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One of the key benefits of the Mastering Terraform Cloud course is the included hands‑on labs that give you real experience with Terraform Cloud workflows. This guide walks through the most effective way to use those labs so you can focus on learning instead of configuring tools.

What the lab environment provides

When a lab is running, the UI typically presents: Use the navigation arrows in the instructions pane to skip forward or back. Most labs also include quick links (for example, a shortcut to the Terraform Cloud workspace), so use those to open referenced resources quickly.
Note: Labs are pre-configured with the tools you need (Terraform, Git, Sentinel, etc.). For this course we will be using the Terraform workspace devops-aws-myapp-dev, which should already exist in the lab environment. Follow the lab instructions to access or verify that workspace before proceeding.
You can resize the panes or open the VS Code preview in a new window if you prefer to place instructions on one monitor and the editor/terminal on another.
A browser window open to a KodeKloud lab titled "Lab: Terraform Cloud Workspace – Remote Execution." The left side shows copy/paste and terminal shortcut instructions while the right side displays a Visual Studio Code preview of a Terraform Cloud README.

Keyboard shortcuts

Use these common shortcuts inside the lab (works for the integrated terminal and editor): Tip: Right-click a folder or file and choose Open in Integrated Terminal to start the terminal with that folder as the working directory.

Working in the editor

  • Most labs include example code already populated in the repository. Click files/folders to open them with syntax highlighting.
  • Use the integrated terminal to run Terraform commands from within the repo—no local installation required.
  • To execute commands in a particular folder, open that folder in the integrated terminal (right‑click → Open in Integrated Terminal).

Example Terraform provider configuration

A common example you’ll find in lab repos is the AWS provider configuration:

Integrated environment and available binaries

The lab environment already includes essential binaries such as Terraform, Git, and Sentinel. You can verify availability by running terraform (or terraform version) in the integrated terminal. Example Terraform usage output you may see:
Example shell prompt you may see while working in the repo:

Solutions and completing the lab

  • Each task usually has a “Solution” view. Attempt the task first, then compare your approach with the solution to learn best practices and alternative techniques.
  • When you complete a task, click the lab’s confirmation button (for example, OK or Complete Task) to progress.
  • After all tasks are finished you’ll see a congratulations screen with options to end the lab session and submit feedback.

Summary

Using the course labs is the best way to practice Terraform Cloud workflows safely and efficiently. The environment is preconfigured with the required tools, the web-based VS Code and integrated terminal let you run commands without installing anything locally, and built-in solutions help accelerate learning. Step through the tasks, try different approaches, and review the solutions to deepen your Terraform Cloud skills.

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Practice Lab