Installing the Terraform CLI and the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in

Installing the Terraform CLI

Use these steps to install the Terraform CLI.

The IBM Cloud Provider plug-in for Terraform currently supports the Terraform stable version 1.x.x. Make sure to select a supported Terraform version.

1. Create a terraform folder on your local machine, and navigate to your terraform folder.

   mkdir terraform && cd terraform
   

2. Download the Terraform version that you want.

3. Extract the Terraform zip file and copy the files to your terraform directory.

4. Set the environment PATH variable to your Terraform files.

   export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/terraform
   

5. Verify that the installation is successful by using a terraform command.

   terraform
   

   Example output:

   Usage: terraform [-version] [-help] <command> [args]
   
   The available commands for execution are listed below.
   The most common, useful commands are shown first, followed by
   less common or more advanced commands. If you're just getting
   started with Terraform, stick with the common commands. For the
   other commands, please read the help and docs before usage.
   
   Common commands:
   apply              Builds or changes infrastructure
   console            Interactive console for Terraform interpolations
   destroy            Destroy Terraform-managed infrastructure
   env                Workspace management
   fmt                Rewrites config files to canonical format
   get                Download and install modules for the configuration
   graph              Create a visual graph of Terraform resources
   import             Import existing infrastructure into Terraform
   init               Initialize a Terraform working directory
   login              Obtain and save credentials for a remote host
   logout             Remove locally-stored credentials for a remote host
   output             Read an output from a state file
   plan               Generate and show an execution plan
   providers          Prints a tree of the providers used in the configuration
   refresh            Update local state file against real resources
   show               Inspect Terraform state or plan
   taint              Manually mark a resource for recreation
   untaint            Manually unmark a resource as tainted
   validate           Validates the Terraform files
   version            Prints the Terraform version
   workspace          Workspace management
   
   All other commands:
   0.12upgrade        Rewrites pre-0.12 module source code for v0.12
   debug              Debug output management (experimental)
   force-unlock       Manually unlock the terraform state
   push               Obsolete command for Terraform Enterprise legacy (v1)
   state              Advanced state management
   
   

   To upgrade your Terraform templates from Terraform old version to new version, see Upgrading your Terraform version.

6. Install the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in for Terraform.

Installing the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in

After the Terraform CLI installation is complete, you must set up the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in for Terraform so that you can start working with resources and services in IBM Cloud.

The setup of the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in varies depending on the Terraform version that you want to use. After you complete the set up, you must configure the IBM Cloud Provider plug-in.

To upgrade the Terraform template from the old version to the latest version, refer to Upgrading the Terraform template version.

terraform {
    required_providers {
        ibm = {
            source = "IBM-Cloud/ibm"
            version = "<provider version>"       
            }
    }
}

terraform {
    required_providers {
        ibm = {
            source = "IBM-Cloud/ibm"
            version = ">= 1.38.1"
        }
    }
}