In this lab, you’ll implement a GitOps workflow by integrating Terraform Cloud workspaces with a GitHub repository. You’ll make infrastructure changes in the development branch and workspace, then promote them through staging to production using pull requests. Terraform Cloud will handle all plan and apply operations automatically.
First, inspect the Clumsy Bird repository structure and branch layout:
Next, open Terraform Cloud and confirm you have three VCS-connected workspaces:
Each workspace must map to a Git branch (development, staging, main) for GitOps workflows to work seamlessly.
Here’s a quick overview:
Workspace Branch Purpose devops-aws-myapp-dev development Development environment devops-aws-myapp-staging staging Pre-production testing devops-aws-myapp-prod main Production environment
Finally, check your AWS console to see the existing EC2 instances for Clumsy Bird:
2. Clone the Repository and Checkout the Development Branch In your terminal (e.g., VS Code integrated terminal), clone the repo and switch to development:
cd ~/vcs git clone https://github.com/gmaentz/clumsy_bird.git cd clumsy_bird git checkout -b development origin/development
3. Add an S3 Bucket Module in main.tf Update your Terraform configuration by appending the S3 bucket module:
module "s3_bucket" { source = "terraform-aws-modules/s3-bucket/aws" bucket_prefix = " ${ var . prefix } -s3- ${ var . environment } " acl = "private" versioning = { enabled = true } }
This module leverages your existing prefix and environment variables.
Ensure your backend.tf points to the dev workspace:
terraform { cloud { organization = "Mastering-Terraform-Cloud" workspaces { name = "devops-aws-myapp-dev" } } }
5. Authenticate, Initialize, and Validate Log into Terraform Cloud, initialize the configuration, and validate:
terraform login terraform init terraform validate
A successful validation means your syntax and backend config are correct.
Run a speculative plan in Terraform Cloud:
terraform plan \ -var= "prefix=my-app" \ -var= "environment=dev" \ -var= "region=us-east-1" \ -var= "owner=you" \ -var= "project=clumsy_bird"
You should see four new resources to add for the S3 bucket.
7. Commit and Push to development Since this workspace is VCS-driven, CLI apply is disabled. Commit and push your updates:
git add main.tf backend.tf git config user.email "[email protected] " git config user.name "Your Name" git commit -m "Add S3 bucket module for development" git push origin development
Do not attempt terraform apply locally when using a VCS-connected workspace. All applies must occur in Terraform Cloud.
After pushing, Terraform Cloud will automatically plan and apply in the dev workspace. View the run details:
Create a PR from development into staging on GitHub:
Once the PR is open, Terraform Cloud runs a speculative plan in staging :
Click Details to review:
When checks succeed, merge the PR.
10. Verify Staging Apply After merging, Terraform Cloud detects the new staging commit and applies the changes:
Once complete:
Finally, confirm the new bucket in the AWS S3 console:
Repeat the PR process from staging into main:
Terraform Cloud runs the final plan for prod :
Merge the PR. Once the apply finishes, verify all three buckets exist:
Conclusion You’ve successfully implemented a GitOps workflow using Terraform Cloud and GitHub. By mapping workspaces to branches, adding an S3 bucket module, and promoting changes through pull requests, you’ve automated infrastructure provisioning across development, staging, and production.
Links and References 
