Add support for docs command which would get the documents for the provider

[ujjwal-ibm]

Terraform Version

Terraform v1.7.5

Use Cases

• Efficient Access to Documentation:As a Terraform user, I often need to refer to provider plugin documentation. Currently, this requires switching to the Terraform Registry, which disrupts my workflow.

• Discovery of Resources and Data Sources: It's difficult to quickly identify available resources and data sources for a provider without manually browsing the Registry.

• Offline or Simplified Access:There’s no straightforward way to fetch and access documentation directly within the terminal, especially when working offline

• Streamlined Exploration:New providers or unfamiliar resources require constant back-and-forth between the terminal and the Registry, which is inefficient.

• Improved Developer Experience:A built-in command for documentation would help both users and developers by reducing lookup time and enabling quick reference during development or debugging.

Attempted Solutions

• Manual Access via Registry: Opened the Terraform Registry in a browser, searched for the provider, and manually located the relevant resource or data source. This process is time-consuming and disrupts the terminal-focused workflow.

• Using terraform providers Command: Used the existing terraform providers command to list installed providers. This command does not offer detailed documentation or an overview of resources and data sources.

• Downloading Provider Repositories: Cloned provider repositories to explore documentation. This is not a scalable solution and requires additional effort to locate relevant information.

Proposal

Introduce a new Terraform command: terraform docs

Key Features:

• Fetch Documentation for Installed Providers
• Display an overview of provider-specific resources and data sources.
• List Available Resources and Data Sources
• List all available options for a provider in a clear, terminal-friendly format.
• Fetch Resource-Specific Documentation
• Display detailed documentation for a specific resource or data source.

terraform docs -h

Usage: terraform docs [options] [resource(data)_name] [-r/-d flag] ''

Shows provider documentation for resources and data sources.

Options:
-l List all available resources and data sources

Examples:
terraform docs aws -l # List all AWS provider resources and data sources
terraform docs random random_id # Show documentation for the random_id resource

Additional Proposal:

• Cache fetched documentation for offline use.
• Include links to official Terraform Registry pages when displaying resource documentation for users requiring more details.

Example Scenarios:

List all resources and data sources:

terraform docs aws -l

Output:

Resources:

• aws_instance
• aws_s3_bucket
• aws_vpc

Data Sources:

• aws_ami
• aws_subnet
• aws_vpc_endpoint

View detailed documentation for a specific resource:

terraform docs aws aws_instance -r

Output:

Resource: aws_instance
Description: Manages an EC2 instance on AWS.

Arguments:
- ami (string) - ID of the AMI to use for the instance.
- instance_type (string) - Type of instance to start.

Example:

    resource "aws_instance" "example" {
      ami           = "ami-12345678"
      instance_type = "t2.micro"
    }

References

No response

[crw]

Thanks for this feature request! If you are viewing this issue and would like to indicate your interest, please use the 👍 reaction on the issue description to upvote this issue. We also welcome additional use case descriptions. Thanks again!

[ujjwal-ibm]

@crw thanks for the quick reply