Netlify Site + HCP Terraform Remote State

#terraform #cloud #sre

Deploying infrastructure manually is time-consuming and error-prone. What if you could define your entire cloud setup as code and deploy it with a single command? That’s where Terraform comes in.

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through my Terraform-Deploy project, which automates infrastructure provisioning using Terraform. Whether you're new to Infrastructure as Code (IaC) or looking to streamline your deployments, this guide will help you get started.

Would be utilizing HCP Terraform (formerly Terraform Cloud) for secure, centralized state storage. This approach improves collaboration, security, and scalability for infrastructure deployments.

To successfully see through this project, the following are key requirements.

Terraform is installed on your local operating system
A Netlify account: Sign up for a free account
An HCP Terraform account: Sign up for a free account
Terraform CLI: Install Terraform

Note: Without the right configuration, you would get an error.

Setup

Configure Netlify Credentials

You need a Netlify Personal Access Token to allow Terraform to deploy to your account.

Go to your Netlify dashboard.
Navigate to User Settings> Applications > Personal Access Tokens.
Click New access token and give it a descriptive name.

Copy the generated token.
On your HCP Terraform Account, create a project, then a Workspace

You should get a custom provider resource block to add to your project.

Clone this repository
Set environment variables:
export NETLIFY_TOKEN="your_netlify_token"
On your project terminal, run terraform loginto authenticate HCP Cloud

On your first login, you would be prompted to input your generated token

Initialize Terraform terraform init

Perform your changes on your project, run terraform plan

N:B: If you encounter any issues connecting, you can run the plan and apply by appending the token terraform plan -var="NETLIFY_TOKEN=<your_token>"/

-Output after a successful Terraform plan

Run terraform apply and a successful build on HCP

Deploy your application to Netlify

On Netlify profile >> Click add new project >> select a deployment method you prefer

Live App URL & app on Browser

By using HCP Terraform for remote state, you eliminate the risks of local state management while gaining better collaboration and security. Whether you're a solo developer or part of a team, this approach ensures reliable, scalable infrastructure deployments.

Have questions? Drop a comment below! 🚀

Also, you could check out the HUG Ibadan Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/ibadan-hashicorp-user-group/) to stay updated on events.