Infrastructure as Code with Terraform and GitLab All tiers All offerings
To manage your infrastructure with GitLab, you can use the integration with Terraform to define resources that you can version, reuse, and share:
- Manage low-level components like compute, storage, and networking resources.
- Manage high-level components like DNS entries and SaaS features.
- Incorporate GitOps deployments and Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) workflows.
- Use GitLab as a Terraform state storage.
- Store and use Terraform modules to simplify common and complex infrastructure patterns.
Watch a video overview of the features GitLab provides with the integration with Terraform.
Integrate your project with Terraform
IaC Scanning was introduced in GitLab 14.6.
The integration with GitLab and Terraform happens through GitLab CI/CD.
Use an include
attribute to add the Terraform template to your project and
customize from there.
To get started, choose the template that best suits your needs:
All templates:
- Use the GitLab-managed Terraform state as the Terraform state storage backend.
- Trigger four pipeline stages:
test
,validate
,build
, anddeploy
. - Run Terraform commands:
test
,validate
,plan
, andplan-json
. It also runs theapply
only on the default branch. - Check for security problems using IaC Scanning.
Latest Terraform template
The latest template is compatible with the most recent GitLab version. It provides the most recent GitLab features, but can potentially include breaking changes.
You can safely use the latest Terraform template:
- If you use GitLab.com.
- If you use a self-managed instance updated with every new GitLab release.
Stable and advanced Terraform templates
If you use earlier versions of GitLab, you might face incompatibility errors between the GitLab version and the template version. In this case, you can opt to use one of these templates:
- The stable template with a skeleton that you can built on top of.
- The advanced template to fully customize your setup.
Use a Terraform template
To use a Terraform template:
- On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project you want to integrate with Terraform.
- Select Code > Repository.
-
Edit your
.gitlab-ci.yml
file, use theinclude
attribute to fetch the Terraform template:include: # To fetch the latest template, use: - template: Terraform.latest.gitlab-ci.yml # To fetch the advanced latest template, use: - template: Terraform/Base.latest.gitlab-ci.yml # To fetch the stable template, use: - template: Terraform.gitlab-ci.yml # To fetch the advanced stable template, use: - template: Terraform/Base.gitlab-ci.yml
-
Add the variables as described below:
variables: TF_STATE_NAME: default # If your terraform files are in a subdirectory, set TF_ROOT accordingly. For example: # TF_ROOT: terraform/production
- Optional. Override in your
.gitlab-ci.yml
file the attributes present in the template you fetched to customize your configuration.
Terraform template recipes
For GitLab-curated template recipes, see Terraform template recipes.
Related topics
- View the images that contain the
gitlab-terraform
shell script. - Use GitLab as a Terraform Module Registry.
- To store state files in local storage or in a remote store, use the GitLab-managed Terraform state.
- To collaborate on Terraform code changes and Infrastructure-as-Code workflows, use the Terraform integration in merge requests.
- To manage GitLab resources like users, groups, and projects, use the GitLab Terraform provider. The GitLab Terraform provider documentation is available on the Terraform docs site.
- Create a new cluster on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS).
- Create a new cluster on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE).
- Troubleshoot issues with GitLab and Terraform.