---
title: Resources
url: /docs/iac/concepts/resources/
---

Resources represent the fundamental units that make up your cloud infrastructure, such as a compute instance, a storage bucket, or a Kubernetes cluster.

All infrastructure resources are described by one of two subclasses of the `Resource` class. These two subclasses are:

- `CustomResource`: A custom resource is a cloud resource managed by a [resource provider](/docs/concepts/resources/providers/) such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud or Kubernetes.
- `ComponentResource`: A [component resource](/docs/concepts/resources/components/) is a logical grouping of other resources that creates a larger, higher-level abstraction that encapsulates its implementation details.

A resource’s desired state is declared by constructing an instance of the resource:

<!-- chooser: language -->

<!-- option: typescript -->
```typescript
let res = new Resource(name, args, options);

```

<!-- /option -->

<!-- option: python -->
```python
res = Resource(name, args, options)

```

<!-- /option -->

<!-- option: go -->
```go
res, err := NewResource(ctx, name, args, opt1, opt2)

```

<!-- /option -->

<!-- option: csharp -->
```csharp
var res = new Resource(name, args, options);

```

<!-- /option -->

<!-- option: java -->
```java
var res = new Resource(name, args, options);

```

<!-- /option -->

<!-- option: yaml -->
```yaml
resources:
  res:
    type: the:resource:Type
    properties: ...args
    options: ...options

```

<!-- /option -->

<!-- /chooser -->

All resources have a required [`name`](/docs/concepts/resources/names) argument, which must be unique across resources of the same kind in a [`stack`](/docs/concepts/stack). This *logical name* influences the *physical name* assigned by your infrastructure’s cloud provider. Pulumi [auto-names](/docs/concepts/resources/names/#autonaming) physical resources by default, so the physical name and the logical name may differ. This auto-naming behavior can be overridden, if required.

The `args` argument is an object with a set of named property input values that are used to initialize the resource. These can be normal raw values—such as strings, integers, lists, and maps—or [outputs](/docs/concepts/inputs-outputs/) from other resources. Each resource has a number of named input properties that control the behavior of the resulting infrastructure. To determine what arguments a resource supports, refer to that resource’s API documentation in the [Registry](/registry/).

The [`options`](/docs/concepts/options) argument is optional, but lets you control certain aspects of the resource. For example, you can show explicit dependencies, use a custom provider configuration, or import an existing infrastructure.

## Related topics

- [Resource Names](/docs/concepts/resources/names/) - Learn more about resource names and how to use them.
- [Resource Options](/docs/concepts/options/) - Learn how to use resource options to modify the way that resources are managed by Pulumi.
- [Components](/docs/concepts/resources/components/) - Learn what a component resource is, how to author a new component resource, how to create child resources, and more.
- [Providers](/docs/iac/concepts/providers/) - Learn how a resource provider handles communications with a cloud service to create, read, update, and delete the resources you define in your Pulumi programs.
- [Dynamic Providers](/docs/iac/concepts/providers/dynamic-providers/) - Learn how to use dynamic providers and use cases for them.
- [Getter Functions](/docs/concepts/resources/get/) - Learn how a Pulumi resource uses its `get` function to retrieve a reference to an existing instance of the resource.
- [Provider Functions](/docs/concepts/resources/functions/) - Learn how to use the functions included with Pulumi packages.