12 Bash Scripts That Replace Tedious Terraform Commands

speed up your Terraform workflow with these Bash helpers

1. tf-init-all.sh

Initializes every module in a repo with a single command.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-init-all.sh
# Usage: ./tf-init-all.sh [workspace-name]

set -e

WORKSPACE=${1:-default}
echo "Switching to workspace: $WORKSPACE"
terraform workspace select "$WORKSPACE" || terraform workspace new "$WORKSPACE"

echo "Initializing root and child modules..."
find . -maxdepth 2 -type f -name '*.tf' -execdir terraform init \;

echo "All modules initialized in workspace '$WORKSPACE'."

-We pick (or create) the workspace you pass in. -find scans each subdirectory for .tf files and runs terraform init there.

• Saves you from cd‑ing into each module folder.

2. tf-plan-diff.sh

Runs a plan and opens the diff in your default pager.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-plan-diff.sh
set -euo pipefail

PLAN_FILE="tfplan.out"

terraform plan -out="$PLAN_FILE" "$@"
echo "Plan saved to $PLAN_FILE. Showing diff:"
terraform show -no-color "$PLAN_FILE" | less -R

• Runs terraform plan, capturing the plan to a file.
• Pipes terraform show into less, so you can scroll and search changes.

3. tf-apply-auto.sh

Applies the last plan without prompting.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-apply-auto.sh
set -euo pipefail

PLAN_FILE="tfplan.out"

if [[ ! -f "$PLAN_FILE" ]]; then
  echo "Plan file '$PLAN_FILE' not found. Run tf-plan-diff.sh first."
  exit 1
fi

echo "Applying plan from $PLAN_FILE without prompt..."
terraform apply -auto-approve "$PLAN_FILE"
echo "Terraform apply completed."

• Ensures a plan exists, then hands it off to Terraform with -auto-approve.
• Perfect for CI pipelines or trusted environments.

4. tf-destroy-quick.sh

Destroys all resources in a workspace with confirmation.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-destroy-quick.sh
set -euo pipefail

echo "  WARNING: This will destroy ALL resources in the CURRENT workspace."
read -rp "Type DESTROY to continue: " CONFIRM
if [[ "$CONFIRM" != "DESTROY" ]]; then
  echo "Destruction aborted."
  exit 0
fi

terraform destroy -auto-approve
echo "All resources destroyed."

• Adds a guard to prevent accidental destruction.
• Uses -auto-approve once you type the magic word.

5. tf-show-state.sh

Quickly shows the current Terraform state in JSON.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-show-state.sh
set -euo pipefail

terraform state pull | jq .

• terraform state pull fetches the current state.
• Piped into jq for pretty‑printing JSON.

6. tf-state-remove.sh

Removes a resource from the state without touching real infra.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-state-remove.sh
# Usage: ./tf-state-remove.sh <resource_address>

set -euo pipefail

if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
  echo "Usage: $0 <resource_address>"
  exit 1
fi

terraform state rm "$1"
echo "Removed $1 from state."

• Takes a Terraform resource address (e.g., module.db.aws_db_instance.main).
• Uses terraform state rm to “forget” it which can come in handy for cleanups that aren’t autonated.

7. tf-output-all.sh

Prints all outputs with names.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-output-all.sh

set -euo pipefail

terraform output -json | jq -r 'to_entries[] | "\(.key): \(.value.value)"'

Queries outputs in JSON, then uses ‘jq’ to list each key/value pair neatly.

8. tf-validate-each.sh

Validates every child module’s syntax.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-validate-each.sh

set -euo pipefail

echo "Validating all modules..."
find . -maxdepth 2 -type f -name '*.tf' -execdir terraform validate \; || {
  echo "Validation failed in one or more modules."
  exit 1
}
echo "All modules are syntactically valid."

• Similar to tf-init-all.sh ’s find logic, but runs terraform validate.
• Prevents module‑level syntax errors before you plan.

9. tf-backup-state.sh

Backs up the remote state file locally with a timestamp.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-backup-state.sh
set -euo pipefail

TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_FILE="terraform-state-backup-$TIMESTAMP.tfstate"

echo "Backing up remote state to $BACKUP_FILE..."
terraform state pull > "$BACKUP_FILE"
echo "State backup created at $BACKUP_FILE."

• Grabs remote state via state pull.
• Saves it with a timestamp so you can archive or diff later.

10. tf-workspace-list.sh

Lists all workspaces with “current” highlighted.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-workspace-list.sh
set -euo pipefail

terraform workspace list | sed -e 's/^\*/ current/' -e 's/^[[:space:]]*//'

• Runs terraform workspace list.
• Uses sed to mark the current workspace with an asterisk or custom label.

11. tf-plan-drift.sh

Checks for drift by comparing current infra to state.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-plan-drift.sh
set -euo pipefail

echo "Checking for drift..."
terraform plan -detailed-exitcode -no-color
EXIT_CODE=$?

case $EXIT_CODE in
  0)
    echo "No drift – infrastructure matches the state."
    ;;
  2)
    echo " Drift detected – changes required."
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Error during plan. Exit code: $EXIT_CODE"
    exit $EXIT_CODE
    ;;
esac

• -detailed-exitcode returns ‘2' if changes are needed (drift), ‘0’ if clean.
• Great for automated drift detection scripts.

12. tf-apply-tagging.sh

Applies a global tag to all resources before apply.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# tf-apply-tagging.sh
# Usage: ./tf-apply-tagging.sh key=value

set -euo pipefail

if [[ $# -lt 1 ]]; then
  echo "Usage: $0 <tag_key>=<tag_value>"
  exit 1
fi

export TF_VAR_global_tag="$1"
echo "Global tag set to $TF_VAR_global_tag"

terraform apply -auto-approve

• Exports a variable (global_tag) that your Terraform code picks up in resource blocks.
• Handy if you tag all resources (e.g., cost center, owner) via a single script.

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P.S. I recently released a DevOps Starter Kit — a bundle of 20+ Bash scripts, cron jobs, and Docker templates to speed up your infrastructure setup. If you do a lot of server work, you might find it useful.