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Sarah Lean
Sarah Lean

Posted on • Originally published at techielass.com

Install Terraform in the AWS CloudShell

The AWS CloudShell is a browser-based shell that makes it quick and easy for you to securely manage, explore and interact with your AWS resources.

CloudShell is pre-authenticated with your console credentials, so there is no need to login again.

Tools such as AWS CLI, Python, Node.js, npm, Git and BASH utilities are pre-installed for ease of use.

Unfortunately Terraform isn’t installed, however, in this article I am going to walk you through the process of installing it within AWS CloudShell.

Install Terraform in AWS CloudShell

AWS Management Console

  • We’re going to use the Terraform Version Manager to help install Terraform
  • With the AWS CloudShell type in:
git clone [https://github.com/tfutils/tfenv.git](https://github.com/tfutils/tfenv.git) ~/.tfenv
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Git clone Terraform Version Manager

  • Next we want to make a new directory called ~/bin, to do that issue the command:
mkdir ~/bin
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  • Now we’re going to make a symlink for tfenv/bin/* scripts into the path ~/bin by typing the command:
ln -s ~/.tfenv/bin/* ~/bin/
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AWS directory

  • With the Terraform Version Manager installed, we can now install Terraform. Type in the command:
tfenv install
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Terraform install

This will install the latest version of Terraform for you. You can specify a specific version if required when using the tfenv install command.

If you wish to default to using a certain version of Terraform you can use the command:

tfenv use 1.3.7
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It’s worth noting that this only installs Terraform within the AWS CloudShell region that you are working within. If you use multiple AWS regions then you will need to follow the above steps each time.

A copy of all the steps are all encapsulated within a script here.

You can now work with Terraform within the AWS CloudShell console.

Top comments (2)

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melissa_remijio_da25c6700 profile image
Melissa Remijio

The tutorial is very detailed. Thank you so much. May I sometimes ask you about Terraform. (I'm just a newbie) Candy Clicker

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bevis_jason_0142a48495ca2 profile image
Bevis Jason • Edited

You might land in a forest or a desert and Worldguessr won’t give you hints so you’ll need to think carefully before placing your guess on the map.