title: Terraform - what is null provider?
body: <p>I am wondering what is the real use of terraform null provider and when to use and NOT use it.</p>
  <p>I have gone through the Terraform docs - <a href="https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/null/latest/docs" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hashicorp/null/latest/docs</a>  but it has been of little help.</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p>Null Provider</p>
  <p>The null provider is a rather-unusual provider that has constructs
  that intentionally do nothing. This may sound strange, and indeed
  these constructs do not need to be used in most cases, but they can be
  useful in various situations to help orchestrate tricky behavior or
  work around limitations.</p>
  <p>The documentation of each feature of this provider, accessible via the
  navigation, gives examples of situations where these constructs may
  prove useful.</p>
  <p>Usage of the null provider can make a Terraform configuration harder
  to understand. While it can be useful in certain cases, it should be
  applied with care and other solutions preferred when available.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>Could some one eloborate on -  <em>but they can be useful in various situations to help orchestrate tricky behavior or work around limitations.</em> And provide further references to explore this provider.</p>
  <p>--
  this is how my providers.tf file looks -</p>
  <pre><code>provider &quot;aws&quot; {
    alias   = &quot;primary&quot;
    region  = &quot;us-east-1&quot;
    profile = &quot;${local.primary_aws_profile}&quot;
    version = &quot;~&gt; 2.70.0&quot;
  }
  
  provider &quot;template&quot; {
    version = &quot;~&gt; 1.0&quot;
  }
  
  provider null {
    version = &quot;~&gt; 1.0&quot;
  }
  </code></pre>