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Installation and configuration

Chapter objectives​

  • Install Terraform on different OSes
  • Configure autocompletion
  • Configure cloud providers
  • Validate the installation

1 - Installing Terraform​

Architecture​

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)​

# Méthode 1: Via APT (recommandé)
wget -O- 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

# Méthode 2: Téléchargement manuel
wget https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform/1.6.0/terraform_1.6.0_linux_amd64.zip
unzip terraform_1.6.0_linux_amd64.zip
sudo mv terraform /usr/local/bin/

Linux (RHEL/CentOS)​

sudo yum install -y yum-utils
sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo https://rpm.releases.hashicorp.com/RHEL/hashicorp.repo
sudo yum install terraform

macOS​

# Via Homebrew
brew tap hashicorp/tap
brew install hashicorp/tap/terraform

# Mise à jour
brew upgrade hashicorp/tap/terraform

Windows​

# Via Chocolatey
choco install terraform

# Via Scoop
scoop install terraform

# Ou téléchargement manuel
# https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/downloads
# Ajouter au PATH

2 - Verifying the installation​

# Vérifier la version
terraform version

# Résultat attendu
Terraform v1.6.0
on linux_amd64

# Aide
terraform -help

# Commandes disponibles
terraform -help plan

3 - Autocompletion​

Bash​

# Activer l'autocomplétion
terraform -install-autocomplete

# Recharger le shell
source ~/.bashrc

Zsh​

# Activer l'autocomplétion
terraform -install-autocomplete

# Recharger le shell
source ~/.zshrc

PowerShell​

# Ajouter au profil PowerShell
terraform -install-autocomplete

4 - Configuring cloud providers​

AWS​

Method 1: AWS CLI​

# Installer AWS CLI
curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/awscli-exe-linux-x86_64.zip" -o "awscliv2.zip"
unzip awscliv2.zip
sudo ./aws/install

# Configurer les credentials
aws configure

# Entrer:
# AWS Access Key ID
# AWS Secret Access Key
# Default region (ex: eu-west-1)
# Default output format (json)

Method 2: Environment variables​

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="votre_access_key"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="votre_secret_key"
export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION="eu-west-1"

Method 3: Credentials file​

# ~/.aws/credentials
[default]
aws_access_key_id = AKIAXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
aws_secret_access_key = xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[production]
aws_access_key_id = AKIAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
aws_secret_access_key = yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
# Utiliser un profil spécifique
provider "aws" {
  region  = "eu-west-1"
  profile = "production"
}

Azure​

# Installer Azure CLI
curl -sL https://aka.ms/InstallAzureCLIDeb | sudo bash

# Se connecter
az login

# Lister les subscriptions
az account list --output table

# Définir la subscription par défaut
az account set --subscription "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
# Provider Azure
provider "azurerm" {
  features {}
  subscription_id = "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
}

Google Cloud​

# Installer gcloud CLI
curl https://sdk.cloud.google.com | bash
exec -l $SHELL

# Se connecter
gcloud auth application-default login

# Définir le projet
gcloud config set project my-project-id
# Provider GCP
provider "google" {
  project = "my-project-id"
  region  = "europe-west1"
}

5 - Project structure​

Standard files​

my-terraform-project/
├── main.tf           # Ressources principales
├── variables.tf      # Déclaration des variables
├── outputs.tf        # Valeurs de sortie
├── providers.tf      # Configuration providers
├── versions.tf       # Versions requises
├── terraform.tfvars  # Valeurs des variables
├── .gitignore        # Fichiers à ignorer
└── modules/          # Modules locaux
    └── vpc/
        ├── main.tf
        ├── variables.tf
        └── outputs.tf

The .gitignore file​

# .gitignore pour Terraform

# Local .terraform directories
**/.terraform/*

# .tfstate files
*.tfstate
*.tfstate.*

# Crash log files
crash.log
crash.*.log

# Exclude all .tfvars files, which might contain sensitive data
*.tfvars
*.tfvars.json

# Ignore override files
override.tf
override.tf.json
*_override.tf
*_override.tf.json

# Ignore CLI configuration files
.terraformrc
terraform.rc

# Ignore lock file (optionnel)
# .terraform.lock.hcl

6 - Terraform configuration​

Version and providers​

# versions.tf
terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.5.0"

  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.0"
    }
    azurerm = {
      source  = "hashicorp/azurerm"
      version = "~> 3.0"
    }
  }
}

Version constraints​

OperatorMeaningExample
=Exact version= 5.0.0
!=Different from!= 5.0.0
>, >=Greater>= 5.0.0
<, <=Lower< 6.0.0
~>Pessimistic~> 5.0 (5.x.x)

7 - Initializing a project​

The init command​

# Créer le répertoire projet
mkdir my-project && cd my-project

# Créer la configuration minimale
cat > main.tf << 'EOF'
terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "~> 5.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "aws" {
  region = "eu-west-1"
}

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
  bucket = "my-unique-bucket-name-12345"
}
EOF

# Initialiser
terraform init

The init result​

Initializing the backend...

Initializing provider plugins...
- Finding hashicorp/aws versions matching "~> 5.0"...
- Installing hashicorp/aws v5.31.0...
- Installed hashicorp/aws v5.31.0 (signed by HashiCorp)

Terraform has been successfully initialized!

Created files​

my-project/
├── .terraform/
│   └── providers/
│       └── registry.terraform.io/
│           └── hashicorp/
│               └── aws/
│                   └── 5.31.0/
│                       └── linux_amd64/
│                           └── terraform-provider-aws_v5.31.0
├── .terraform.lock.hcl    # Lock des versions
└── main.tf

8 - Development environments​

VS Code Extensions​

// Recommended extensions
{
  "recommendations": [
    "hashicorp.terraform",
    "hashicorp.hcl",
    "4ops.terraform-autocomplete"
  ]
}

VS Code configuration​

// settings.json
{
  "[terraform]": {
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "hashicorp.terraform",
    "editor.formatOnSave": true
  },
  "[terraform-vars]": {
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "hashicorp.terraform",
    "editor.formatOnSave": true
  },
  "terraform.experimentalFeatures.validateOnSave": true
}

Complementary tools​

ToolDescriptionInstallation
tflintTerraform linterbrew install tflint
terraform-docsDocumentation generationbrew install terraform-docs
tfsecSecurity scanbrew install tfsec
checkovPolicy as Codepip install checkov
infracostCost estimationbrew install infracost
# Installer les outils
brew install tflint terraform-docs tfsec

# Utilisation
tflint                    # Linter
terraform-docs markdown . # Générer docs
tfsec .                   # Scan sécurité

9 - First execution​

Complete workflow​

# 1. Initialiser
terraform init

# 2. Valider la syntaxe
terraform validate

# 3. Formater le code
terraform fmt

# 4. Prévisualiser
terraform plan

# 5. Appliquer (avec confirmation)
terraform apply

# 6. Voir l'état
terraform show

# 7. Détruire (optionnel)
terraform destroy

Summary​

Key points
  • Terraform is a single binary with no dependencies
  • Configure your cloud credentials before starting
  • Use terraform init to initialize each project
  • The .terraform.lock.hcl file locks the versions
  • Enable autocompletion for more productivity

Practical exercises​

  1. Install Terraform on your machine
  2. Configure the AWS credentials (or another cloud)
  3. Create a project with the recommended structure
  4. Initialize the project with terraform init

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