The enabled Meta-Argument

note

A given resource or module block cannot use enabled together with count or for_each. See Restrictions for more details.

The enabled meta-argument, introduced in OpenTofu v1.11, provides a cleaner way to conditionally create or skip a single resource or module instance in a lifecycle block. Unlike the traditional count = var.enabled ? 1 : 0 workaround, which requires array indexing to access single instances, enabled allows direct access when the resource is created and properly handles the null state when disabled.

Basic Syntax

enabled is a meta-argument that goes inside a lifecycle block. It accepts expressions that turn into boolean values to determine whether the resource or module should be created.

variable "create_instance" {
  type    = bool
  default = true
}

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  # ...
  lifecycle {
    enabled = var.create_instance
  }
}

When enabled is true (or not specified), the resource behaves normally. When enabled is false, the resource is not created and evaluates to null.

Migrating from count

If you have existing resources using the count = var.enabled ? 1 : 0 pattern, you can migrate to enabled without manual state manipulation.

After migration, you no longer need to reference your resource using the [0] instance key. Instead of aws_instance.example[0], you can simply use aws_instance.example. OpenTofu automatically handles the state migration from the indexed instance to the non-indexed instance.

Before

variable "create_instance" {
  type    = bool
  default = true
}

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  count = var.create_instance ? 1 : 0
  # ...
}

output "instance_id" {
  value = length(aws_instance.example) > 0 ? aws_instance.example[0].id : "not-created"
}

After

variable "create_instance" {
  type    = bool
  default = true
}

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  # ...
  lifecycle {
    enabled = var.create_instance
  }
}

output "instance_id" {
  value = aws_instance.example != null ? aws_instance.example.id : "not-created"
}

When you apply this change, OpenTofu will automatically move your existing resource from aws_instance.example[0] to aws_instance.example. No moved block or manual state manipulation is required.

Accessing Disabled Resources

When a resource might be disabled, it evaluates to null and cannot be accessed directly. You must use conditional expressions to handle this safely:

# Using try() - most concise but masks other errors
output "instance_id" {
  value = try(aws_instance.example.id, "not-created")
}

# Using null check - most verbose but clearest intent
output "instance_id" {
  value = aws_instance.example != null ? aws_instance.example.id : "not-created"
}

Attempting to directly access a resource configured with enabled = false will result in an error during plan or apply:

│ Error: Attempt to get attribute from null value
│
│   on main.tf line 10, in output "instance_id":
│   10:     value = aws_instance.example.id
│     ├────────────────
│     │ aws_instance.example is null
│
│ This value is null, so it does not have any attributes.

Restrictions

The enabled meta-argument cannot be used together with count or for_each, as these meta-arguments serve different purposes. Use enabled for conditionally creating single-instance resources, count for creating multiple numbered instances, or for_each for creating multiple named instances.

The enabled meta-argument cannot use:

• Unknown values (values not known until apply)
• Sensitive values
• Null values
• Ephemeral values
• Non-boolean values