Cannot move a resource to a nested module

[querry43]

I am unable to move one resource to another place as part of a refactor. This could be related to modules and submodules along with lists of resources.

Terraform plan shows that one resource will be deleted and another one like it will be created, however the state move fails because the new one does not exist yet. I have successfully renamed things in the past without this issue.

terraform plan
...
  # module.backend_service.aws_route53_record.dns[0] will be destroyed
  - resource "aws_route53_record" "dns" {
      - fqdn    = "my.dns" -> null
      - id      = "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA_backend_A" -> null
      - name    = "backend" -> null
      - records = [] -> null
      - ttl     = 0 -> null
      - type    = "A" -> null
      - zone_id = "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA" -> null

      - alias {
          - evaluate_target_health = true -> null
          - name                   = "my.load.balancer" -> null
          - zone_id                = "BBBBBBBBBBBBB" -> null
        }
    }

  # module.backend_service.module.dns.aws_route53_record.ipv4[0] will be created
  + resource "aws_route53_record" "ipv4" {
      + allow_overwrite = (known after apply)
      + fqdn            = (known after apply)
      + id              = (known after apply)
      + name            = "backend"
      + type            = "A"
      + zone_id         = "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

      + alias {
          + evaluate_target_health = true
          + name                   = "my.load.balancer"
          + zone_id                = "BBBBBBBBBBBBB"
        }
    }

terraform state mv module.backend_service.aws_route53_record.dns[0] module.backend_service.module.dns.aws_route53_record.ipv4[0]

Error: Invalid target address

Cannot move to module.backend_service.module.dns.aws_route53_record.ipv4[0]:
module.backend_service.module.dns does not exist in the current state.

Terraform Version

Terraform v0.12.5
+ provider.aws v2.21.1
+ provider.fastly v0.8.1
+ provider.template v2.1.2

Terraform Configuration Files

OLD modules/container/dns.tf

# should should be using modules/lb_dns_record
# this is an intrusive change which will be made later
resource aws_route53_record dns {
  count = var.create_load_balancer ? length(var.dns_zones.external_zones) : 0

  zone_id = var.dns_zones.external_zones[count.index].zone_id
  name    = var.name
  type    = "A"

  alias {
    name                   = aws_lb.lb[0].dns_name
    zone_id                = aws_lb.lb[0].zone_id
    evaluate_target_health = true
  }
}

resource aws_route53_record ipv6_dns {
  count = var.create_load_balancer ? length(var.dns_zones.external_zones) : 0

  zone_id = var.dns_zones.external_zones[count.index].zone_id
  name    = var.name
  type    = "AAAA"

  alias {
    name                   = aws_lb.lb[0].dns_name
    zone_id                = aws_lb.lb[0].zone_id
    evaluate_target_health = true
  }
}

NEW modules/container/dns.tf

module dns {
  source      = "./modules/lb_dns_record"
  name        = var.name
  zones       = var.dns_zones.external_zones
  lb_dns_name = aws_lb.lb[0].dns_name
  lb_zone_id  = aws_lb.lb[0].zone_id
  create      = var.create_load_balancer
}

modules/lb_dns_record/main.tf

resource aws_route53_record ipv4 {
  count   = var.create ? length(var.zones) : 0
  zone_id = var.zones[count.index].zone_id
  name    = var.name
  type    = "A"

  alias {
    name                   = var.lb_dns_name
    zone_id                = var.lb_zone_id
    evaluate_target_health = true
  }
}

resource aws_route53_record ipv6 {
  count   = var.create ? length(var.zones) : 0
  zone_id = var.zones[count.index].zone_id
  name    = var.name
  type    = "AAAA"

  alias {
    name                   = var.lb_dns_name
    zone_id                = var.lb_zone_id
    evaluate_target_health = true
  }
}

Expected Behavior

The state mv should be successful so that the resource does not need to be destroyed and recreated.

Actual Behavior

The state mv command fails with module.backend_service.module.dns does not exist in the current state.

Steps to Reproduce

1. terraform init
2. terraform plan
3. terraform state mv module.backend_service.aws_route53_record.dns[0] module.backend_service.module.dns.aws_route53_record.ipv4[0]

[earchibald-lv]

Possibly related to #21346. It's been months and no-one from Hashicorp has even commented.

[ghost]

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