How-to use the remote backend and Terraform CLI to run plan and state operations locally – HashiCorp Help Center

Introduction

Expected Outcome

This article outlines how to add a remote backend configuration to an existing Terraform Enterprise/Cloud workspace configuration.

Prerequisites

Terraform Cloud/Terraform Enterprise
Terraform < 1.1.0

For Terraform versions 1.1.0 and later, use the cloud settings block instead of the remote backend. Follow the guide here.

Procedure

1. Navigate to the Terraform Enterprise/Cloud workspace you want to investigate.
2. Obtain a local copy of the Terraform configuration used to perform runs in this workspace.
3. Within the local configuration directory, create a new *.tf file, e.g. backend.tf.
4. In the file, create a terraform block containing a remote backend block:
```
terraform {
 backend "remote" {
   hostname = "TFE_HOSTNAME"
   organization = "ORG_NAME"
   workspaces {
     name = "WORKSPACE_NAME"
   }
 }
}
```
5. For TFE_HOSTNAME, use the base url for your Terraform Enterprise instance. For Terraform Cloud, you can delete this hostname line as it will default to app.terraform.io.
6. For ORG_NAME, use the Terraform Enterprise/Cloud organization name, and for WORKSPACE_NAME, use the name of the Terraform Enterprise/Cloud workspace.
7. Ensure the version of Terraform used at the command line matches the version used in Terraform Enterprise. This is likely either the version of Terraform shown in the workspace settings under Settings > General, or the terraform_version entry of the most recent state in the state list., e.g.
  
  or
  
  matches:
```
 $ terraform version
 Terraform v1.0.0
 on darwin_amd64
```
8. On Terraform versions v0.12.21 or later, run terraform login [hostname] to generate credentials to your Terraform Enterprise/Cloud instance. If you do not include hostname, it will default to Terraform Cloud.
9. Enter 'yes'. Paste the token once. Note there is no indication once pasted. Press return/enter to complete saving local credentials.
10. If you receive an error indicating "Token is invalid", make sure you successfully copied the token from your browser. Note some browsers are not compatible with the inbuilt "copy" button on the token modal in Terraform Enterprise/Cloud.
11. In the Terraform configuration directory, run terraform init.
12. You should see the following output:
13. The Terraform state command can now be used to interact with the remote state; for a list of the possible options, see Command: state.
14. Additionally, you may now make modifications to the local configuration and run terraform plan to initiate a run in Terraform Enterprise/Cloud. Note that workspaces connected to a Version Control will not allow a terraform apply operation initiated using the remote backend.

Additional Information

Introduction

Expected Outcome

Prerequisites

Procedure

Additional Information

Articles in this section

Related articles