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Infrastructure as Code Management

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Infrastructure as Code Management (IaCM) in Harness provisions and manages cloud infrastructure through Terraform and OpenTofu. Each workspace tracks a set of infrastructure resources along with their state file, variables, and execution history. The CLI lets you list workspaces, inspect their current status, and trigger provisioning operations without opening the Harness UI.

This page covers all Infrastructure as Code Management resources and actions available in the CLI.

What will you learn in this topic?​

By the end of this page, you will know how to:

  • List and filter workspaces across your project.
  • Inspect workspace configuration, state, and execution history.
  • Trigger plan, apply, and destroy operations from the command line.
  • Stream execution output to your terminal for real-time feedback.

Before you begin​

  • Harness CLI installed and authenticated: Go to Install and upgrade and Authenticate to set up the CLI.
  • Project scope configured: Workspaces are project-scoped and require --org and --project. Set them in your profile or pass them on each command.
  • Workspace exists: Operations run against existing workspaces. Create workspaces through the Harness UI or API before executing CLI operations.

Workspaces​

A workspace represents a single Terraform or OpenTofu root module along with its state, variables, and connected source repository. Workspaces track the lifecycle of your infrastructure from initial creation through updates and eventual destruction. Each workspace belongs to a project and maintains its own execution history.

List workspaces​

View all workspaces in your current project to see what infrastructure is managed and the current state of each workspace.

harness list workspace
harness list workspace --all --format json
harness list workspace --search "<search_term>"
harness list workspace --columns "name,id,status,lastRun"

Get workspace details​

Retrieve the full configuration for a workspace, including its connected repository, variable sets, provider versions, and last execution status.

harness get workspace <workspace_id>
harness get workspace <workspace_id> --format json

Execute workspace operations​

Trigger provisioning operations on a workspace directly from your terminal. The CLI streams execution output in real time and exits with the operation status code (0 for success, 1 for failure). Use these operations to provision, update, or tear down infrastructure without opening the Harness UI.

Plan​

Preview the changes Terraform or OpenTofu will make without actually applying them. Use plan to validate your configuration and review proposed infrastructure changes before committing.

harness execute workspace <workspace_id> --set operation=plan

Apply​

Execute the planned changes and provision or update your infrastructure. Apply modifies real resources in your cloud provider based on the current workspace configuration.

harness execute workspace <workspace_id> --set operation=apply

Destroy​

Tear down all resources managed by the workspace. Destroy removes every resource tracked in the workspace state file. Use this to decommission environments or clean up temporary infrastructure.

harness execute workspace <workspace_id> --set operation=destroy

Common workflows​

Validate before applying​

Run a plan first, review the output, and apply only if the changes match your expectations.

harness execute workspace <workspace_id> --set operation=plan
harness execute workspace <workspace_id> --set operation=apply

List all workspaces in JSON for scripting​

Export workspace data for use in CI pipelines, reports, or automation scripts.

harness list workspace --all --format jsonl | jq -r '.identifier'

Check workspace status across multiple projects​

Combine with scope flags to audit workspaces in different projects.

harness list workspace --org <org_id> --project <project_id>
harness list workspace --org <org_id> --project <project_id>

Next steps​

  • Go to Continuous Delivery to manage pipelines and deployment resources.
  • Go to Platform to manage account resources, connectors, and secrets.
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