cdktf deploy fails because synthesized JSON has the provider version but no source in required_providers

TL;DR

Re-run cdktf get and check the generated required_providers block in cdk.tf.json. The provider entry needs both source and version; if source is missing, regenerate bindings or pin the provider explicitly in your stack.

The error

cdktf deploy fails because the synthesized Terraform JSON has a provider entry like "docker": "~> 2.0" with no source, so Terraform cannot determine where to install the provider from. The valid form is:

"required_providers": {
  "docker": { "source": "terraform-providers/docker" }
}

Fix it

1. Open cdktf.out/stacks/[stack]/cdk.tf.json and inspect terraform.required_providers.
2. If a provider entry is missing source, re-run cdktf get to regenerate the bindings; stale generations are the usual cause.
3. If the problem persists, set the provider source explicitly in your stack code or cdktf.json provider configuration.
4. Delete the stale cdktf.out directory and re-run cdktf synth, then cdktf deploy.

Expected result: required_providers contains both source and version, and deploy installs the provider.

When to use this

• cdktf deploy fails at provider installation right after cdktf get + cdktf synth
• cdk.tf.json shows a version-only provider entry

When NOT to use this

• Terraform fails to download a provider that has a correct source (network/registry issue)
• The error is "unknown provider" with a registry.terraform.io/-/ address (different bug, see the unknown-provider skill)

Root cause

Older CDKTF code generation emitted version-only provider requirements, which Terraform 0.13+ rejects because it needs an explicit source address to install from. Regenerating bindings with a current cdktf writes the full source + version block.

Edge cases

• Community providers that moved namespaces (e.g. docker from terraform-providers to kreuzwerker) need the source updated, not just regenerated.