Random Creature

The random_creature resource generates friendly, memorable creature names combining adjectives and animal names. It provides consistent, deterministic name generation for creating user-friendly identifiers in lab environments.

Use Cases

As a lab author, you can use random_creature resources to:

• User-Friendly Naming: Generate memorable, human-readable names for resources instead of cryptic identifiers
• Container Naming: Generate approachable names for containers that are easier to identify than random strings

Random creature resources create engaging, memorable identifiers while maintaining uniqueness and consistency.

HCL Syntax

Basic Syntax

resource "random_creature" "name" {}

Full Syntax

resource "random_creature" "name" {}

Fields

This resource takes no input parameters. Creature names are generated automatically.

Computed Attributes

These attributes are set by the system after creature name generation:

Field	Type	Description
value	string	The generated creature name (e.g., "brave-dolphin", "curious-elephant")

Validation Rules

• Creature names follow the pattern: adjective-animal
• Generated values remain constant across multiple runs (idempotent)
• Names are URL-safe and contain only lowercase letters and hyphens
• All generated names are family-friendly and appropriate for professional environments

Examples

Simple Creature Name

resource "random_creature" "instance_name" {}

output "friendly_name" {
  value = resource.random_creature.instance_name.value  # e.g., "brave-dolphin"
}

Container Naming

resource "random_creature" "container_name" {}

resource "container" "app" {
  image {
    name = "myapp:latest"
  }

  environment = {
    INSTANCE_NAME = resource.random_creature.container_name.value  # e.g., "curious-elephant"
  }
}

Lab Instance Identification

resource "random_creature" "lab_id" {}

resource "template" "welcome_message" {
  source = <<-EOF
    Welcome to your lab instance: ${resource.random_creature.lab_id.value}  # e.g., "Welcome to your lab instance: gentle-penguin"

    You can refer to this instance as "${resource.random_creature.lab_id.value}" throughout the lab.

    Your unique lab environment is ready to use!
  EOF

  destination = "./welcome.txt"
}

Team Assignment

resource "random_creature" "team_red" {}
resource "random_creature" "team_blue" {}

resource "template" "team_config" {
  source = <<-EOF
    teams:
      red:
        name: ${resource.random_creature.team_red.value}        # e.g., "mighty-lion"
        color: "#ff0000"
        namespace: team-${resource.random_creature.team_red.value}

      blue:
        name: ${resource.random_creature.team_blue.value}       # e.g., "swift-falcon"
        color: "#0000ff"
        namespace: team-${resource.random_creature.team_blue.value}
  EOF

  destination = "./teams.yaml"
}

Service Discovery

resource "random_creature" "service_name" {}

resource "container" "api_service" {
  image {
    name = "api:latest"
  }

  environment = {
    SERVICE_ID = resource.random_creature.service_name.value     # e.g., "clever-owl"
    SERVICE_URL = "http://${resource.random_creature.service_name.value}:8080"
  }

  port {
    local = 8080
    host = 8080
  }
}

resource "template" "service_registry" {
  source = <<-EOF
    services:
      - name: ${resource.random_creature.service_name.value}     # e.g., "clever-owl"
        url: http://${resource.random_creature.service_name.value}:8080
        health_check: /health
        tags: ["api", "demo"]
  EOF

  destination = "./services.yaml"
}

Multiple Lab Components

resource "random_creature" "database_name" {}
resource "random_creature" "cache_name" {}
resource "random_creature" "worker_name" {}

resource "container" "database" {
  image {
    name = "postgres:15"
  }

  environment = {
    POSTGRES_DB = resource.random_creature.database_name.value   # e.g., "wise-turtle"
  }
}

resource "container" "cache" {
  image {
    name = "redis:alpine"
  }
}

resource "container" "worker" {
  image {
    name = "worker:latest"
  }

  environment = {
    DATABASE_HOST = "db-${resource.random_creature.database_name.value}"    # e.g., "db-wise-turtle"
    CACHE_HOST = "cache-${resource.random_creature.cache_name.value}"       # e.g., "cache-quick-rabbit"
    WORKER_ID = resource.random_creature.worker_name.value                  # e.g., "strong-bear"
  }
}

User Simulation

resource "random_creature" "user_alice" {}
resource "random_creature" "user_bob" {}

resource "template" "mock_users" {
  source = <<-EOF
    users:
      - username: alice
        display_name: "Alice (${resource.random_creature.user_alice.value})"      # e.g., "Alice (friendly-cat)"
        avatar: "/avatars/${resource.random_creature.user_alice.value}.png"

      - username: bob
        display_name: "Bob (${resource.random_creature.user_bob.value})"          # e.g., "Bob (happy-dog)"
        avatar: "/avatars/${resource.random_creature.user_bob.value}.png"
  EOF

  destination = "./mock_users.yaml"
}

Network Naming

resource "random_creature" "network_name" {}

resource "network" "lab_network" {
  subnet = "10.0.0.0/24"
}

Best Practices

1. User Experience: Use creature names when human readability and memorability are important
2. Consistent Prefixing: Add descriptive prefixes to creature names for resource type clarity
3. Documentation: Include creature names in user-facing documentation and interfaces
4. Accessibility: Creature names are more accessible than UUIDs or random strings
5. Professional Environment: All generated names are appropriate for business and educational settings
6. URL Safety: Creature names are safe to use in URLs, hostnames, and file names
7. Logging: Include creature names in logs to make debugging more human-friendly