Google Cloud Foundation Fabric

Overview

Guide agents through selecting, configuring, and customizing modules and FAST stages from the cloud-foundation-fabric repository — Google Cloud's official Terraform modules and landing zone toolkit.

When to use

• When working with any CFF module (modules/project, modules/net-vpc, etc.)
• When setting up or modifying FAST landing zone stages
• When configuring factories (factories_config, project factory, VPC factory)
• When designing GCP organization hierarchy, networking, or security with Terraform
• When the user references cloud-foundation-fabric or Fabric FAST
• When creating GCP projects, VPCs, firewall policies, or IAM using CFF patterns

Do NOT use when:

• Working with generic Terraform (not CFF-specific) — use terraform-style-guide
• Working with Terragrunt wrappers around CFF (unless asking about underlying module config)
• Working with Cloud Foundation Toolkit (CFT) — that's a different project

Key Concepts

Repository structure

cloud-foundation-fabric/
├── modules/          # Composable Terraform modules
├── fast/             # FAST landing zone stages
│   └── stages/       # Sequential stages (0-org-setup, 1-vpcsc, 2-networking, etc.)
├── blueprints/       # Deprecated — use modules directly
├── tools/            # Python utilities (tfdoc, linting, testing)
└── tests/            # pytest + tftest-based tests

Module categories

Category	Key Modules
Foundational	project, folder, organization, iam-service-account, billing-account
Networking	net-vpc, net-vpc-firewall, net-firewall-policy, net-vpn-ha, dns, net-lb-app-ext, net-lb-int, net-cloudnat, net-swp
Compute	compute-vm, compute-mig, gke-cluster-standard, gke-cluster-autopilot, gke-nodepool
Data	bigquery-dataset, gcs, cloudsql-instance, pubsub, alloydb, spanner-instance, dataproc
Security	kms, secret-manager, vpc-sc, certificate-authority-service, binauthz
Serverless	cloud-function-v2, cloud-run-v2
Development	artifact-registry, apigee, api-gateway
Factories	project-factory, net-vpc-factory

FAST stages

FAST stages run sequentially and build on each other's outputs:

Stage	Purpose	Key Resources
0-org-setup	Bootstrap org, billing, logging, CI/CD	Projects, SAs, GCS buckets, IAM
1-vpcsc	VPC Service Controls perimeters	Access policies, perimeters, levels
2-networking	Hub/spoke or shared VPC networking	VPCs, subnets, firewall policies, VPNs
2-security	KMS, CAS, security projects	KMS keyrings, CAS pools
2-project-factory	Managed project creation at scale	Projects via YAML factories
3-*	Workload-specific (GKE, data platform)	Varies

Workflow

1. Identify the right module

Match the user's GCP resource needs to CFF modules:

• Check the module categories table above
• Each module has a README with examples — reference them at modules/<name>/README.md
• Modules are designed for composition: combine multiple modules for complete solutions (e.g., project + net-vpc + net-vpc-firewall)

2. Configure using CFF patterns

CFF modules follow consistent interface patterns. Apply these when writing module blocks:

IAM pattern — every module supports both role-based and group-based IAM. Always use group_iam when granting multiple roles to one principal (CFF convention):

module "project" {
  source = "./modules/project"
  name   = "my-project"
  # Role-based IAM — one role maps to many principals
  iam = {
    "roles/viewer" = ["group:viewers@example.com"]
  }
  # group_iam — one principal maps to many roles (preferred for groups)
  group_iam = {
    "group:editors@example.com" = ["roles/editor", "roles/iam.serviceAccountUser"]
  }
}

Naming pattern — use prefix variable, never random suffixes:

module "project" {
  source = "./modules/project"
  name   = "net-hub-0"
  prefix = "myco-gcp-prod"  # Results in: myco-gcp-prod-net-hub-0
}

Factory pattern — use factories_config for scale:

module "project-factory" {
  source = "./modules/project-factory"
  factories_config = {
    basepath = "data"  # root path for all factory data
    # paths default to: projects, folders, budgets, project-templates
  }
  data_defaults = {
    billing_account = "012345-ABCDEF-012345"
    parent          = "folders/1234567890"
    prefix          = "myco-dev"
    services        = ["compute.googleapis.com"]
  }
  data_merges = {
    labels = { managed-by = "project-factory" }
  }
}

The project-factory uses a three-tier precedence: data_defaults (lowest) → YAML file data → data_overrides (highest). data_merges additively combines with file data (useful for labels, services that should always be present).

Shared VPC pattern — host and service project configuration:

# Host project
module "host-project" {
  source = "./modules/project"
  name   = "net-host-0"
  shared_vpc_host_config = {
    enabled          = true
    service_projects = [module.service-project.project_id]
  }
}

# Service project (attachment with service agent IAM)
module "service-project" {
  source = "./modules/project"
  name   = "svc-app-0"
  shared_vpc_service_config = {
    host_project = module.host-project.project_id
    # Grant service agents network access (key CFF pattern)
    service_agent_iam = {
      "roles/compute.networkUser" = [
        "cloudservices", "container-engine"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Note: CFF uses service_agent_iam (not service_identity_iam) in shared_vpc_service_config. The keys are short service names like cloudservices, container-engine, not full email addresses.

VPC subnet pattern — subnets are a list of objects with private access on by default:

module "vpc" {
  source     = "./modules/net-vpc"
  project_id = module.project.project_id
  name       = "hub-vpc"
  subnets = [
    {
      name          = "subnet-eu"
      ip_cidr_range = "10.0.0.0/24"
      region        = "europe-west1"
      # enable_private_access defaults to true in CFF
      secondary_ip_ranges = {
        pods     = { ip_cidr_range = "172.16.0.0/20" }
        services = { ip_cidr_range = "192.168.0.0/24" }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Note: In CFF, secondary_ip_ranges is a map of objects with ip_cidr_range keys (not bare strings). Private Google Access is enabled by default via enable_private_access = true.

Cloud NAT pattern — always pass router_network for the VPC self-link:

module "nat" {
  source         = "./modules/net-cloudnat"
  project_id     = var.project_id
  region         = "europe-west1"
  name           = "hub-nat"
  router_network = module.vpc.self_link
}

Firewall policy rules — use layer4_configs for protocol/port matching:

module "fw-policy" {
  source    = "./modules/net-firewall-policy"
  name      = "iap-ssh"
  parent_id = var.organization_id
  rules = {
    allow-iap-ssh = {
      direction = "INGRESS"
      action    = "allow"
      priority  = 1000
      match = {
        src_ip_ranges  = ["35.235.240.0/20"]
        layer4_configs = [{ protocol = "tcp", ports = ["22"] }]
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Work with FAST stages

When modifying or extending FAST stages:

1. Understand stage contracts — each stage consumes outputs from previous stages via variable blocks with # tfdoc:variable:source <stage> comments
2. Use output files — FAST generates provider and tfvars files in GCS for downstream stages; maintain this system when adding outputs
3. Leverage factories — FAST stages use factories_config to drive resource creation from YAML; prefer adding YAML files over modifying HCL
4. Respect the stage DAG — stages 0 → 1 → 2 → 3; don't create circular dependencies

4. Customize modules

When extending or modifying CFF modules:

1. Fork the repo — CFF is designed to be cloned and forked for production
2. Follow the Zen of Fabric — design by logical entity, use stable interfaces, prefer flat code, don't be too opinionated
3. Update documentation — run tools/tfdoc.py modules/<name> after changing variables or outputs
4. Write tests — add README examples with # tftest modules=N resources=M comments; optionally add inventory YAML files
5. Use descriptive file names — not main.tf/variables.tf/outputs.tf but iam.tf, vpc.tf, factory.tf

5. Test your code

# Format
terraform fmt -recursive

# Update docs
./tools/tfdoc.py modules/<module-name>

# Run tests
pytest tests/examples                              # all examples
pytest -k 'modules and <module>:' tests/examples   # specific module
pytest tests                                        # full suite

Checklist

• [ ] Correct CFF module identified for the GCP resource type
• [ ] Module block uses CFF interface patterns (IAM, naming, factories)
• [ ] Variables use object types with defaults (not flat scalar variables)
• [ ] prefix used instead of random suffixes for naming
• [ ] Output depends_on includes all internal resources for safe composition
• [ ] FAST stage contracts respected (variables sourced from correct upstream stage)
• [ ] Factory YAML files follow the module's expected schema
• [ ] tfdoc regenerated after variable/output changes
• [ ] Tests pass (pytest -k 'modules and <name>:' tests/examples)

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Using random suffixes in resource names	Use prefix variable: prefix = "myco-gcp-dev"
Flat scalar variables for complex config	Use object variables with optional attributes and defaults
Managing IAM in a separate module	Put IAM in the same module as the resource (CFF design principle)
Manually editing README variable tables	Run ./tools/tfdoc.py modules/<name> to regenerate
Referencing modules by registry	Clone the repo and reference locally or via git tag: source = "github.com/...//modules/project?ref=v54.0.0"
Creating sub-modules inside a module	Keep modules flat — avoid nesting to reduce complexity
Using main.tf for everything	Use descriptive filenames: iam.tf, vpc.tf, factory.tf
Ignoring depends_on in outputs	Always add depends_on = [module.X] to outputs so consumers wait for full configuration
Breaking FAST stage contracts	Check # tfdoc:variable:source comments for required upstream outputs
Using terraform-google-modules/* patterns	CFF has different conventions — don't mix patterns from CFT/terraform-google-modules

Quick Reference

Operation	How
Find a module	Browse modules/ directory or check the module categories table
Reference a module	source = "./modules/<name>" (local) or "github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-foundation-fabric//modules/<name>?ref=v54.0.0" (remote)
Add IAM to any resource	Use iam = { "roles/X" = ["member:Y"] } variable (standard across all modules)
Create projects at scale	Use project-factory module with factories_config.projects pointing to YAML dir
Create VPCs at scale	Use net-vpc-factory module with factories_config.vpcs pointing to YAML dir
Set org policies	Use org_policies factory key in project, folder, or organization modules
Configure firewall rules	Use net-firewall-policy module with factories_config for YAML-driven rules
Set up Shared VPC	Use shared_vpc_host_config on host project, shared_vpc_service_config on service projects
Run FAST stage	cd fast/stages/<stage> && terraform init && terraform apply
Bootstrap a new org	Start with fast/stages/0-org-setup
Update module docs	./tools/tfdoc.py modules/<module-name>
Run module tests	pytest -k 'modules and <name>:' tests/examples
Generate test inventory	pytest -s 'tests/examples/test_plan.py::test_example[modules/<name>:...]'
Check all linting	./tools/lint.sh

Key Principles

1. Design by logical entity — modules encapsulate all resources for a single functional unit (project + IAM + services + org policies), not by product. This improves readability and ensures consumers get fully-configured units.

2. Stable interfaces — the same variable pattern (iam, factories_config, prefix, labels) is reused across all modules. Learn it once, apply everywhere.

3. Factories for scale — YAML-driven factories (factories_config) are the preferred pattern for managing many similar resources. Add YAML files instead of duplicating HCL blocks.

4. Fork and own — CFF is designed to be cloned and customized. Reference via git tags for stability, but expect to modify code for production needs.

5. Flat and explicit — avoid sub-modules, magic, and deep indirection. Code should be readable as documentation. Prefer 79-char line lengths and alphabetical ordering of variables/outputs.