Manage Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL resources with terraform

Article
01/08/2024

APPLIES TO: NoSQL

In this article, you learn how to use terraform to deploy and manage your Azure Cosmos DB accounts, databases, and containers.

This article shows terraform samples for NoSQL accounts.

Important

Account names are limited to 44 characters, all lowercase.
To change the throughput (RU/s) values, redeploy the terraform file with updated RU/s.
When you add or remove locations to an Azure Cosmos account, you can't simultaneously modify other properties. These operations must be done separately.
To provision throughput at the database level and share across all containers, apply the throughput values to the database options property.

To create any of the Azure Cosmos DB resources below, copy the example into a new terraform file (main.tf) or alternatively, have two separate files for resources (main.tf) and variables (variables.tf). Be sure to include the azurerm provider either in the main terraform file or split out to a separate providers file. All examples can be found on the terraform samples repository.

terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.0"

  required_providers {
    azurerm = {
      source  = "hashicorp/azurerm"
      version = ">= 3.0, < 4.0"
    }
    random = {
      source  = "hashicorp/random"
      version = ">= 3.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
}

Azure Cosmos account with autoscale throughput

Create an Azure Cosmos account in two regions with options for consistency and failover, with database and container configured for autoscale throughput that has most index policy options enabled.

`main.tf`

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-rg"
  location = var.location
}

resource "random_string" "db_account_name" {
  count = var.cosmosdb_account_name == null ? 1 : 0

  length  = 20
  upper   = false
  special = false
  numeric = false
}

locals {
  cosmosdb_account_name = try(random_string.db_account_name[0].result, var.cosmosdb_account_name)
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_account" "example" {
  name                      = local.cosmosdb_account_name
  location                  = var.cosmosdb_account_location
  resource_group_name       = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  offer_type                = "Standard"
  kind                      = "GlobalDocumentDB"
  enable_automatic_failover = false
  geo_location {
    location          = var.location
    failover_priority = 0
  }
  consistency_policy {
    consistency_level       = "BoundedStaleness"
    max_interval_in_seconds = 300
    max_staleness_prefix    = 100000
  }
  depends_on = [
    azurerm_resource_group.example
  ]
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database" "main" {
  name                = var.cosmosdb_sqldb_name
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  autoscale_settings {
    max_throughput = var.max_throughput
  }
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container" "example" {
  name                  = var.sql_container_name
  resource_group_name   = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name          = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  database_name         = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database.main.name
  partition_key_path    = "/definition/id"
  partition_key_version = 1
  autoscale_settings {
    max_throughput = var.max_throughput
  }

  indexing_policy {
    indexing_mode = "consistent"

    included_path {
      path = "/*"
    }

    included_path {
      path = "/included/?"
    }

    excluded_path {
      path = "/excluded/?"
    }
  }

  unique_key {
    paths = ["/definition/idlong", "/definition/idshort"]
  }
}

resource "random_pet" "prefix" {
  prefix = var.prefix
  length = 1
}

`variables.tf`

variable "prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "cosmos-db-autoscale"
  description = "Prefix of the resource name"
}

variable "location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Resource group location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = null
  description = "Cosmos db account name"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Cosmos db account location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_sqldb_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = "default-cosmosdb-sqldb"
  description = "value"
}

variable "sql_container_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = "default-sql-container"
  description = "SQL API container name."
}

variable "max_throughput" {
  type        = number
  default     = 4000
  description = "Cosmos db database max throughput"
  validation {
    condition     = var.max_throughput >= 4000 && var.max_throughput <= 1000000
    error_message = "Cosmos db autoscale max throughput should be equal to or greater than 4000 and less than or equal to 1000000."
  }
  validation {
    condition     = var.max_throughput % 100 == 0
    error_message = "Cosmos db max throughput should be in increments of 100."
  }
}

Azure Cosmos account with analytical store

Create an Azure Cosmos account in one region with a container with Analytical TTL enabled and options for manual or autoscale throughput.

`main.tf`

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "${random_pet.random_prefix.id}-rg"
  location = var.location
}

resource "random_string" "db_account_name" {
  count = var.cosmosdb_account_name == null ? 1 : 0

  length  = 20
  upper   = false
  special = false
  numeric = false
}

locals {
  cosmosdb_account_name = try(random_string.db_account_name[0].result, var.cosmosdb_account_name)
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_account" "example" {
  name                       = local.cosmosdb_account_name
  location                   = var.cosmosdb_account_location
  resource_group_name        = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  offer_type                 = "Standard"
  kind                       = "GlobalDocumentDB"
  enable_automatic_failover  = false
  analytical_storage_enabled = true
  geo_location {
    location          = var.location
    failover_priority = 0
  }

  consistency_policy {
    consistency_level       = "BoundedStaleness"
    max_interval_in_seconds = 300
    max_staleness_prefix    = 100000
  }

  depends_on = [
    azurerm_resource_group.example
  ]
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database" "example" {
  name                = var.cosmosdb_sqldb_name
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  throughput          = var.throughput
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container" "main" {
  name                   = var.sql_container_name
  resource_group_name    = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name           = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  database_name          = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database.example.name
  partition_key_path     = "/definition/id"
  partition_key_version  = 1
  throughput             = 400
  analytical_storage_ttl = var.analytical_storage_ttl

  indexing_policy {
    indexing_mode = "consistent"

    included_path {
      path = "/*"
    }

    included_path {
      path = "/included/?"
    }

    excluded_path {
      path = "/excluded/?"
    }
  }

  unique_key {
    paths = ["/definition/idlong", "/definition/idshort"]
  }
}

resource "random_pet" "random_prefix" {
  prefix = var.name_prefix
}

`variables.tf`

variable "name_prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "101-cosmos-db-analyticalstore"
  description = "Prefix for resource group name"
}

variable "location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinanorth"
  description = "Resource group location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = null
  description = "Cosmos db account name"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinanorth"
  description = "Cosmos db account location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_sqldb_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = "default-sqldb-name"
  description = "value"
}

variable "throughput" {
  type        = number
  default     = 400
  description = "Cosmos db database throughput"
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput >= 400 && var.throughput <= 1000000
    error_message = "Cosmos db manual throughput should be equal to or greater than 400 and less than or equal to 1000000."
  }
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput % 100 == 0
    error_message = "Cosmos db throughput should be in increments of 100."
  }
}

variable "sql_container_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = "default-sql-container-name"
  description = "SQL API container name."
}

variable "analytical_storage_ttl" {
  type        = number
  default     = -1
  description = "Analytical Storage TTL in seconds."
}

Azure Cosmos account with standard provisioned throughput

Create an Azure Cosmos account in two regions with options for consistency and failover, with database and container configured for standard throughput that has most policy options enabled.

`main.tf`

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-rg"
  location = var.location
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_account" "example" {
  name                      = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-cosmosdb"
  location                  = var.cosmosdb_account_location
  resource_group_name       = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  offer_type                = "Standard"
  kind                      = "GlobalDocumentDB"
  enable_automatic_failover = false
  geo_location {
    location          = var.location
    failover_priority = 0
  }
  consistency_policy {
    consistency_level       = "BoundedStaleness"
    max_interval_in_seconds = 300
    max_staleness_prefix    = 100000
  }
  depends_on = [
    azurerm_resource_group.example
  ]
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database" "main" {
  name                = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sqldb"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  throughput          = var.throughput
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container" "example" {
  name                  = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sql-container"
  resource_group_name   = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name          = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  database_name         = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database.main.name
  partition_key_path    = "/definition/id"
  partition_key_version = 1
  throughput            = var.throughput

  indexing_policy {
    indexing_mode = "consistent"

    included_path {
      path = "/*"
    }

    included_path {
      path = "/included/?"
    }

    excluded_path {
      path = "/excluded/?"
    }
  }

  unique_key {
    paths = ["/definition/idlong", "/definition/idshort"]
  }
}

resource "random_pet" "prefix" {
  prefix = var.prefix
  length = 1
}

`variables.tf`

variable "prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "cosmosdb-manualscale"
  description = "Prefix of the resource name"
}

variable "location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Resource group location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Cosmos db account location"
}

variable "throughput" {
  type        = number
  default     = 400
  description = "Cosmos db database throughput"
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput >= 400 && var.throughput <= 1000000
    error_message = "Cosmos db manual throughput should be equal to or greater than 400 and less than or equal to 1000000."
  }
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput % 100 == 0
    error_message = "Cosmos db throughput should be in increments of 100."
  }
}

Azure Cosmos DB container with server-side functionality

Create an Azure Cosmos account, database and container with a stored procedure, trigger, and user-defined function.

`main.tf`

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-rg"
  location = var.location
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_account" "example" {
  name                      = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-cosmosdb"
  location                  = var.cosmosdb_account_location
  resource_group_name       = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  offer_type                = "Standard"
  kind                      = "GlobalDocumentDB"
  enable_automatic_failover = false
  geo_location {
    location          = var.location
    failover_priority = 0
  }

  consistency_policy {
    consistency_level       = "BoundedStaleness"
    max_interval_in_seconds = 300
    max_staleness_prefix    = 100000
  }

  depends_on = [
    azurerm_resource_group.example
  ]
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database" "main" {
  name                = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sqldb"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  throughput          = var.throughput
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container" "example" {
  name                  = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sql-container"
  resource_group_name   = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name          = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  database_name         = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database.main.name
  partition_key_path    = "/definition/id"
  partition_key_version = 1
  throughput            = 400

  indexing_policy {
    indexing_mode = "consistent"

    included_path {
      path = "/*"
    }

    included_path {
      path = "/included/?"
    }

    excluded_path {
      path = "/excluded/?"
    }
  }

  unique_key {
    paths = ["/definition/idlong", "/definition/idshort"]
  }
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_stored_procedure" "example" {
  name                = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sql-stored-procedure"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  database_name       = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database.main.name
  container_name      = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container.example.name
  body                = "function () { var context = getContext(); var response = context.getResponse(); response.setBody('Hello, World'); }"
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_trigger" "example" {
  name         = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sql-trigger"
  container_id = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container.example.id
  body         = "function validateToDoItemTimestamp(){var context=getContext();var request=context.getRequest();var itemToCreate=request.getBody();if(!('timestamp'in itemToCreate)){var ts=new Date();itemToCreate['timestamp']=ts.getTime();}request.setBody(itemToCreate);}"
  operation    = "Create"
  type         = "Pre"
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_function" "example" {
  name         = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sql-function"
  container_id = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container.example.id
  body         = "function tax(income){if(income==undefined)throw'no input';if(income<1000)return income*0.1;else if(income<10000)return income*0.2;else return income*0.4;}"
}

resource "random_pet" "prefix" {
  prefix = var.prefix
  length = 1
}

`variables.tf`

variable "prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "cosmos-db-ss-func"
  description = "Prefix of the resource name"
}

variable "location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Resource group location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Cosmos db account location"
}

variable "throughput" {
  type        = number
  default     = 400
  description = "Cosmos db database throughput"
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput >= 400 && var.throughput <= 1000000
    error_message = "Cosmos db manual throughput should be equal to or greater than 400 and less than or equal to 1000000."
  }
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput % 100 == 0
    error_message = "Cosmos db throughput should be in increments of 100."
  }
}

Azure Cosmos DB account with Microsoft Entra ID and role-based access control

Create an Azure Cosmos account, a natively maintained Role Definition, and a natively maintained Role Assignment for a Microsoft Entra identity.

`main.tf`

data "azurerm_client_config" "current" {}

locals {
  current_user_object_id = coalesce(var.msi_id, data.azurerm_client_config.current.object_id)
}

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-rg"
  location = var.location
}

resource "random_string" "db_account_name" {
  count = var.cosmosdb_account_name == null ? 1 : 0

  length  = 20
  upper   = false
  special = false
  numeric = false
}

locals {
  cosmosdb_account_name = try(random_string.db_account_name[0].result, var.cosmosdb_account_name)
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_account" "example" {
  name                      = local.cosmosdb_account_name
  location                  = var.cosmosdb_account_location
  resource_group_name       = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  offer_type                = "Standard"
  kind                      = "GlobalDocumentDB"
  enable_automatic_failover = false
  geo_location {
    location          = var.location
    failover_priority = 0
  }

  consistency_policy {
    consistency_level       = "BoundedStaleness"
    max_interval_in_seconds = 300
    max_staleness_prefix    = 100000
  }

  depends_on = [
    azurerm_resource_group.example
  ]
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database" "example" {
  name                = var.cosmosdb_sqldb_name
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  throughput          = var.throughput
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container" "example" {
  name                  = var.sql_container_name
  resource_group_name   = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name          = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  database_name         = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database.example.name
  partition_key_path    = "/definition/id"
  partition_key_version = 1
  throughput            = 400

  indexing_policy {
    indexing_mode = "consistent"

    included_path {
      path = "/*"
    }

    included_path {
      path = "/included/?"
    }

    excluded_path {
      path = "/excluded/?"
    }
  }

  unique_key {
    paths = ["/definition/idlong", "/definition/idshort"]
  }
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_role_definition" "example" {
  name                = "examplesqlroledef"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  type                = "CustomRole"
  assignable_scopes   = [
    "/subscriptions/${data.azurerm_client_config.current.subscription_id}/resourceGroups/${azurerm_resource_group.example.name}/providers/Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts/${azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name}"
  ]

  permissions {
    data_actions = ["Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts/sqlDatabases/containers/items/read"]
  }
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_role_assignment" "example" {
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  role_definition_id  = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_role_definition.example.id
  principal_id        = local.current_user_object_id
  scope               = "/subscriptions/${data.azurerm_client_config.current.subscription_id}/resourceGroups/${azurerm_resource_group.example.name}/providers/Microsoft.DocumentDB/databaseAccounts/${azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name}"
}

resource "random_pet" "prefix" {
  prefix = var.name_prefix
}

`variables.tf`

variable "name_prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "101-cosmos-db-aad-rbac"
  description = "Prefix for resource group name"
}

variable "location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinanorth"
  description = "Resource group location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = null
  description = "Cosmos db account name"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinanorth"
  description = "Cosmos db account location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_sqldb_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = "default-sqldb-name"
  description = "value"
}

variable "msi_id" {
  type        = string
  default     = null
  description = "If you're executing the test with user assigned identity, please pass the identity principal id to this variable."
}

variable "throughput" {
  type        = number
  default     = 400
  description = "Cosmos db database throughput"
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput >= 400 && var.throughput <= 1000000
    error_message = "Cosmos db manual throughput should be equal to or greater than 400 and less than or equal to 1000000."
  }
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput % 100 == 0
    error_message = "Cosmos db throughput should be in increments of 100."
  }
}

variable "sql_container_name" {
  type        = string
  default     = "default-sql-container-name"
  description = "SQL API container name."
}

Free tier Azure Cosmos DB account

Create a free-tier Azure Cosmos account and a database with shared throughput that can be shared with up to 25 containers.

`main.tf`

resource "azurerm_resource_group" "example" {
  name     = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-rg"
  location = var.location
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_account" "example" {
  name                      = random_pet.prefix.id
  location                  = var.cosmosdb_account_location
  resource_group_name       = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  offer_type                = "Standard"
  kind                      = "GlobalDocumentDB"
  enable_automatic_failover = false
  enable_free_tier          = true
  geo_location {
    location          = var.location
    failover_priority = 0
  }
  consistency_policy {
    consistency_level       = "BoundedStaleness"
    max_interval_in_seconds = 300
    max_staleness_prefix    = 100000
  }
  depends_on = [
    azurerm_resource_group.example
  ]
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database" "main" {
  name                = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-cosmosdb-sqldb"
  resource_group_name = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name        = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  throughput          = var.throughput
}

resource "azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_container" "example" {
  name                  = "${random_pet.prefix.id}-sql-container"
  resource_group_name   = azurerm_resource_group.example.name
  account_name          = azurerm_cosmosdb_account.example.name
  database_name         = azurerm_cosmosdb_sql_database.main.name
  partition_key_path    = "/definition/id"
  partition_key_version = 1
  throughput            = var.throughput

  indexing_policy {
    indexing_mode = "consistent"

    included_path {
      path = "/*"
    }

    included_path {
      path = "/included/?"
    }

    excluded_path {
      path = "/excluded/?"
    }
  }

  unique_key {
    paths = ["/definition/idlong", "/definition/idshort"]
  }
}

resource "random_pet" "prefix" {
  prefix = var.prefix
  length = 1
}

`variables.tf`

variable "prefix" {
  type        = string
  default     = "cosmos-db-free-tier"
  description = "Prefix of the resource name"
}

variable "location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Resource group location"
}

variable "cosmosdb_account_location" {
  type        = string
  default     = "chinaeast"
  description = "Cosmos db account location"
}

variable "throughput" {
  type        = number
  default     = 400
  description = "Cosmos db database throughput"
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput >= 400 && var.throughput <= 1000000
    error_message = "Cosmos db manual throughput should be equal to or greater than 400 and less than or equal to 1000000."
  }
  validation {
    condition     = var.throughput % 100 == 0
    error_message = "Cosmos db throughput should be in increments of 100."
  }
}

Next steps

Here are some more resources:

Manage Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL resources with terraform

Azure Cosmos account with autoscale throughput

main.tf

variables.tf

Azure Cosmos account with analytical store

main.tf

variables.tf

Azure Cosmos account with standard provisioned throughput

main.tf

variables.tf

Azure Cosmos DB container with server-side functionality

main.tf

variables.tf

Azure Cosmos DB account with Microsoft Entra ID and role-based access control

main.tf

variables.tf

Free tier Azure Cosmos DB account

main.tf

variables.tf

Next steps

Additional resources

`main.tf`

`variables.tf`

`main.tf`

`variables.tf`

`main.tf`

`variables.tf`

`main.tf`

`variables.tf`

`main.tf`

`variables.tf`

`main.tf`

`variables.tf`