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Terraform Installation Guide

#devops #terraform #linux

What is Terraform?

Terraform is an open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool developed by HashiCorp. It allows you to define, provision, and manage infrastructure across various cloud providers using configuration files.

1. Installation Methods (by OS)

Windows

Method 1: Install via Chocolatey (Recommended)

Requires Chocolatey to be installed.

choco install terraform
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Method 2: Manual Installation

  1. Visit the official site: https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html
  2. Download the Windows zip file.
  3. Extract the zip and move terraform.exe to a directory of your choice (e.g., C:\terraform).
  4. Add this directory to your System PATH:
    • Search “Environment Variables” > Edit system environment variables
    • Under System Variables, find Path → Edit → Add C:\terraform
  5. Open a new Command Prompt and verify: 
terraform -v
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macOS

Method 1: Using Homebrew (Recommended) 

brew tap hashicorp/tap
brew install hashicorp/tap/terraform
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Method 2: Manual Installation

  1. Download the macOS zip from https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html
  2. Extract and move terraform to /usr/local/bin: 
sudo mv terraform /usr/local/bin/
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  1. Verify the installation: 
terraform -v
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Linux (Ubuntu/Debian-based)

Method 1: Official HashiCorp APT Repo 

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y gnupg software-properties-common curl

curl -fsSL https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] \
https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | \
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install terraform
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Method 2: Manual Installation

  1. Download the Linux zip from https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html
  2. Unzip and move binary: 
unzip terraform_*.zip
sudo mv terraform /usr/local/bin/
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  1. Verify: 
terraform -v
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2. Verifying Installation

After installation, run:

terraform version
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Output should be like:

Terraform v....
on linux_amd64
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3. Updating Terraform

Using Homebrew (macOS) 

brew upgrade terraform
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Using Chocolatey (Windows) 

choco upgrade terraform
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Using APT (Linux) 

sudo apt update && sudo apt install terraform
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Common Troubleshooting

Problem Fix
terraform: command not found Ensure terraform binary is in your PATH
Terraform version shows as outdated Run update via package manager
Error downloading providers Check internet connection or proxy issues
File permission denied (Linux/macOS) Use chmod +x terraform and sudo if needed

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