In Terraform 0.13 and above, do configurations always refer to providers by their local names outside of the required_providers block?

In Terraform 0.13 and above, configurations refer to providers by their local names outside of the required_providers block, making it necessary for users to utilize these local names consistently in their configurations. This change was introduced to improve clarity and organization within Terraform configurations.

When using providers in resource definitions, the dots (.) notation allows users to reference a provider using its local name directly. For example, if a local name "aws" is defined in the required_providers block for the AWS provider, this name can be used throughout the configuration when defining resources, data, or outputs.

This aspect of Terraform helps in managing multiple provider versions and prevents confusion, as each provider can have its local name associated with possibly multiple sources or versions. Therefore, referring to providers consistently by their local names enhances maintainability and coherence within Terraform files, distinguishing them from the required_providers block specification.