Resource Attribute Aliases

Resource Attribute Aliases let you define shorthand names and default values for resource properties, making your desired state templates shorter and more readable.

Overview

When authoring desired state YAML, certain resource properties require long or hard-to-remember values (e.g., Azure VM image references, disk SKUs). Instead of looking these up every time, you can define aliases that map a friendly name to the actual value, and set default values for properties you use frequently.

How It Works

Aliases are configured per team, cloud provider, and resource type. Each alias mapping has three fields:

Field	Description
Attribute	The resource property path (e.g., storage_profile.image_reference)
Alias	A short, memorable name you can use in templates (e.g., ubuntu-arm64)
Default	A default value applied automatically if the property is not specified in the desired state

Managing Aliases

Navigate to Infrastructure → Stateless IaC Aliases in the MechCloud console.

1. Select a Team and Cloud Provider

2. Click New Alias to create a mapping for a resource type

3. Define one or more attribute mappings with alias names and/or default values

4. Click Save

Supported Providers

Aliases are available for all cloud providers that support Stateless IaC:

• AWS — e.g., AMI aliases (see Resource Id Aliases for the {{Image|alias}} syntax)

• Azure — e.g., VM image references, disk types, VM sizes

• GCP — e.g., machine types, disk types, image families

Benefits

• Shorter templates — Replace verbose property values with short alias names

• Consistency — Default values ensure all resources of a type use the same base configuration

• Less errors — No need to look up exact values for common properties

• Team-scoped — Each team can define their own aliases matching their standards