Is there a way to convert `pulumi StringOutput` to `string`

Question

Is there a way to convert `pulumi StringOutput` to `string` Its becoming weirdly difficult for me to get the tags right with all the custom types that don t seem to have a straight forward way to convert to string The below does not work as `natgw` is a string and `publicSubnets 0 AvailabilityZone` is a StringOutput ```natGatewayName = natgw + publicSubnets 0 AvailabilityZone```

billowy-army-68599 · Answer

< fancy spoon 7206> no you can t convert an output to a string you can only resolve the output and then use the string value see here for an explanation as to why

billowy-army-68599 · Answer

for your specific example though you can do ```natGatewayName = pulumi Sprintf natgw+ s publicSubnets 0 AvailabilityZone ```

fancy-spoon-7206 · Answer

If I do that then natGatewayName is of type StringOutput and I cannot give that as an input to any function as a string For example ```ec2 NewNatGateway ctx natGatewayName ``` wont work

billowy-army-68599 · Answer

you cannot use an output as a resource name unfortunately it needs to be known at run time if you want to do what you re trying to do you d have to do it inside an `ApplyT` but then your previews wouldn t be valid

fancy-spoon-7206 · Answer

Ahh that makes sense