terraform-mcp-server

Terraform MCP Server

The Terraform MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that integrates seamlessly with Terraform Registry and HCP Terraform APIs, enabling advanced automation and interaction capabilities for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) development.

Table of Contents

Features

• Dual Transport Support: Both Stdio and StreamableHTTP transports with configurable endpoints
• Terraform Registry Integration: Direct integration with public Terraform Registry APIs for providers, modules, and policies
• HCP Terraform & Terraform Enterprise Support: Full workspace management, organization/project listing, and private registry access
• Workspace Operations: Create, update, delete workspaces with support for variables, tags, and run management
• OTel metrics for monitoring tool usage: Integration with open telemetry meters to track tool-call volume, latency and failures in Streamable HTTP mode. Also exposes default http server metrics when this feature is enabled

Security Note: Depending on the query, the MCP server may expose certain Terraform data to the MCP client and LLM. Do not use the MCP server with untrusted MCP clients or LLMs.

Legal Note: Your use of a third party MCP Client/LLM is subject solely to the terms of use for such MCP/LLM, and IBM is not responsible for the performance of such third party tools. IBM expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability for third party MCP Clients/LLMs, and may not be able to provide support to resolve issues which are caused by the third party tools.

Caution: The outputs and recommendations provided by the MCP server are generated dynamically and may vary based on the query, model, and the connected MCP client. Users should thoroughly review all outputs/recommendations to ensure they align with their organization’s security best practices, cost-efficiency goals, and compliance requirements before implementation.

Prerequisites

1. Ensure Docker is installed and running to use the server in a containerized environment.
2. Install an AI assistant that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Command Line Options

Environment Variables:

# Stdio mode
terraform-mcp-server stdio [--log-file /path/to/log] [--log-level info] [--log-format text] [--toolsets <toolsets>] [--tools <tools>]

# StreamableHTTP mode
terraform-mcp-server streamable-http [--transport-port 8080] [--transport-host 127.0.0.1] [--mcp-endpoint /mcp] [--organization-allowlist <orgs-csv>] [--log-file /path/to/log] [--log-level info] [--log-format text] [--toolsets <toolsets>] [--tools <tools>]

Instructions

Default instructions for the MCP server is located in cmd/terraform-mcp-server/instructions.md, if those do not seem appropriate for your organization's Terraform practices or if the MCP server is producing inaccurate responses, please replace them with your own instructions and rebuild the container or binary. An example of such instruction is located in instructions/example-mcp-instructions.md

AGENTS.md essentially behaves as READMEs for coding agents: a dedicated, predictable place to provide the context and instructions to help AI coding agents work on your project. One AGENTS.md file works with different coding agents. An example of such instruction is located in instructions/example-AGENTS.md, in order to use it commit a file name AGENTS.md to the directory where your Terraform configurations reside.

Installation

Usage with Visual Studio Code

Add the following JSON block to your User Settings (JSON) file in VS Code. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Shift + P and typing Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON).

More about using MCP server tools in VS Code's agent mode documentation.

…

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "terraform": {
        "command": "docker",
        "args": [
          "run",
          "-i",
          "--rm",
          "hashicorp/terraform-mcp-server:0.2.3"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Optionally, you can add a similar example (i.e. without the mcp key) to a file called .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace. This will allow you to share the configuration with others.

{
  "servers": {
    "terraform": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e", "TFE_TOKEN=${input:tfe_token}",
        "-e", "TFE_ADDRESS=${input:tfe_address}",
        "hashicorp/terraform-mcp-server:1.3.0"
      ]
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "tfe_token",
      "description": "Terraform API Token",
      "password": true
    },
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "tfe_address",
      "description": "Terraform Address",
      "password": false
    }
  ]
}

{
  "servers": {
    "terraform": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",