Terraform 1.16 completes Actions lifecycles and brings imports into child modules
Curated from HashiCorp Blog
Terraform 1.16 addresses two persistent friction points in module architecture: the inability to execute custom logic during resource destruction and the complexity of importing state into nested structures. For teams managing large, multi-module environments, these updates reduce the reliance on external scripts for cleanup tasks and simplify state adoption. The new child module imports are particularly relevant for organizations consolidating legacy infrastructure under Terraform management without flattening their module hierarchy. You no longer need to hoist imports to the root module to satisfy dependency requirements. A concrete takeaway: review your existing destroy hooks and import workflows now. If you are currently using `null_resource` triggers for cleanup or manually re-parenting state files, plan a migration path to leverage these native capabilities in your next infrastructure upgrade.
Terraform 1.16 adds destroy-time Actions and reusable imports in child modules, keeping more infrastructure lifecycle operations in Terraform.
— HashiCorp Blog