```markdown
### Multi-Environment Setup

```terraform
# Production provider
provider "cachecloud" {
  alias    = "prod"
  api_key  = var.prod_api_key
  endpoint = "https://api.us-east-1.cachecloud.example.com"
  region   = "us-east-1"
}

# Development provider
provider "cachecloud" {
  alias    = "dev"
  api_key  = var.dev_api_key
  endpoint = "https://api.us-west-2.cachecloud.example.com"
  region   = "us-west-2"
}

# Use production provider
resource "cachecloud_cache" "prod" {
  provider  = cachecloud.prod
  name      = "prod-cache"
  engine    = "redis"
  node_type = "cache.m5.large"
}

# Use development provider
resource "cachecloud_cache" "dev" {
  provider  = cachecloud.dev
  name      = "dev-cache"
  engine    = "redis"
  node_type = "cache.t3.micro"
}

### Advanced Configuration

```markdown
### Advanced Configuration

```terraform
provider "cachecloud" {
  # Authentication
  api_key = var.cachecloud_api_key
  
  # Endpoint configuration
  endpoint = "https://api.cachecloud.example.com"
  region   = "us-east-1"
  
  # Retry configuration
  max_retries = 3
  timeout     = 30
  
  # TLS configuration
  skip_tls_verify     = false
  ca_certificate_path = "/path/to/ca.pem"
  
  # Rate limiting
  rate_limit          = 100
  rate_limit_interval = "1m"
  
  # Request headers
  headers = {
    "X-Custom-Header" = "value"
    "User-Agent"      = "terraform-provider-cachecloud/1.0"
  }
  
  # Debug logging
  debug = true
}

## Authentication

### Multiple Authentication Methods

```markdown
## Authentication

The provider supports multiple authentication methods:

### API Key (Recommended)

#### Environment Variable

```bash
export CACHECLOUD_API_KEY="your-api-key"

provider "cachecloud" {}

Provider Configuration

provider "cachecloud" {
  api_key = var.cachecloud_api_key
}

Configuration File

Create ~/.cachecloud/credentials:

[default]
api_key = your-api-key
region = us-east-1

[production]
api_key = prod-api-key
region = us-east-1

[development]
api_key = dev-api-key
region = us-west-2

Use specific profile:

provider "cachecloud" {
  profile = "production"
}

OAuth 2.0

provider "cachecloud" {
  auth_method  = "oauth"
  client_id     = var.client_id
  client_secret = var.client_secret
  token_url     = "https://auth.cachecloud.example.com/token"
}

IAM Role (AWS Integration)

provider "cachecloud" {
  auth_method = "iam"
  role_arn    = "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/CacheCloudAccess"
}

Service Account (Kubernetes)

provider "cachecloud" {
  auth_method              = "service_account"
  service_account_token    = var.sa_token
  service_account_endpoint = "https://k8s.example.com"
}

Authentication Precedence

Provider configuration (api_key attribute)
Environment variables (CACHECLOUD_API_KEY)
Credentials file (~/.cachecloud/credentials)
Instance metadata (IAM role on AWS) ```

Schema Documentation

Configuration Attributes

## Schema

### Optional

#### Authentication

- `api_key` (String, Sensitive) API key for authentication. Can also be set via `CACHECLOUD_API_KEY` environment variable.
- `auth_method` (String) Authentication method. Valid values: `api_key`, `oauth`, `iam`, `service_account`. Defaults to `api_key`.
- `profile` (String) Credentials profile name from `~/.cachecloud/credentials`. Defaults to `default`.

#### Endpoint Configuration

- `endpoint` (String) API endpoint URL. Defaults to `https://api.cachecloud.io`. Can be set via `CACHECLOUD_ENDPOINT`.
- `region` (String) Default region for resources. Can be set via `CACHECLOUD_REGION`.
- `account_id` (String) Account ID for multi-tenant environments. Can be set via `CACHECLOUD_ACCOUNT_ID`.

#### Network Configuration

- `skip_tls_verify` (Boolean) Skip TLS certificate verification. Not recommended for production. Defaults to `false`.
- `ca_certificate_path` (String) Path to custom CA certificate bundle.
- `proxy_url` (String) HTTP proxy URL for API requests.

#### Retry and Timeout

- `max_retries` (Number) Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests. Valid range: 0-10. Defaults to `3`.
- `timeout` (Number) Request timeout in seconds. Valid range: 1-300. Defaults to `30`.
- `backoff_multiplier` (Number) Exponential backoff multiplier. Defaults to `2.0`.
- `backoff_min` (Number) Minimum backoff delay in seconds. Defaults to `1`.
- `backoff_max` (Number) Maximum backoff delay in seconds. Defaults to `30`.

#### Rate Limiting

- `rate_limit` (Number) Maximum requests per interval. Defaults to `100`.
- `rate_limit_interval` (String) Rate limit interval. Valid values: `1s`, `1m`, `1h`. Defaults to `1m`.

#### Logging and Debugging

- `debug` (Boolean) Enable debug logging. Logs include request/response details. Defaults to `false`.
- `log_level` (String) Logging level. Valid values: `trace`, `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`. Defaults to `info`.
- `log_file` (String) Path to log file. If not set, logs to stderr.

#### Custom Headers

- `headers` (Map of String) Custom HTTP headers to include in all requests.

Environment Variables

## Environment Variables

The provider supports these environment variables:

| Variable | Description | Default |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| `CACHECLOUD_API_KEY` | API key for authentication | - |
| `CACHECLOUD_ENDPOINT` | API endpoint URL | `https://api.cachecloud.io` |
| `CACHECLOUD_REGION` | Default region | - |
| `CACHECLOUD_ACCOUNT_ID` | Account ID | - |
| `CACHECLOUD_PROFILE` | Credentials profile | `default` |
| `CACHECLOUD_DEBUG` | Enable debug logging | `false` |
| `CACHECLOUD_TIMEOUT` | Request timeout (seconds) | `30` |
| `CACHECLOUD_MAX_RETRIES` | Maximum retry attempts | `3` |
| `CACHECLOUD_PROXY` | HTTP proxy URL | - |
| `CACHECLOUD_CA_CERT` | Path to CA certificate | - |
| `CACHECLOUD_SKIP_TLS_VERIFY` | Skip TLS verification | `false` |

### Usage

```bash
export CACHECLOUD_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export CACHECLOUD_REGION="us-east-1"
export CACHECLOUD_DEBUG="true"
export CACHECLOUD_TIMEOUT="60"

terraform apply

## Complete Documentation

```markdown
---
page_title: "Provider: CacheCloud"
description: |-
  Use the CacheCloud provider to manage cache infrastructure.
---

# CacheCloud Provider

The CacheCloud provider allows Terraform to manage CacheCloud resources including cache instances, clusters, parameter groups, and access controls.

## Quick Start

```terraform
terraform {
  required_providers {
    cachecloud = {
      source  = "example/cachecloud"
      version = "~> 1.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "cachecloud" {
  api_key = var.cachecloud_api_key
}

resource "cachecloud_cache" "example" {
  name      = "my-cache"
  engine    = "redis"
  node_type = "cache.t3.micro"
}

Example Usage

Basic Configuration

provider "cachecloud" {
  api_key = var.cachecloud_api_key
}

Multi-Region Setup

provider "cachecloud" {
  alias    = "us_east"
  api_key  = var.api_key
  region   = "us-east-1"
}

provider "cachecloud" {
  alias    = "eu_west"
  api_key  = var.api_key
  region   = "eu-west-1"
}

resource "cachecloud_cache" "us" {
  provider  = cachecloud.us_east
  name      = "us-cache"
  engine    = "redis"
  node_type = "cache.t3.micro"
}

Advanced Configuration

provider "cachecloud" {
  # Authentication
  api_key = var.cachecloud_api_key
  region  = "us-east-1"
  
  # Timeouts and retries
  timeout     = 60
  max_retries = 5
  
  # Custom endpoint (for private deployments)
  endpoint = "https://api.internal.example.com"
  
  # Debug logging
  debug = var.enable_debug
}

Authentication

API Key

The recommended authentication method:

export CACHECLOUD_API_KEY="your-api-key"

provider "cachecloud" {}

Or specify in configuration:

provider "cachecloud" {
  api_key = var.cachecloud_api_key
}

Configuration File

Create ~/.cachecloud/credentials:

[default]
api_key = your-api-key
region = us-east-1

provider "cachecloud" {
  profile = "default"
}

IAM Role (AWS Integration)

For providers running on AWS:

provider "cachecloud" {
  auth_method = "iam"
  role_arn    = "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/CacheCloudAccess"
}

Schema

Optional

api_key (String, Sensitive) API key for authentication
endpoint (String) API endpoint URL
region (String) Default region
profile (String) Credentials profile name
timeout (Number) Request timeout in seconds (1-300). Default: 30
max_retries (Number) Maximum retry attempts (0-10). Default: 3
debug (Boolean) Enable debug logging. Default: false

Environment Variables

CACHECLOUD_API_KEY - API key
CACHECLOUD_ENDPOINT - API endpoint
CACHECLOUD_REGION - Default region
CACHECLOUD_DEBUG - Enable debug logging

Support

Documentation: https://docs.cachecloud.example.com
API Reference: https://api-docs.cachecloud.example.com
GitHub: https://github.com/example/terraform-provider-cachecloud
Issues: https://github.com/example/terraform-provider-cachecloud/issues ```

Best Practices

1. Clear Authentication Instructions

# ✅ Good: Multiple clear methods
## Authentication

### Method 1: Environment Variable (Recommended)
```bash
export CACHECLOUD_API_KEY="your-key"

Method 2: Terraform Variables

provider "cachecloud" {
  api_key = var.api_key
}

❌ Bad: Vague instructions

Authentication

Set your API key.

### 2. Working Examples

```markdown
# ✅ Good: Complete, testable example
```terraform
terraform {
  required_providers {
    cachecloud = {
      source  = "example/cachecloud"
      version = "~> 1.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "cachecloud" {
  api_key = var.cachecloud_api_key
}

resource "cachecloud_cache" "example" {
  name      = "my-cache"
  engine    = "redis"
  node_type = "cache.t3.micro"
}

❌ Bad: Incomplete example

provider "cachecloud" {}

### 3. Document Defaults

```markdown
# ✅ Good: Clear defaults
- `timeout` (Number) Request timeout in seconds. Valid range: 1-300. Defaults to `30`.

# ❌ Bad: No default information
- `timeout` (Number) Request timeout

Key Takeaways

✅ Provide clear getting started instructions
✅ Document all authentication methods
✅ Show complete, working examples
✅ List all configuration options with defaults
✅ Document environment variables
✅ Include multi-region/multi-environment examples
✅ Explain authentication precedence
✅ Provide troubleshooting guidance
✅ Link to additional resources
✅ Keep examples realistic and testable

What’s Next?

Learn how to create comprehensive guides and examples for common use cases.

Next: Guides & Examples →

Previous: ← Data Source Documentation
Next: Guides & Examples →

Last updated: June 30, 2026

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Provider Documentation Overview

Page Structure

Provider Overview

Clear Introduction

Getting Started

2. Configure Authentication

3. Create Your First Cache

4. Apply Configuration

Provider Configuration

Configuration File

OAuth 2.0

IAM Role (AWS Integration)

Service Account (Kubernetes)

Authentication Precedence

Schema Documentation

Configuration Attributes

Environment Variables

Example Usage

Basic Configuration

Multi-Region Setup

Advanced Configuration

Authentication

API Key

Configuration File

IAM Role (AWS Integration)

Schema

Optional

Environment Variables

Support

Best Practices

1. Clear Authentication Instructions

Method 2: Terraform Variables

❌ Bad: Vague instructions

Authentication

❌ Bad: Incomplete example

Key Takeaways

What’s Next?

Share on

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