We just store the AMI in a terraform file itself, and update it as needed. I mean, if you are already updating a text file, might as well update a a text file

We just store the AMI in a terraform file itself, and update it as needed. I mean, if you are already updating a text file, might as well update a a text file called ami.tf with the new AMI ID and store that in source control as part of the build process. This ensures that the terraform plan is an easy to read source of truth for what is supposed to be up in production.