Terraform: Introduction & Getting Started

Terraform is an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool by HashiCorp for provisioning and managing cloud and on-premises resources declaratively.

Why Use Terraform?

• Manage infrastructure as code across multiple providers
• Declarative, version-controlled infrastructure
• Large ecosystem of providers and modules

How Terraform Works

• Uses HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language) for configuration files
• Providers enable support for different platforms (AWS, Azure, etc.)
• State files track resource status

Quick Start Example

1. Install Terraform:

   curl -fsSL https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
   sudo apt-add-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main"
   sudo apt update && sudo apt install terraform
   terraform version
   

2. Write a simple configuration (main.tf):

   terraform {
     required_providers {
       random = {
         source = "hashicorp/random"
       }
     }
   }
   
   provider "random" {}
   
   resource "random_pet" "name" {}
   
   output "pet_name" {
     value = random_pet.name.id
   }
   

3. Initialize and apply:

   terraform init
   terraform apply
   

Learn More

• Terraform Documentation
• Getting Started Guide