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Command line

Use dropdown menu to select version

tfswitch

  1. You can switch between different versions of terraform by typing the command tfswitch on your terminal.
  2. Select the version of terraform you require by using the up and down arrow.
  3. 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

drawing

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

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

drawing

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

Use environment variables

You can also set environment variables for tfswitch to override some configurations:

TF_VERSION

TF_VERSION environment variable can be set to your desired terraform version.

For example:

export TF_VERSION="0.14.4"
tfswitch # Will automatically switch to terraform version 0.14.4

TF_DEFAULT_VERSION

TF_DEFAULT_VERSION environment variable can be set to your desired terraform version that will be used as a fallback version, if not other sources are found.

For example:

export TF_DEFAULT_VERSION="0.14.4"
tfswitch # Will automatically switch to terraform version 0.14.4

TF_PRODUCT

TF_PRODUCT environment variable can be set to your desired product/tool.

This can either be set to:

  • terraform
  • opentofu

For example:

export TF_PRODUCT="opentofu"
tfswitch # Will install opentofu instead of terraform

TF_LOG_LEVEL

TF_LOG_LEVEL environment variable can be set to override default log level.

  • Supported log levels:
  • ERROR: includes PANIC, FATAL, ERROR
  • INFO: includes PANIC, FATAL, ERROR, WARN, INFO (default)
  • NOTICE: includes PANIC, FATAL, ERROR, WARN, NOTICE, INFO
  • DEBUG: includes PANIC, FATAL, ERROR, WARN, NOTICE, INFO, DEBUG
  • TRACE: includes PANIC, FATAL, ERROR, WARN, NOTICE, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE
  • Any other log level value falls under default logging level

For example:

export TF_LOG_LEVEL="DEBUG"
tfswitch # Will output debug logs

TF_ARCH

TF_ARCH environment variable can be set to override default CPU architecture of downloaded binaries.

  • This can be set to any string, though incorrect values will result in download failure.
  • Suggested values: amd64, arm64, 386.
  • Check available Arch types at:
  • Terraform Downloads
  • OpenTofu Downloads

For example:

export TF_ARCH="amd64"
tfswitch # Will install binary for amd64 architecture

TF_BINARY_PATH

tfswitch defaults to install to the /usr/local/bin/ directory (and falls back to $HOME/bin/ otherwise). The target filename is resolved automatically based on the product parameter.
TF_BINARY_PATH environment variable can be set to specify a full installation path (directory + file name). If target directory does not exist, tfswitch falls back to $HOME/bin/ directory.

For example:

export TF_BINARY_PATH="$HOME/bin/terraform" # Path to the file
tfswitch # Will install binary as $HOME/bin/terraform

TF_INSTALL_PATH

tfswitch defaults to download binaries to the $HOME/.terraform.versions/ directory.
TF_INSTALL_PATH environment variable can be set to specify the parent directory for .terraform.versions directory. Current user must have write permissions to the target directory. If the target directory does not exist, tfswitch will create it.

For example:

export TF_INSTALL_PATH="/var/cache" # Path to the directory where `.terraform.versions` directory resides
tfswitch # Will download actual binary to /var/cache/.terraform.versions/

Install latest version only

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

Install latest implicit version for stable releases

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

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

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

Show latest version only

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

Show latest implicit version for stable releases

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

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

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

Use custom mirror

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

tfswitch --mirror https://example.jfrog.io/artifactory/hashicorp`

Install to non-default location

By default tfswitch will download the Terraform binary to the user home directory under this path: $HOME/.terraform.versions

If you want to install the binaries outside of the home directory then you can provide the -i or --install to install Terraform binaries to a non-standard path. Useful if you want to install versions of Terraform that can be shared with multiple users.

The Terraform binaries will then be placed in the directory .terraform.versions under the custom install path e.g. /opt/terraform/.terraform.versions

tfswitch -i /opt/terraform

NOTE: The directory passed in -i/--install must be created before running tfswitch

Install binary for non-default architecture

By default tfswitch will download the binary for the architecture of the host machine.

If you want to download the binary for non-default CPU architecture then you can provide the -A or --arch command line argument to download binaries for custom CPU architecture. Useful if you need to override binary architecture for whatever reason.

tfswitch --arch amd64

NOTE: If the target file already exists in the download directory (See Install to non-default location section above), it will be not downloaded. Downloaded files are stored without the architecture in the filename. Format of the filenames in download directory: <product>_<version>. E.g. terraform_1.10.4.