Use HCP Terraform with the Terraform CLI

The Terraform CLI integration with HCP Terraform lets you use HCP Terraform and Terraform Enterprise on the command line. In the documentation HCP Terraform instructions also apply to Terraform Enterprise, except where explicitly stated.

Using HCP Terraform through the command line is called the CLI-driven run workflow. When you use the CLI workflow, operations like terraform plan or terraform apply are remotely executed in HCP Terraform's run environment by default, with log output streaming to the local terminal. This lets you use HCP Terraform features within the familiar Terraform CLI workflow, including variables encrypted at rest in an HCP Terraform workspace, cost estimates, and policy checking.

Hands On: Try the Migrate State to HCP Terraform tutorial.

Workspaces can also be configured for local execution, in which case HCP Terraform only stores state. In this mode, HCP Terraform behaves just like a standard state backend.

Note: The CLI integration is available in Terraform 1.1.0 and later, and Terraform Enterprise 202201-1 and later. Previous versions can use the remote backend. Refer to Migrating from the remote backend for details about switching to the CLI integration.

Documentation Summary

Connect to HCP Terraform documents the cloud block that you must add to your configuration to enable HCP Terraform support.
Command Line Arguments lists the Terraform command flags that are specific to using Terraform with HCP Terraform.

Refer to the CLI-driven Run Workflow for more details about how to use HCP Terraform from the command line.