cdktf deploy fails with "Missing variable" even though the variable has a default value

TL;DR

Export the variable explicitly: export TF_VAR_mirror="[value]" (using your variable name), then re-run cdktf deploy. A null default does not count as "provided" when the module requires a value at deploy time.

The error

Missing variable: 'mirror'. You can provide it using the 'TF_VAR_mirror' environment variable.

Fix it

1. Identify the variable name in the error (mirror here).
2. Provide it via the environment: export TF_VAR_mirror="your-value" (or prefix it inline: TF_VAR_mirror="your-value" cdktf deploy).
3. Alternatively pass it through your stack code by assigning the TerraformVariable a concrete value instead of relying on the null default.
4. Re-run cdktf deploy and confirm the plan phase starts.

Expected result: deploy proceeds past variable validation into plan/apply.

When to use this

• cdktf deploy (or deploy --skip-synth) exits 1 with "Missing variable" for a variable you thought had a default
• The default is null and the consuming module treats null as unset

When NOT to use this

• cdktf synth itself fails (that is a code/binding problem, not a variable problem)
• The variable is genuinely undeclared anywhere (add the TerraformVariable construct first)

Root cause

A null default in CDKTF/Terraform means "no value" rather than "a usable value". When the module or provider configuration requires the variable at apply time, Terraform still reports it missing because null satisfies nothing. The deploy path validates variables before planning, so the failure appears even though synth succeeded.

Edge cases

• TF_VAR_ names are case-sensitive and must match the variable name exactly.
• In CI, set the variable as a pipeline secret/env var rather than hardcoding it.
• --skip-synth skips code re-execution but not variable validation; the error can appear on skip-synth runs too.