Terraform MCP server reference

This page contains reference information about the Terraform MCP server, including configuration options and tools.

Available tools

The Terraform MCP server provides specialized tools that AI models can use to access current Terraform registry information. These tools work automatically when you ask relevant questions—you don't need to invoke them manually.

Toolsets

The server includes the following toolsets:

Toolset	Description
`registry`	Tools for accessing the public registry
`registry-private`	Tools for accessing private registries
`terraform`	Tools for interacting with HCP Terraform and Terraform Enterprise

You can add the --toolsets flag to enable or disable these tools when starting the binary.

Provider tools

Access comprehensive provider documentation for resources, data sources, functions, and configuration guides.

Tool	Purpose	What it returns
`search_providers`	Find provider documentation by service name	List of available documentation with IDs, titles, and categories
`get_provider_details`	Retrieve complete documentation for a specific provider component	Full documentation content in markdown format
`get_latest_provider_version`	Retrieve the latest version of a specifc provider	The latest version of a provider

Example prompt: "How do I configure an AWS S3 bucket with versioning enabled?"

Module tools

Discover and explore community and verified modules from the Terraform registry.

Tool	Purpose	What it returns
`search_modules`	Find modules by name or functionality	Module details including names, descriptions, download counts, and verification status
`get_module_details`	Get comprehensive module information	Complete documentation with inputs, outputs, examples, and submodules
`get_latest_module_version`	Retrieve the latest version of a specifc module	The latest version of a module

Example prompt: "Show me modules for deploying a Kubernetes cluster on AWS."

Policy tools

Access Sentinel policies for governance and compliance requirements.

Tool	Purpose	What it returns
`search_policies`	Find Sentinel policies by topic or requirement	Policy listings with IDs, names, and download statistics
`get_policy_details`	Retrieve detailed policy documentation	Policy implementation details and usage instructions

Example prompt: "What Sentinel policies are available for enforcing security best practices?"

Terraform Cloud/Enterprise tools

Manage Terraform Cloud/Enterprise resources including workspaces, runs, variables, and private modules. Some tools require the ENABLE_TF_OPERATIONS environment variable for destructive operations.

Tool	Purpose	What it returns
`list_terraform_orgs`	Fetch all Terraform organizations	List of organizations with their details
`list_terraform_projects`	Fetch all Terraform projects	List of projects with their metadata
`list_workspaces`	Search and list workspaces in an organization	Workspace details including configuration and status
`get_workspace_details`	Get comprehensive workspace information	Complete workspace configuration, variables, and state information
`create_workspace`	Create a new Terraform workspace	Confirmation of workspace creation (destructive operation)
`update_workspace`	Update workspace configuration	Updated workspace configuration (potentially destructive)
`delete_workspace_safely`	Delete workspace if it manages no resources	Confirmation of deletion (requires `ENABLE_TF_OPERATIONS`)
`list_runs`	List or search runs in a workspace	Run details with optional filtering
`get_run_details`	Get detailed information about a specific run	Complete run information including logs and status
`create_run`	Create a new Terraform run	Run creation confirmation with available run types
`action_run`	Perform actions on runs (apply, discard, cancel)	Action confirmation (requires `ENABLE_TF_OPERATIONS`)
`search_private_modules`	Find private modules in your organization	List of private modules matching search criteria
`get_private_module_details`	Get detailed private module information	Complete module details including inputs, outputs, and examples
`search_private_providers`	Find private providers in your organization	List of private providers matching search criteria
`get_private_provider_details`	Get detailed private provider information	Provider details including usage and version information
`get_workspace_policy_sets`	Get the policy sets attached to a particular workspace	A list of policy sets
`attach_policy_set_to_workspace`	Attach a policy set to a workspace	Confirmation of attachment
`get_token_permissions`	Get the permissions for the `TFE_TOKEN`	A list of actions you can take
`get_plan_json_output`	Retrieves the structured JSON output of a Terraform plan, providing detailed resource changes in a machine-readable format that is easier to parse than plain logs
`get_plan_details`	Fetches detailed metadata about a specific Terraform plan
`get_plan_logs`	Retrieves the execution logs of a specific Terraform plan
`get_apply_details`	Fetches detailed metadata about a specific Terraform apply
`get_apply_logs`	Retrieves the execution logs of a specific Terraform apply

Variable management tools

Manage variables and variable sets across workspaces and organizations.

Tool	Purpose	What it returns
`list_variable_sets`	List all variable sets in an organization	Variable set details and configurations
`create_variable_set`	Create a new variable set	Confirmation of variable set creation
`create_variable_in_variable_set`	Add a variable to a variable set	Variable creation confirmation
`delete_variable_in_variable_set`	Remove a variable from a variable set	Variable deletion confirmation
`attach_variable_set_to_workspaces`	Attach variable set to workspaces	Attachment confirmation
`detach_variable_set_from_workspaces`	Detach variable set from workspaces	Detachment confirmation
`list_workspace_variables`	List all variables in a workspace	Workspace variable details
`create_workspace_variable`	Create a variable in a workspace	Variable creation confirmation
`update_workspace_variable`	Update an existing workspace variable	Updated variable configuration

Workspace tagging tools

Manage tags for Terraform workspaces to organize and categorize resources.

Tool	Purpose	What it returns
`create_workspace_tags`	Add tags to a workspace	Tag creation confirmation
`read_workspace_tags`	Read all tags from a workspace	List of workspace tags

Example prompts:

"Create a new workspace called 'production-app' in my organization"
"Show me all runs for the staging workspace"
"List all private modules related to AWS"
"Create a variable set for database configuration"

Stacks tools

Manage Terraform Stacks in an organization.

Tool	Purpose	What it returns
`list_stacks`	Retrieve list of stacks	List of stacks with high level summary
`get_stack_details`	Read full details for a specific stack	Full stack configuration

Example prompts:

"List all the stacks in my organization"
"Show me the details for the dev-environment stack"

Available resources

The Terraform MCP server provides several static read-only guides to the MCP clients to retrieve structured, contextual data. It helps generate standardized Terraform code.

Resource URI	Kind	Description
`/terraform/style-guide`	Resource	Terraform Style Guide - Provides access to the official Terraform style guide documentation in markdown format
`/terraform/module-development`	Resource	Terraform Module Development Guide - Comprehensive guide covering module composition, structure, providers, publishing, and refactoring best practices
`/terraform/providers/{namespace}/name/{name}/version/{version}`	Resource Template	Provider Resource Template - Dynamically retrieves detailed documentation and overview for any Terraform provider by namespace, name, and version

Transport protocols

You can set one of the following transport protocols when starting the MCP server so that it operates correctly for your environment.

Transport	Best for	How it works	Usage
`stdio`	Local development and direct integration with MCP clients	Uses standard input/output for JSON-RPC message communication	Automatically used when no specific transport mode is configured
`streamableHTTP`	Remote deployments, distributed setups, production environments	HTTP-based transport with support for both direct HTTP requests	Enable by setting `TRANSPORT_MODE=streamable-http`

Environment variables

You can set the following environment variables to configure the server behavior.

Variable	Description	Default
`TFE_ADDRESS`	HCP Terraform or Terraform Enterprise address	`"https://app.terraform.io"`
`TFE_TOKEN`	Terraform Enterprise API token	`""` (empty)
`TFE_SKIP_TLS_VERIFY`	Skip HCP Terraform or Terraform Enterprise TLS verification	`false`
`TRANSPORT_MODE`	Set to `streamable-http` to enable HTTP transport (legacy `http`)	`stdio`
`TRANSPORT_HOST`	Host to bind the HTTP server	`127.0.0.1`
`TRANSPORT_PORT`	HTTP server port	`8080`
`MCP_ENDPOINT`	HTTP server endpoint path	`/mcp`
`MCP_SESSION_MODE`	Session mode: `stateful` or `stateless`	`stateful`
`MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	Comma-separated list of allowed origins for CORS	`""` (empty)
`MCP_CORS_MODE`	CORS mode: `strict`, `development`, or `disabled`	`strict`
`MCP_RATE_LIMIT_GLOBAL`	Global rate limit (format: `rps:burst`)	`10:20`
`MCP_RATE_LIMIT_SESSION`	Per-session rate limit (format: `rps:burst`)	`5:10`
`ENABLE_TF_OPERATIONS`	Enable destructive Terraform operations	`false`
`MCP_HEARTBEAT_INTERVAL`	Keep-alive long lived streamable HTTP connections (`0` to disable)	`0`
`OTEL_METRICS_ENABLED`	Enable tools metrics using OpenTelemtry	`false`
`OTEL_METRICS_SERVICE_NAME`	Identifies the source of the metrics	`terraform-mcp-server`
`OTEL_METRICS_EXPORT_INTERVAL`	Controls the frequency of metric flushes	`2`
`OTEL_METRICS_ENDPOINT`	OpenTelemetry collector endpoint	`localhost:4318`
`LOG_LEVEL`	Logging level: `trace`, `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`, `fatal`, `panic`	`info`
`LOG_FORMAT`	Logging format: `text` or `json` (overrides `--log-format` flag)	`text`

Run type options

The create_run tool supports the following run types by default:

plan_and_apply: Creates a plan and applies it if approved
refresh_state: Refreshes the state without making changes
plan_only: Creates a plan without applying
allow_empty_apply: Allows applying when no changes are detected

When ENABLE_TF_OPERATIONS is set to true, the following additional options become available:

auto_approve: Automatically approves and applies the plan
is_destroy: Creates a destroy plan to remove infrastructure

Destructive operations

Several tools perform destructive operations that can modify or delete infrastructure resources. These tools are disabled by default and require setting ENABLE_TF_OPERATIONS=true:

action_run: Can apply or destroy infrastructure
delete_workspace_safely: Permanently deletes workspaces
Additional run type options in create_run

Warning

When enabled, use these tools with caution as they can permanently modify or destroy infrastructure resources.

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