Materialize Terraform Provider

The MaterializeInc/materialize Terraform provider manages Materialize resources declaratively. It works with both Materialize Cloud (SaaS) and self-managed deployments.

This skill deliberately does not duplicate the per-resource argument reference. The provider auto-generates complete documentation for every resource and data source from its schema, and that is the source of truth. This skill tells you where that reference lives and carries only the knowledge the generated docs do not: provider setup, cross-resource patterns, import workflows, and gotchas.

Where the Authoritative Reference Lives

The generated docs are in the provider repository and on the Terraform Registry:

• Repository: docs/ in terraform-provider-materialize
• Registry: https://registry.terraform.io/providers/MaterializeInc/materialize/latest/docs

File naming is mechanical, so you can construct the path for any resource without a catalog:

For example, materialize_source_kafka is documented in docs/resources/source_kafka.md. Every generated page includes a full argument reference, attribute reference, import syntax, and usually an example.

Never guess resource arguments. Read the generated doc for the resource before writing configuration. When the provider is installed locally, terraform providers schema -json gives the exact schema as ground truth.

Provider Configuration

Materialize Cloud (SaaS)

provider "materialize" {
  password       = var.materialize_password  # app password
  default_region = "aws/us-east-1"
}

Self-Managed

provider "materialize" {
  host     = "materialized"
  port     = 6875
  username = "materialize"
  database = "materialize"
  password = var.mz_password
  # Use "require" (or stricter, e.g. "verify-full") against any TLS-enabled
  # deployment. "disable" is only appropriate for a local, non-TLS instance.
  sslmode  = "require"
}

OIDC/SSO Authentication (Self-Managed)

provider "materialize" {
  host     = "materialized"
  port     = 6875
  username = var.oidc_username
  password = var.oidc_id_token
  database = "materialize"
  options = {
    oidc_auth_enabled = "true"
  }
}

All arguments have environment variable equivalents: MZ_HOST, MZ_PORT, MZ_USER, MZ_DATABASE, MZ_PASSWORD, MZ_SSLMODE, MZ_DEFAULT_REGION.

Important: Self-managed mode does not support Frontegg-dependent resources (app passwords, users, SSO, SCIM). Those only work against Materialize Cloud.

Resource Map

A category map of what exists, so you know what to look up. Names only; read the generated doc for arguments.

• Compute: materialize_cluster (materialize_cluster_replica is deprecated, use materialize_cluster with size)
• Namespaces: materialize_database, materialize_schema
• Connections: materialize_connection_{kafka,postgres,mysql,sqlserver,aws,ssh_tunnel,confluent_schema_registry,aws_privatelink,iceberg_catalog}
• Sources: materialize_source_{kafka,postgres,mysql,sqlserver,load_generator}
• Source tables (the recommended model, tables defined separately from sources): materialize_source_table_{kafka,postgres,mysql,sqlserver,webhook}
• Sinks: materialize_sink_{kafka,iceberg}
• Views and tables: materialize_materialized_view, materialize_view, materialize_index, materialize_table, materialize_type
• Security: materialize_role, materialize_secret, materialize_network_policy, materialize_grant_system_privilege
• Object grants: one resource per object type (materialize_cluster_grant, materialize_database_grant, materialize_schema_grant, materialize_table_grant, and so on), each taking role_name, privilege, and the object reference. materialize_*_grant_default_privilege variants set privileges on future objects.
• Cloud-only (Frontegg): materialize_user, materialize_app_password, materialize_sso_*, materialize_scim_*, materialize_region
• System configuration: materialize_system_parameter, materialize_role_parameter
• Data sources: read-only lists of the above (clusters, sources, views, roles, etc.), plus materialize_egress_ips, materialize_current_cluster, materialize_current_database. All support region filtering.

Cross-Resource Patterns

These conventions apply across most resources and are easy to miss reading one doc page at a time.

One worked example

Connection, source, and source table compose through nested reference blocks, and credentials come from secrets:

resource "materialize_connection_kafka" "kafka" {
  name              = "kafka_conn"
  security_protocol = "SASL_SSL"
  sasl_mechanisms   = "SCRAM-SHA-256"

  kafka_broker {
    broker = "broker1.example.com:9092"
  }

  sasl_username {
    text = "my_user"
  }

  sasl_password {
    secret {
      name = materialize_secret.kafka_password.name
    }
  }
}

resource "materialize_source_kafka" "events" {
  name         = "events_source"
  cluster_name = materialize_cluster.analytics.name

  kafka_connection {
    name = materialize_connection_kafka.kafka.name
  }
}

resource "materialize_source_table_kafka" "events_table" {
  name  = "events"
  topic = "events-topic"

  source {
    name = materialize_source_kafka.events.name
  }

  format {
    avro {
      schema_registry_connection {
        name = materialize_connection_confluent_schema_registry.sr.name
      }
    }
  }

  envelope {
    upsert = true
  }
}

Conventions

• Qualified names: most resources expose a read-only qualified_sql_name (database.schema.object). Cross-resource reference blocks take name, database_name, schema_name, with the latter two defaulting to materialize and public.
• Secret or text: credential arguments accept either inline text or a secret {} reference block, as in the example above. Prefer secrets.
• Common arguments: most resources support database_name, schema_name, comment, ownership_role, and region; connections additionally support validate.
• Identify by name: materialize_cluster and materialize_schema support identify_by_name = true, which uses the object name as the state ID instead of the internal Materialize ID. Useful for blue/green deployments where clusters are swapped without changing Terraform state.
• Write-only arguments (Terraform 1.11+): materialize_role.password_wo and materialize_secret.value_wo (with their *_wo_version counterparts) never enter Terraform state. Regular sensitive values are hidden from plan output but still stored in state.

Importing Existing Resources

terraform import materialize_cluster.my_cluster <region>:<cluster_id>
# or with identify_by_name:
terraform import materialize_cluster.my_cluster <region>:name:<cluster_name>

Each generated resource doc shows the exact import format. Find object IDs in the mz_catalog system tables (mz_clusters, mz_databases, mz_schemas, mz_sources, mz_sinks, mz_views, mz_connections, mz_secrets, mz_roles).

Common Gotchas

• Cloud vs self-managed: Frontegg-dependent resources (users, SSO, SCIM, app passwords) fail against self-managed instances.
• Database without public schema: materialize_database does not auto-create a public schema. Create one explicitly if needed.
• Source table migration: the inline table {} block in source resources is deprecated in favor of separate materialize_source_table_* resources. See docs/guides/materialize_source_table.md in the provider repo.
• Webhook sources: materialize_source_webhook is legacy. New webhooks should use materialize_table with webhook support, though automated migration is not yet available.
• Cluster replicas deprecated: use materialize_cluster with size for managed clusters.
• Secrets in state: values marked sensitive are hidden from plan output but stored in state. Use the write-only (*_wo) arguments on Terraform 1.11+ to keep them out of state entirely.

Keeping This Skill Up to Date

The per-resource reference never goes stale here because it is not duplicated here: the generated docs in the provider repo are always current for the release they ship with. The verified-against value in the frontmatter records the provider commit the curated content (patterns, gotchas, resource map) was last verified against. To refresh:

1. Diff the provider repository from that commit to current main, focusing on new or deprecated resources, docs/guides/, and CHANGELOG entries.
2. Update the resource map, patterns, and gotchas here if behavior changed.
3. Bump verified-against to the new commit SHA.