Terraform Switcher

The tfswitch command line tool lets you switch between different versions of terraform. If you do not have a particular version of terraform installed, tfswitch will download the version you desire. The installation is minimal and easy. Once installed, simply select the version you require from the dropdown and start using terraform.

Installation

tfswitch is available for MacOS and Linux based operating systems.

Homebrew

Installation for MacOS is the easiest with Homebrew. If you do not have homebrew installed, click here.

brew install warrensbox/tap/tfswitch

General Linux

Installation for other linux operation systems.

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/warrensbox/terraform-switcher/release/install.sh | bash

Arch User Repository (AUR) packages for Arch Linux

# compiled from source
yay tfswitch
# precompiled
yay tfswitch-bin

Install from source

Alternatively, you can install the binary from source here

Having trouble installing.

How to use:

Use dropdown menu to select version

You can switch between different versions of terraform by typing the command tfswitch on your terminal.
Select the version of terraform you require by using the up and down arrow.
Hit Enter to select the desired version.

The most recently selected versions are presented at the top of the dropdown.

Supply version on command line

You can also supply the desired version as an argument on the command line.
For example, tfswitch 0.10.5 for version 0.10.5 of terraform.
Hit Enter to switch.

See all versions including beta, alpha and release candidates(rc)

Display all versions including beta, alpha and release candidates(rc).
For example, tfswitch -l or tfswitch --list-all to see all versions.
Hit Enter to select the desired version.

Use environment variable

You can also set the TF_VERSION environment variable to your desired terraform version. For example:

export TF_VERSION=0.14.4
tfswitch #will automatically switch to terraform version 0.14.4

Install latest version only

Install the latest stable version only.
Run tfswitch -u or tfswitch --latest.
Hit Enter to install.

Install latest implicit version for stable releases

Install the latest implicit stable version.
Ex: tfswitch -s 0.13 or tfswitch --latest-stable 0.13 downloads 0.13.6 (latest) version.
Hit Enter to install.

Install latest implicit version for beta, alpha and release candidates(rc)

Install the latest implicit pre-release version.
Ex: tfswitch -p 0.13 or tfswitch --latest-pre 0.13 downloads 0.13.0-rc1 (latest) version.
Hit Enter to install.

Show latest version only

Just show what the latest version is.
Run tfswitch -U or tfswitch --show-latest
Hit Enter to show.

Show latest implicit version for stable releases

Show the latest implicit stable version.
Ex: tfswitch -S 0.13 or tfswitch --show-latest-stable 0.13 shows 0.13.6 (latest) version.
Hit Enter to show.

Show latest implicit version for beta, alpha and release candidates(rc)

Show the latest implicit pre-release version.
Ex: tfswitch -P 0.13 or tfswitch --show-latest-pre 0.13 shows 0.13.0-rc1 (latest) version.
Hit Enter to show.

Use version.tf file

If a .tf file with the terraform constrain is included in the current directory, it should automatically download or switch to that terraform version. For example, the following should automatically switch terraform to the latest version:

terraform {
  required_version = ">= 0.12.9"

  required_providers {
    aws        = ">= 2.52.0"
    kubernetes = ">= 1.11.1"
  }
}

Use .tfswitch.toml file (For non-admin - users with limited privilege on their computers)

This is similiar to using a .tfswitchrc file, but you can specify a custom binary path for your terraform installation

Create a custom binary path. Ex: mkdir /Users/warrenveerasingam/bin (replace warrenveerasingam with your username)
Add the path to your PATH. Ex: export PATH=$PATH:/Users/warrenveerasingam/bin (add this to your bash profile or zsh profile)
Pass -b or --bin parameter with your custom path to install terraform. Ex: tfswitch -b /Users/warrenveerasingam/bin/terraform 0.10.8
Optionally, you can create a .tfswitch.toml file in your terraform directory(current directory) OR in your home directory(~/.tfswitch.toml). The toml file in the current directory has a higher precedence than toml file in the home directory
Your .tfswitch.toml file should look like this:

bin = "/Users/warrenveerasingam/bin/terraform"
version = "0.11.3"

Run tfswitch and it should automatically install the required terraform version in the specified binary path

NOTE

For linux users that do not have write permission to /usr/local/bin/, tfswitch will attempt to install terraform at $HOME/bin. Run export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin to append bin to PATH
For windows host, tfswitch need to be run under Administrator mode, and $HOME/.tfswitch.toml with bin must be defined (with a valid path) as minimum, below is an example for $HOME/.tfswitch.toml on windows

bin = "C:\\Users\\<%USRNAME%>\\bin\\terraform.exe"

Use .tfswitchrc file

Create a .tfswitchrc file containing the desired version
For example, echo "0.10.5" >> .tfswitchrc for version 0.10.5 of terraform
Run the command tfswitch in the same directory as your .tfswitchrc

Instead of a `.tfswitchrc` file, a `.terraform-version` file may be used for compatibility with `tfenv` and other tools which use it

Use terragrunt.hcl file

If a terragrunt.hcl file with the terraform constrain is included in the current directory, it should automatically download or switch to that terraform version. For example, the following should automatically switch terraform to the latest version 0.13:

terragrunt_version_constraint = ">= 0.26, < 0.27"
terraform_version_constraint  = ">= 0.13, < 0.14"
...

Get the version from a subdirectory

tfswitch --chdir terraform_dir
tfswitch -c terraform_dir

Use custom mirror

To install from a remote mirror other than the default(https://releases.hashicorp.com/terraform). Use the -m or --mirror parameter.
Ex: tfswitch --mirror https://example.jfrog.io/artifactory/hashicorp

Set a default TF version for CICD pipeline

When using a CICD pipeline, you may want a default or fallback version to avoid the pipeline from hanging.
Ex: tfswitch -d 1.2.3 or tfswitch --default 1.2.3 installs version 1.2.3 when no other versions could be detected. Also, see CICD example

Automation

Automatically switch with bash

Add the following to the end of your ~/.bashrc file: (Use either .tfswitchrc or .tfswitch.toml or .terraform-version)

cdtfswitch(){
  builtin cd "$@";
  cdir=$PWD;
  if [ -e "$cdir/.tfswitchrc" ]; then
    tfswitch
  fi
}
alias cd='cdtfswitch'

Automatically switch with zsh

Add the following to the end of your ~/.zshrc file:

load-tfswitch() {
  local tfswitchrc_path=".tfswitchrc"

  if [ -f "$tfswitchrc_path" ]; then
    tfswitch
  fi
}
add-zsh-hook chpwd load-tfswitch
load-tfswitch

NOTE: if you see an error like this: command not found: add-zsh-hook, then you might be on an older version of zsh (see below), or you simply need to load add-zsh-hook by adding this to your .zshrc:
autoload -U add-zsh-hook

older version of zsh

cd(){
  builtin cd "$@";
  cdir=$PWD;
  if [ -e "$cdir/.tfswitchrc" ]; then
    tfswitch
  fi
}

Automatically switch with fish shell

Add the following to the end of your ~/.config/fish/config.fish file:

function switch_terraform --on-event fish_postexec
    string match --regex '^cd\s' "$argv" > /dev/null
    set --local is_command_cd $status

    if test $is_command_cd -eq 0 
      if count *.tf > /dev/null

        grep -c "required_version" *.tf > /dev/null
        set --local tf_contains_version $status
        
        if test $tf_contains_version -eq 0      
            command tfswitch
        end
      end
    end
end

CICD

Jenkins setup

#!/bin/bash 

echo "Installing tfswitch locally"
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/warrensbox/terraform-switcher/release/install.sh #Get the installer on to your machine

chmod 755 install.sh            #Make installer executable

./install.sh -b `pwd`/.bin      #Install tfswitch in a location you have permission

CUSTOMBIN=`pwd`/.bin            #set custom bin path

export PATH=$PATH:$CUSTOMBIN    #Add custom bin path to PATH environment

$CUSTOMBIN/tfswitch -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform 0.11.7 #or simply tfswitch -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform 0.11.7

#OR 

$CUSTOMBIN/tfswitch -d 0.11.7 -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform  #or simply tfswitch -d 0.11.7 -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform 

terraform -v                    #testing version

Circle CI setup

Example config yaml

version: 2
jobs:
  build:
    docker:
      - image: ubuntu

    working_directory: /go/src/github.com/warrensbox/terraform-switcher

    steps:
      - checkout
      - run: 
          command: |    
            set +e   
            apt-get update 
            apt-get install -y wget 
            rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

            echo "Installing tfswitch locally"

            wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/warrensbox/terraform-switcher/release/install.sh #Get the installer on to your machine

            chmod 755 install.sh            #Make installer executable

            ./install.sh -b `pwd`/.bin      #Install tfswitch in a location you have permission

            CUSTOMBIN=`pwd`/.bin            #set custom bin path

            export PATH=$PATH:$CUSTOMBIN    #Add custom bin path to PATH environment

            $CUSTOMBIN/tfswitch -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform 0.11.7 #or simply tfswitch -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform 0.11.7

            #OR
            $CUSTOMBIN/tfswitch -d 0.11.7 -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform  #or simply tfswitch -d 0.11.7 -b $CUSTOMBIN/terraform 
            
            terraform -v                    #testing version

Order of precedence

Order	Method
1	.tfswitch.toml
2	.tfswitchrc
3	.terraform-version
4	Environment variable

With 1 being the highest precedence and 4 the lowest
(If you disagree with this order of precedence, please open an issue)

How to contribute

An open source project becomes meaningful when people collaborate to improve the code.
Feel free to look at the code, critique and make suggestions. Lets make tfswitch better!

See step-by-step instructions on how to contribute here: Contribute

Additional Info

See how to upgrade, uninstall, troubleshoot here: More info

Issues

Please open issues here: New Issue

JMGoldsmith/terraform-switcher