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Tofu/Terraform Plugin Commands

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Incorporate an OpenTofu or Terraform Plugin step in your pipeline to execute specific Infrastructure as Code (IaC) commands at designated stages. This page is a reference for all commands available within the Infrastructure as Code Management (IaCM) module.

When you create a Provision operation, Harness automatically configures your pipeline with the init, plan, and apply commands by default. You can also add individual command steps manually to customize your pipeline flow, validate configurations, detect drift, or manage existing infrastructure.

What you will learn​

  • Command execution flow: How init, plan, and apply run in sequence during provisioning operations.
  • Resource targeting and replacement: When and how to use the target and replace parameters to focus on specific resources.
  • Drift detection vs refresh: The difference between detecting infrastructure drift and refreshing state files.
  • Bringing existing resources under IaC: How the import and removed commands manage pre-existing infrastructure.
  • Enforcing code quality: Using validate and fmt to catch errors and maintain consistent style.

Before you begin​

  • Permissions: To execute Terraform or OpenTofu commands in pipelines, you need Execute permission on the pipeline and Edit permission on the IaCM workspace for state-modifying commands such as apply and destroy. View permission is sufficient for read-only commands (plan, validate, fmt). Go to Workspace permissions (RBAC) to configure roles.
  • Supported versions: Harness IaCM supports OpenTofu 1.6+ and Terraform 1.0+. Some commands (such as removed) require OpenTofu 1.7+ or Terraform 1.7+. Go to Create a workspace to specify your provisioner version.

Supported commands​

The following commands are available as plugin steps in Harness IaCM pipelines:

Add a command step to your pipeline

To add a command step, open the pipeline in the editor, add a step to your IaCM stage, and select OpenTofu/Terraform Plugin. Select the command from the Command dropdown. Go to Create a provisioning pipeline to build a pipeline with these commands from scratch.

Initialize​

The init command prepares a working directory containing IaC configuration files, performing key functions like:

  • Backend initialization: Sets up the backend (remote storage for your Terraform state file) for state management. Go to the OpenTofu backend documentation to understand how backends manage state during initialization.
  • Provider installation: Downloads and installs necessary provider plugins to interact with service provider APIs. Harness workspaces use connectors to authenticate with cloud providers. Go to Cloud provider connectors to configure access.
  • Module installation: Downloads and sets up modules included in the configuration within the .terraform directory.

Plan​

The plan command creates an execution plan to preview the actions OpenTofu or Terraform will take to align the infrastructure with the specified configuration. This includes:

  • State refresh: Updates the state file (which tracks the current status of your managed infrastructure) with the latest data from the managed infrastructure.
  • Configuration comparison: Analyzes current versus desired states to identify necessary changes.
  • Change proposal: Lists the actions that apply will execute to reach the desired state.

Pipeline behavior: The plan step succeeds even when changes are detected. It only fails if an error occurs (invalid configuration, missing provider). Detected changes are displayed in the execution logs but do not stop the pipeline.

Optional configuration​

Harness IaCM supports resource targeting and replacement as part of the plan step with the following parameters:

  • target: Target specific resources (and their dependencies) to focus on during a plan, and subsequent apply or destroy operations. Set these parameters in the Terraform Plugin step's Optional Configuration section in the pipeline editor.
  • replace: Replace specific resources during a plan, and subsequent apply or destroy operations.

For example, set target=tfcode.bucket1 to target a specific resource.

Target use case

Suppose you want to run multiple pipelines in sequence, each targeting a different resource. In this case, you can use the target parameter to specify which resource each pipeline should focus on.

When the apply or destroy step is executed, it will only apply the changes to the resources specified in the target parameter, without affecting other resources.

Control plan flags with PLUGIN_ environment variables​

The plan step builds its OpenTofu/Terraform command line from PLUGIN_ prefixed environment variables, not from the standard TF_CLI_ARGS_plan convention. Set these as workspace variables or step environment variables to override the corresponding CLI flag:

Environment variableCLI flagDefaultDescription
PLUGIN_LOCK-lock=trueDisable or enable state locking during the operation.
PLUGIN_LOCK_TIMEOUT-lock-timeout=unsetDuration to retry acquiring a lock before giving up.
PLUGIN_PLAN_REFRESH-refresh=trueUpdate state before planning to detect drift. Set to false to skip the refresh.
PLUGIN_PLAN_REFRESH_ONLY-refresh-onlyfalsePlan only refreshes state and makes no infrastructure changes.
PLUGIN_PLAN_REPLACE-replace=[]Force replacement of a resource by address prefix. Accepts multiple prefixes.
PLUGIN_PLAN_TARGET-target=[]Limit the plan to specific resources by address prefix. Accepts multiple prefixes.
PLUGIN_PLAN_DESTROY-destroyfalseGenerate a plan to destroy all managed resources.
PLUGIN_OUT-out=unsetPath to save the generated plan file.
PLUGIN_STATE-state=unsetPath to a Terraform state file to use for the plan.
PLUGIN_ALLOW_DEFERRAL-allow-deferralunsetAllow deferred changes in the plan output.

The target and replace optional configuration parameters described above set PLUGIN_PLAN_TARGET and PLUGIN_PLAN_REPLACE respectively.

TF_CLI_ARGS_plan has no effect on this step

The plan step does not read TF_CLI_ARGS_plan or any other TF_CLI_ARGS_* variable except TF_CLI_ARGS_fmt (go to Fmt for details). Setting TF_CLI_ARGS_plan is silently ignored and the step still runs with its default flags. Use the PLUGIN_ prefixed variable from the table above instead. For example, set PLUGIN_PLAN_REFRESH=false to disable the state refresh.

Apply​

The apply command executes the proposed plan to modify the infrastructure state:

  • Executing plan: Implements the changes outlined in the plan to modify resource states.
  • State update: Updates the state file to reflect the new status of the infrastructure.

Pipeline behavior: The apply step fails if the plan cannot be executed (for example, due to provider errors or missing credentials). If the preceding plan step used PLUGIN_PLAN_TARGET or PLUGIN_PLAN_REPLACE, those resource constraints carry through to the apply step automatically.

Destroy​

The destroy command removes all resources managed by OpenTofu or Terraform:

  • Resource removal: Identifies and eliminates all managed resources, respecting their interdependencies.

Pipeline behavior: The destroy step fails if any resource cannot be deleted (for example, due to resource dependencies or provider errors). Resources are removed in reverse dependency order to prevent constraint violations.

Plan and destroy​

The plan-destroy command prepares a plan for dismantling infrastructure, outlining:

  • Destruction overview: Highlights which resources will be removed if the plan is executed.

When to use: Use plan-destroy to preview destructive changes before running destroy. This lets you review the impact without making any changes. Use destroy when you are ready to apply the removal.

Plan refresh only​

The plan-refresh-only command focuses on updating the state file to mirror real-time data without altering the infrastructure:

  • State refresh: Updates the state file with the current infrastructure status.
Use case

In scenarios where drift is detected but there are unreviewed changes pending in your configuration code, the plan-refresh-only step is ideal. It refreshes the state to reconcile drift without applying any pending code updates, ensuring only the manual changes are addressed. Go to Drift Detection to see a specific example.

Apply refresh only​

The apply-refresh-only command applies a state update without changing the infrastructure:

  • Immediate state update: Refreshes the state file to ensure it accurately reflects the current infrastructure conditions.

Pipeline behavior: Unlike a standard apply, this command makes no changes to actual infrastructure. It only updates the Harness state file. Use it after plan-refresh-only to commit the refreshed state.

Detect drift​

The detect-drift command is a built-in operation that compares the real infrastructure with your OpenTofu or Terraform state and highlights any discrepancies (known as drift). While not an official Tofu/Terraform command, this step uses plan under the hood with specific flags to perform drift detection.

This is useful for detecting infrastructure changes made outside IaC, such as resources added manually via a cloud console.

Example use case

Suppose your IaC configuration provisions an SQS queue. Later, someone manually creates an EC2 instance in the same environment. When detect-drift is run, Harness identifies the EC2 instance as drift and fails the pipeline. You can then:

  • Import the EC2 instance into your state.
  • Delete it if it is unintended.
  • Ignore it if it is intentionally unmanaged.

Drift detection is typically used in scheduled pipelines or as a safeguard before provisioning operations.

Go to Drift Detection to see a full YAML example.

Import​

The import command allows you to bring existing infrastructure under IaC control without re-creating it. Harness pipelines support import as a first-class step, so you do not need to execute it manually outside of Harness.

Example usage​

Suppose you have an existing AWS S3 bucket that you want to manage using IaC. Add an import block to your configuration:

import {
  to = aws_s3_bucket.my_bucket
  id = "my-existing-bucket"
}

In this example, aws_s3_bucket.my_bucket is the resource address in your IaC configuration and my-existing-bucket is the identifier of the existing S3 bucket in AWS. Running the import step associates the existing bucket with your IaC configuration, allowing you to manage it as part of your infrastructure code without destroying and re-creating it.

Version requirement

The declarative import {} block syntax requires Terraform 1.5+ or OpenTofu 1.6+. Go to Create a workspace to verify your provisioner version.

Go to Remove and import resources with OpenTofu to see the full workflow for importing existing resources.

Removed​

The removed command allows you to stop managing a resource in IaC without destroying it in your actual infrastructure. Harness pipelines support removed as a first-class step, so you do not need to execute it manually outside of Harness.

Example usage​

Suppose you have an existing AWS EC2 instance that you want to remove from your state file. Add a removed block to your configuration:

removed {
  from = aws_instance.<instance_name>
  lifecycle {
    destroy = false
  }
}

In this example, aws_instance.<instance_name> is the resource address in your IaC configuration. The lifecycle { destroy = false } block ensures that the resource is only removed from the state file and is not destroyed in your actual infrastructure. Without the lifecycle block, or when destroy = true is set, the removed block can destroy resources.

Version requirement

The removed block requires OpenTofu 1.7+ or Terraform 1.7+. Go to Create a workspace to verify your provisioner version.

Go to Remove and import resources with OpenTofu to see the full workflow for removing resources from state.

Validate​

The validate command checks the configuration for errors:

  • Syntax checks: Ensures all configuration files are syntactically correct.
  • Consistency checks: Confirms all configurations are internally consistent with no unresolved references or missing mandatory arguments.

Pipeline behavior: The validate step fails the pipeline if syntax errors or consistency issues are found, preventing invalid configurations from proceeding to plan or apply.

Fmt​

The fmt command rewrites OpenTofu or Terraform configuration files to a canonical format and style:

  • Format application: Applies consistent indentation, spacing, and alignment across all .tf and .tfvars files in the working directory.
  • Style enforcement: Ensures configuration files conform to the standard style conventions, making them easier to read and review.

By default, fmt rewrites files in place and exits with a zero status code whether or not changes were made, so a plain fmt step will not fail the pipeline on unformatted code.

Pipeline behavior: By default, fmt always succeeds (exit code 0) even if files are reformatted. To fail the pipeline when unformatted code is detected, set the TF_CLI_ARGS_fmt pipeline variable to -check. With this flag, fmt exits with a non-zero code if any files require reformatting, causing the step to fail. Go to Pipeline variables to configure this.

Now that you understand IaC commands in Harness pipelines, explore how to apply them:

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