allow to use hcl files as var files in HCL mode

[azr]

fix #8781

[SwampDragons]

This works but I'm having trouble figuring out the file structure / cli command necessary to declare a variable in a different file than my build template.

[azr]

The TLDR of it is:

1/ Declare a var:

# this can be declared in any *.pkr.hcl file depending on your preference.
# For example in vars.pkr.hcl if you want them all there
# or at the top of the file where it is being used
variable "foo" {
  type = string
  default = ""
}

2/ Set it either from:

• env: PKR_VAR_foo=bar packer ...
• an *.auto.pkrvars.hcl file : packer build folder/

# folder/varfile.auto.pkrvars.hcl
foo = "bar"
# this file needs to be in the same folder as your buildfiles and packer will just parse it as a varfile

• a var argument packer -var-file /home/azr/shared_confs/foo.pkrvars.hcl -var foo=bar ... :

# this file can be anywhere but it's extension needs to be "pkrvars.hcl" ( or ". pkrvars json" for the json format )
foo = "bar"

The further down this list the more priority the setting will have. auto varfiles are sorted in lexical order of their filenames. -var and -var-files are not auto sorted and the last one that sets a variable 'wins'.

⚠️ Note that pkrvars.hcl files have a specific layout and permit setting variables directly without a body.

---

All of it is here and here: and was just taken from the TF docs

Do you think we should change things in the docs ? Do you have recommendations ? 🙂 I'd gladly improve this.

[SwampDragons]

ah, got it! I didn't realize we had to run packer build against the directory instead of the hcl file, to get the variable definitions.

[ghost]

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