Analyze Terraform plan JSON output for AzureRM Provider to distinguish between false-positive diffs (order-only changes in Set-type attributes) and actual resource changes. Use when reviewing terraform plan output for Azure resources like Application Gateway, Load Balancer, Firewall, Front Door, NSG, and other resources with Set-type attributes that cause spurious diffs due to internal ordering changes.
Identify false-positive diffs in Terraform AzureRM plans caused by Set-type attribute ordering.
Analyzes terraform plan JSON output to distinguish spurious diffs (element reordering in Sets) from actual resource changes Targets AzureRM resources with Set-type attributes: Application Gateway, Load Balancer, NSG, Firewall, Front Door, and others Requires Python 3.8+ and uses only standard library; integrates into CI/CD pipelines with configurable output formats and exit codes Helps reviewers focus on meaningful changes when terraform plan shows "all elements changed" despite minimal actual modifications
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SKILL.md
Terraform AzureRM Set Diff Analyzer
A skill to identify "false-positive diffs" in Terraform plans caused by AzureRM Provider's Set-type attributes and distinguish them from actual changes.
When to Use
terraform plan shows many changes, but you only added/removed a single element
Application Gateway, Load Balancer, NSG, etc. show "all elements changed"
You want to automatically filter false-positive diffs in CI/CD
Background
Terraform's Set type compares by position rather than by key, so when adding or removing elements, all elements appear as "changed". This is a general Terraform issue, but it's particularly noticeable with AzureRM resources that heavily use Set-type attributes like Application Gateway, Load Balancer, and NSG.
These "false-positive diffs" don't actually affect the resources, but they make reviewing terraform plan output difficult.
Prerequisites
Python 3.8+
If Python is unavailable, install via your package manager (e.g., apt install python3, brew install python3) or from python.org.
Basic Usage
# 1. Generate plan JSON output
terraform plan -out=plan.tfplan
terraform show -json plan.tfplan > plan.json
# 2. Analyze
python scripts/analyze_plan.py plan.json
Troubleshooting
python: command not found: Use python3 instead, or install Python
ModuleNotFoundError: Script uses only standard library; ensure Python 3.8+
Detailed Documentation
[scripts/README.md](scripts/README.md) - All options, output formats, exit codes, CI/CD examples
[references/azurermsetattributes.md](references/azurermsetattributes.md) - Supported resources and attributes
