is there a recommended way to validate/infer the type of a stack output when referring to it from another stack? for example i have a VPC stack that outputs an array of subnet IDs that I grab with a stack reference like so:

const stackRef = new pulumi.StackReference("vpc/dev");

const subnetIds = stackRef.requireOutput("subnetIds");

given the above,

subnetIds

will be of type

Output<any>

but I want to be able to loop over the values because I need to create a resource for each subnet. is creating the resources inside an

apply()

the only option? it seems weird not being able to directly access the values since stack outputs should always be known prior to a

pulumi up

or

preview

right?

They won't always been known, since the other stack could be running at the same time. Pulumi has to support this case.

They won't always been known, since the other stack could be running at the same time. Pulumi has to support this case

ah ok, that makes sense

Generally, outputs from StackReferences are used as inputs for other resources

yeah thats typically what happens for me as well but in this case I need to do a foreach over both subnet IDs and route table IDs which i guess isn't possible without an

apply()

Yes, if you export a complex output then you're likely to have to handle it either in an apply, or in a custom provider.

no worries, thanks for your help (yet again :D)