Error: vra_project Cannot Remove Custom Properties

[bjf-rga]

Code of Conduct

This project has a Code of Conduct that all participants are expected to understand and follow:

• I have read and agree to the project's Code of Conduct

vRA Version

8.18.1

Terraform Version

1.12.2

vRA Terraform Provider Version

v0.15.0

Affected Resource(s)

Terraform Configuration Files

resource "vra_project" "demo" {
  name = "my-bug-demo"

  custom_properties = {
    prop_1 = "val1"
    prop_2 = "val2"
  }
}

Expected Behavior

When a custom property is removed, it should be removed on apply.

Actual Behavior

The property is not removed the project, resulting in a perpetual difference in all plan operations.

Steps to Reproduce

Screenshots

Terraform will perform the following actions:

  # vra_project.demo will be updated in-place
  ~ resource "vra_project" "demo" {
      ~ custom_properties       = {
          - "prop_2" = "val2" -> null
            # (1 unchanged element hidden)
        }   
        id                      = "2233ae7b-b48a-400f-b4b2-2f9b0a22861b"
        name                    = "my-bug-demo"
        # (8 unchanged attributes hidden)
    }   

Plan: 0 to add, 1 to change, 0 to destroy.

Debug Output

No gist again. Only including the two relevant lines.

2025-11-18T13:34:51.588-0600 [INFO]  provider.terraform-provider-vra_v0.15.0: 2025/11/18 13:34:51 PATCH /iaas/api/projects/2233ae7b-b48a-400f-b4b2-2f9b0a22861b HTTP/1.1: timestamp=2025-11-18T13:34:51.588-0600
2025-11-18T13:34:51.592-0600 [INFO]  provider.terraform-provider-vra_v0.15.0: 2025/11/18 13:34:51 {"administrators":[],"constraints":{"extensibility":[],"network":[],"storage":[]}
,"customProperties":{"prop_1":"val1"},"members":[],"name":"my-bug-demo","operationTimeout":0,"placementPolicy":"DEFAULT","sharedResources":true,"supervisors":[],"viewers":[],"zone
AssignmentConfigurations":[]}: timestamp=2025-11-18T13:34:51.591-0600

Panic Output

n/a

Important Factoids

This is likely a bug in the API and not the provider, as the debug output shows the provider passing an expected payload. Unsure if this would make more sense as a PUT with a full assertion of state.

If a property is added, the Terraform operations work as expected. This only affects removal of properties.

References

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[tenthirtyam]

This could likely be addressed with a read-modify-write pattern update in resourceProjectUpdate.

func resourceProjectUpdate(ctx context.Context, d *schema.ResourceData, m interface{}) diag.Diagnostics {
	apiClient := m.(*Client).apiClient

	id := d.Id()
	
	var customProperties map[string]string
	if d.HasChange("custom_properties") {
		currentProject, err := apiClient.Project.GetProject(project.NewGetProjectParams().WithID(id))
		if err != nil {
			return diag.FromErr(err)
		}
		make(map[string]string)
		if currentProject.Payload.CustomProperties != nil {
			for k, v := range currentProject.Payload.CustomProperties {
				customProperties[k] = v
			}
		}
		
		desiredProperties := expandCustomProperties(d.Get("custom_properties").(map[string]interface{}))
		
		for key := range customProperties {
			if _, exists := desiredProperties[key]; !exists {
				delete(customProperties, key)
			}
		}
		for key, value := range desiredProperties {
			customProperties[key] = value
		}
	} else {
		customProperties = expandCustomProperties(d.Get("custom_properties").(map[string]interface{}))
	}

	administrators := expandUserListAndNewUserList(d.Get("administrators").(*schema.Set).List(),
		d.Get("administrator_roles").(*schema.Set).List())
	constraints := expandProjectConstraints(d.Get("constraints").(*schema.Set).List())
	description := d.Get("description").(string)
	machineNamingTemplate := d.Get("machine_naming_template").(string)
	members := expandUserListAndNewUserList(d.Get("members").(*schema.Set).List(), d.Get("member_roles").(*schema.Set).List())
	supervisors := expandUsers(d.Get("supervisor_roles").(*schema.Set).List())
	viewers := expandUserListAndNewUserList(d.Get("viewers").(*schema.Set).List(), d.Get("viewer_roles").(*schema.Set).List())
	name := d.Get("name").(string)
	operationTimeout := int64(d.Get("operation_timeout").(int))
	placementPolicy := d.Get("placement_policy").(string)
	sharedResources := d.Get("shared_resources").(bool)
	zoneAssignment := expandZoneAssignment(d.Get("zone_assignments").(*schema.Set).List())

	_, err := apiClient.Project.UpdateProject(project.NewUpdateProjectParams().WithID(id).WithBody(&models.IaaSProjectSpecification{
		Administrators:               administrators,
		Constraints:                  constraints,
		CustomProperties:             customProperties,
		Description:                  description,
		MachineNamingTemplate:        machineNamingTemplate,
		Members:                      members,
		Name:                         &name,
		OperationTimeout:             &operationTimeout,
		PlacementPolicy:              placementPolicy,
		SharedResources:              withBool(sharedResources),
		Supervisors:                  supervisors,
		Viewers:                      viewers,
		ZoneAssignmentConfigurations: zoneAssignment,
	}))
	if err != nil {
		return diag.FromErr(err)
	}

	return resourceProjectRead(ctx, d, m)
}