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Sahithi V
Sahithi V

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Manage Multiple Terraform Versions with tfswitch

#cli #devops #tooling #terraform

That’s where terraform-switcher (tfswitch) comes to the rescue.

💡 What Is tfswitch?

tfswitch is a simple command-line tool that helps you install and switch between different Terraform versions instantly.

You can think of it like nvm (Node Version Manager) — but for Terraform.

🚀 Why You Need It

In real-world projects, different environments or teams may lock Terraform to different versions.

For example:

  • A legacy infrastructure might still use Terraform 0.14
  • A new project might use Terraform 1.7+
  • A CI/CD pipeline might expect a specific version declared in .terraform-version

Instead of manually downloading .zip files, updating paths, or reinstalling Terraform every time — tfswitch makes it seamless.

⚙️ Installation

On macOS (via Homebrew):

brew install warrensbox/tap/tfswitch
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On Linux:

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/warrensbox/terraform-switcher/release/install.sh | bash
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On Windows (using Chocolatey):

choco install tfswitch
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🧠 How It Works

tfswitch detects the Terraform version you need in three ways:

1. From .terraform-version file

If your project includes a .terraform-version file:

1.5.7
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Just run:

tfswitch
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It will automatically install and switch to that version.

2. From required_version in Terraform configuration 

terraform {
  required_version = ">= 1.4.0"
}
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tfswitch can read and match it automatically.

3. Manual Selection 

tfswitch
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You’ll get an interactive menu to choose your desired version:

Use the arrow keys to navigate: ↓ ↑ → ← 
Select Terraform version: 
  1.7.0
> 1.5.7
  1.4.6
  0.14.11
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🧩 Real-World Example

Imagine you have two Terraform projects:

  • Project A (old) requires Terraform 0.14.11
  • Project B (new) requires Terraform 1.6.0

With tfswitch, switching between them is as simple as:

cd projectA
tfswitch 0.14.11

cd ../projectB
tfswitch 1.6.0
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No path changes. No reinstallations. Just productivity.

🔁 In

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