terraform-cli

name	terraform-cli
description	Use Terraform CLI to define, plan, and provision infrastructure as code across any cloud provider. Use this instead of the Terraform MCP server.

Terraform CLI

Infrastructure as code tool. Define cloud resources in HCL, plan changes, and apply them safely.

• Official repo: https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform
• Docs: https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli

Core Workflow

terraform init        # Initialize working directory, download providers
terraform plan        # Preview changes
terraform apply       # Apply changes (with confirmation)
terraform apply -auto-approve  # Apply without confirmation
terraform destroy     # Destroy all managed resources

Common Commands

State Management

terraform state list                      # List all resources in state
terraform state show aws_instance.my_vm   # Show resource details
terraform state mv old_name new_name      # Rename resource
terraform state rm resource_name          # Remove from state (not destroyed)
terraform state pull                      # Download remote state

Planning

terraform plan -out=plan.tfplan           # Save plan to file
terraform apply plan.tfplan               # Apply saved plan
terraform plan -target=aws_instance.my_vm # Plan specific resource
terraform plan -var="region=us-west-2"    # Pass variable
terraform plan -var-file=prod.tfvars      # Use variable file

Workspace Management

terraform workspace list
terraform workspace new staging
terraform workspace select production
terraform workspace show

Output and Formatting

terraform output                          # Show all outputs
terraform output -json                    # JSON format
terraform output db_endpoint              # Specific output
terraform fmt                             # Format HCL files
terraform validate                        # Validate configuration

Import

terraform import aws_instance.my_vm i-1234567890abcdef0

Agent Best Practices

• Always run terraform plan before terraform apply to preview changes
• Use -out=plan.tfplan to save plans and apply them exactly
• Use -target flag sparingly - only for debugging specific resources
• Use terraform output -json for machine-readable output
• Run terraform fmt before committing to keep consistent formatting
• Use terraform validate to check syntax without accessing providers
• Never store state files in git - use remote backends (S3, GCS, Terraform Cloud)
• Use -auto-approve only in automated pipelines, not for manual runs

Example Workflows

Initialize and deploy

terraform init
terraform plan -out=deploy.tfplan
terraform apply deploy.tfplan

Check current infrastructure

terraform state list
terraform output -json | jq