Terraform

What is Terraform

Terraform is an open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool created by HashiCorp. It allows teams to define cloud infrastructure resources (servers, networks, databases, permissions) in declarative configuration files written in HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language). It supports multiple cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and dozens of additional services.

How it works

Teams write .tf files that describe the desired state of their infrastructure. Terraform compares this desired state against the current state and generates an execution plan detailing exactly which resources will be created, modified, or destroyed. After approval, it applies the changes automatically. Infrastructure state is stored in a state file that can be versioned and shared across teams. Modules allow reuse of common configurations and help maintain consistency.

Why it matters

Terraform turns infrastructure into something versionable, reviewable, and reproducible. Instead of making manual changes through web consoles, teams manage their infrastructure with the same rigor they apply to code: pull requests, code review, and version control. This reduces human error, enables replication of identical environments, and simplifies disaster recovery.

Practical example

A team needs to deploy an application on AWS with a Kubernetes cluster, an RDS database, and an S3 bucket. They define the entire infrastructure in Terraform files, review it in a pull request, and deploy with terraform apply. When they need an identical staging environment, they run the same code with different variables. If something fails in production, they can rebuild the entire infrastructure from scratch in under thirty minutes.

Related terms

• Infrastructure as Code - The paradigm that Terraform implements
• Kubernetes - Platform that Terraform can provision and configure
• GitOps - Operational framework that complements Terraform workflows

Last updated: February 2026