Create Your First Template

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.envzero.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Templates are how you add your infrastructure code to env zero. You need to tell env zero how to connect to your VCS and where to find your IaC code.

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Create your template

1. Open the Organization Templates page.

2. Click Create New Template.

3. Choose your desired template type. Select Terraform for Terraform code or OpenTofu for OpenTofu code. For other frameworks, select the matching tile.
4. Enter a name for your template in Template Name. If the form shows a version selector, choose the IaC version your code requires. If you’re unsure, select the latest stable version. Click Next.

5. Select your VCS provider. Follow the section below for your provider.

• GitHub
• GitLab
• Bitbucket
• Azure DevOps
• Other VCS

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GitHub

1. After clicking the GitHub.com button for the first time, a GitHub popup asks you to install the env zero GitHub App on a GitHub organization. Pick the GitHub organization containing your repository.

2. Pick the repositories you want env zero to have access to and install the GitHub App.

3. The GitHub popup closes.
4. Pick the GitHub repository that contains the code for this template.

5. Enter a branch or tag in the Branch field. Leaving this empty uses your default branch (usually main or master).
6. Enter the folder your IaC files are in. The field name varies by template type (Terraform Folder, Pulumi Root, etc.) but works the same way. Leave empty if the files are at the repository root.
7. Click Next to continue to Variables.

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GitLab

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OAuth

1. After clicking the GitLab.com button for the first time, a GitLab popup asks you to authorize the env zero application to access your repositories.

2. The GitLab popup closes.
3. Pick the GitLab repository that contains the code for this template.
4. Enter a branch or tag in the Branch field. Leaving this empty uses your default branch (usually main or master).
5. Enter the folder your IaC files are in. The field name varies by template type (Terraform Folder, Pulumi Root, etc.) but works the same way. Leave empty if the files are at the repository root.
6. Click Next to continue to Variables.

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GitLab Access Token

1. After selecting GitLab.com, a radio button appears with two options.
2. Click Access Token and either select an existing token or create a new one.
   1. Creating a token:
      1. The token can be either a Personal Access Token or a Group Access Token.
      2. The token must have access to each repository you want to use with env zero. Each project’s user must have at least Maintainer or Owner permissions.
      3. The token must have the read_repository and api scopes.
3. Follow the same steps from step 3 in the OAuth section above.

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Bitbucket

1. After clicking the Bitbucket.org button for the first time, a Bitbucket popup asks you to authorize the env zero application to access your workspace.

2. The Bitbucket popup closes.
3. Pick the Bitbucket repository that contains the code for this template.
4. Enter a branch or tag in the Branch field. Leaving this empty uses your default branch (usually main or master).
5. Enter the folder your IaC files are in. The field name varies by template type (Terraform Folder, Pulumi Root, etc.) but works the same way. Leave empty if the files are at the repository root.
6. Click Next to continue to Variables.

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Azure DevOps

1. After clicking the Azure DevOps button for the first time, an Azure DevOps popup asks you to authorize the env zero application to access your repositories. Grant access for the app.

2. The Azure DevOps popup closes.
3. Pick the Azure DevOps repository that contains the code for this template.
4. Enter a branch in the Branch field. Leaving this empty uses your default branch (usually main or master).
5. Enter the folder your IaC files are in under <IaC> Folder (where IaC is the template type you selected). Leave empty if the files are at the repository root.
6. Click Next to continue to Variables.

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Other VCS

1. Enter the URL to your IaC repository under Repository URL. The URL can be HTTP/S or SSH.
2. Enter a branch or tag in the Branch field. Leaving this empty uses your default branch.
3. Enter the folder your IaC files are in under Terraform Folder. Leave empty if the files are at the repository root.
4. If your repository is private, use the SSH Keys or Git Token dropdown to select the credentials you created in the Connect Your Git Repository step.
5. Click Next to continue to Variables.

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Variables

1. Add the variables your template needs at deploy time.
   • Terraform Variables are passed to the IaC tool as -var flags. Use these for values your code declares as variable blocks, such as region, instance_type, or environment_name.
   • Environment Variables are set in the shell before the IaC tool runs. Use these for provider authentication, such as AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID, GOOGLE_CREDENTIALS, or tool configuration flags.
   See Variables for full scoping rules and inheritance. If your template doesn’t require any variables yet, skip this step.

2. Click Next to continue to Projects.

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Projects

1. Pick the projects that you’d like to allow to deploy this template.
2. Click Done to create the template.

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Add your template to a project

To run the template, add it to one of the organization’s projects. Your new organization already has a Default Project.

1. Go to the Default Organization Project.
2. Click Project Templates in the left menu.

3. Click Manage Templates and check the checkbox next to the template you created.

4. Click Save.

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Next steps

• Deploy Your First Environment - Deploy your first environment from the template you created.
• Using env zero Templates - Learn advanced template settings, versioning, and variable control.
• Approval Policies - Require a plan review before any apply runs on this template.
• Custom Flows - Add pre- and post-deploy scripts to your template.