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Bulk `terraform init --all` and `--affected`

· 2 min read
Erik Osterman
Erik Osterman
Founder @ Cloud Posse

Bulk commands like terraform apply, plan, and destroy could already run across every component in dependency order with --all, but init couldn't — reinitializing a whole stack meant scripting a loop over components yourself, or falling back to one-at-a-time runs.

The Problem​

  • Bulk execution flags --all and --affected landed on apply/plan/destroy when Terraform bulk execution moved onto the scheduler-backed dependency graph, but init was left out.
  • Reinitializing every component after a provider upgrade, or bootstrapping a new environment, meant looping atmos terraform init <component> -s <stack> by hand.
  • The scheduler also capped concurrency to 1 for any subcommand it didn't explicitly recognize, so there was no way to route around it either.

The Fix​

  • terraform init now accepts --all, --affected, --max-concurrency, --failure-mode, and --log-order, matching destroy.
  • Init keeps the natural forward dependency order — prerequisites before dependents — unlike destroy, which reverses the graph.
  • Concurrent bulk init automatically disables the shared provider plugin cache for worker subprocesses, since sharing it isn't safe across concurrent terraform init runs.

How to Use It​

# Initialize every Terraform component, in dependency order
atmos terraform init --all -s prod

# Initialize only the affected components
atmos terraform init --affected

# Run independent components concurrently
atmos terraform init --all -s prod --max-concurrency 4

# Keep going past a failed component instead of stopping
atmos terraform init --all -s prod --failure-mode keep-going

Get Involved​

Have a bulk-execution flag you'd like to see on another command? Open an issue or join the discussion on GitHub.