How To Install Terraform on Debian 12

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Terraform on Debian 12. This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Terraform on a Debian 12 (Bookworm).

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Debian 12 (Bookworm).
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for Terraform.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Terraform on Debian 12 Bookworm

Step 1. Before we install any software, it’s important to make sure your system is up to date by running the following apt commands in the terminal:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

This command will refresh the repository, allowing you to install the latest versions of software packages.

Step 2. Installing Required Dependencies.

Install the prerequisites of Terraform using the following command below:

sudo apt install gnupg software-properties-common

Step 3. Installing Terraform on Debian 12.

• Install Terraform using the Terraform repository

Now import the GPG key and add the Terraform repository to your Debian system:

wget -O- https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hashicorp-archive-keyring.gpg] https://apt.releases.hashicorp.com $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hashicorp.list

Finally, install using the following command below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install terraform

If you want to verify the installation, you can check the installed version:

terraform -version

• Installing Terraform using the Snap package manager

First, Install the Snap package manager using the following command:

sudo apt install snapd

Next, Install Terraform using the Snap package manager using the following command:

sudo snap install terraform --classic

Confirm that Terraform has been successfully installed:

terraform -version

Step 4. Updating Terraform from the Official Repository

To ensure your Terraform installation is up to date, execute the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade terraform

Step 5. Uninstalling Terraform Installed from the Official Repository

Should the need arise, you can remove Terraform installed from the Official Repository with the following command:

sudo apt remove terraform

Step 6. Troubleshooting.

Here are some common issues you might encounter during installation, along with solutions:

1. Snapd Installation Failure: If Snapd installation fails, ensure your system is up to date and your repositories are configured correctly.

2. Terraform Command Not Found: If the terraform command is not found after installation, check your system’s PATH variable.

3. Unable to Update Terraform via Snap: If you cannot update Terraform via Snap, try refreshing the Snap package manager with sudo snap refresh.

4. Official Repository Package Not Found: If you receive a “package not found” error while using the Official Repository method, double-check your repository configurations.

5. Version Mismatch: Ensure that you’re working with compatible versions of Terraform and your infrastructure code.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Terraform. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the latest version of Terraform on Debian 12 Bookworm. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Terraform website.