terraform/website/docs/configuration/locals.html.md

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---
layout: "docs"
page_title: "Local Values - Configuration Language"
sidebar_current: "docs-config-locals"
description: |-
Local values assign a name to an expression that can then be used multiple times
within a module.
---
# Local Values
-> **Note:** This page is about Terraform 0.12 and later. For Terraform 0.11 and
earlier, see
[0.11 Configuration Language: Local Values](../configuration-0-11/locals.html).
A local value assigns a name to an [expression](./expressions.html),
so you can use it multiple times within a module without repeating
it.
If you're familiar with traditional programming languages, it can be useful to
compare Terraform modules to function definitions:
- [Input variables](./variables.html) are like function arguments.
- [Output values](./outputs.html) are like function return values.
- Local values are like a function's temporary local variables.
-> **Note:** For brevity, local values are often referred to as just "locals"
when the meaning is clear from context.
## Declaring a Local Value
A set of related local values can be declared together in a single `locals`
block:
```hcl
locals {
service_name = "forum"
owner = "Community Team"
}
```
The expressions in local values are not limited to literal constants; they can
also reference other values in the module in order to transform or combine them,
including variables, resource attributes, or other local values:
```hcl
locals {
# Ids for multiple sets of EC2 instances, merged together
instance_ids = concat(aws_instance.blue.*.id, aws_instance.green.*.id)
}
locals {
# Common tags to be assigned to all resources
common_tags = {
Service = local.service_name
Owner = local.owner
}
}
```
## Using Local Values
Once a local value is declared, you can reference it in
[expressions](./expressions.html) as `local.<NAME>`.
-> **Note:** Local values are _created_ by a `locals` block (plural), but you
_reference_ them as attributes on an object named `local` (singular). Make sure
to leave off the "s" when referencing a local value!
```
resource "aws_instance" "example" {
# ...
tags = local.common_tags
}
```
A local value can only be accessed in expressions within the module where it
was declared.
## When To Use Local Values
Local values can be helpful to avoid repeating the same values or expressions
multiple times in a configuration, but if overused they can also make a
configuration hard to read by future maintainers by hiding the actual values
used.
Use local values only in moderation, in situations where a single value or
result is used in many places _and_ that value is likely to be changed in
future. The ability to easily change the value in a central place is the key
advantage of local values.