2025-12-16-planfile-output-path-flag.mdx

slug	planfile-output-path-flag
title	New --output-path Flag for Planfile Generation
authors	osterman
tags	enhancement dx
date	2025-12-16 00:00:00 UTC

The terraform generate planfile command now supports an --output-path flag that lets you specify an output directory while keeping the default filename convention.

What Changed

Previously, you had two options for planfile output:

• Default location in the component directory with auto-generated filename
• Exact file path with --file flag

Now there's a third option: specify just the output directory and let Atmos generate the filename automatically.

Using --output-path

# Generate planfile in a subdirectory with default naming
atmos terraform generate planfile vpc -s plat-ue2-dev --output-path=planfiles

# The planfile is created as: planfiles/plat-ue2-dev-vpc.planfile.json

# Also supports absolute paths
atmos terraform generate planfile vpc -s plat-ue2-dev -o /tmp/planfiles

The default filename format is {stack}-{component}.planfile.{format}.

Comparison with --file

Flag	Use Case
--file	Specify exact output path including filename
--output-path	Specify directory, use default filename

The flags are mutually exclusive - use one or the other, not both.

Why This Matters

This is particularly useful for CI/CD pipelines where you want planfiles organized in a specific directory but don't want to construct filenames manually:

# Collect all planfiles in one location for review
atmos terraform generate planfile vpc -s plat-ue2-dev --output-path=artifacts/planfiles
atmos terraform generate planfile rds -s plat-ue2-dev --output-path=artifacts/planfiles

Documentation

See the terraform generate planfile documentation for complete usage details.