• Prerequisites
• Initialize an OpenTofu state as a backend by using GitLab CI/CD
  • Customizing your OpenTofu environment variables
• Access the state from your local machine
• Migrate to a GitLab-managed OpenTofu state
  • Set up the initial backend
  • Change the backend
• Use your GitLab backend as a remote data source
• Manage OpenTofu state files
  • Manage individual OpenTofu state versions
  • Remove a state file
  • Remove a state file by using the API
• Related topics

GitLab-managed Terraform/OpenTofu state

OpenTofu uses state files to store details about your infrastructure configuration. With OpenTofu remote backends, you can store the state file in a remote and shared store.

GitLab provides an OpenTofu HTTP backend to securely store your state files with minimal configuration. The OpenTofu state backend provides automatic versioning and encryption of the state files managed by the GitLab instance.

Prerequisites

For self-managed GitLab, before you can use GitLab for your OpenTofu state files:

• An administrator must set up Terraform/OpenTofu state storage.
• You must turn on the Infrastructure menu for your project:
  1. Go to Settings > General.
  2. Expand Visibility, project features, permissions.
  3. Under Infrastructure, turn on the toggle.

Initialize an OpenTofu state as a backend by using GitLab CI/CD

Prerequisites:

• To lock, unlock, and write to the state by using tofu apply, you must have at least the Maintainer role.
• To read the state by using tofu plan -lock=false, you must have at least the Developer role.

To configure GitLab CI/CD as a backend:

1. In your OpenTofu project, in a .tf file like backend.tf, define the HTTP backend:

   terraform {
     backend "http" {
     }
   }
   

2. In the root directory of your project repository, create a .gitlab-ci.yml file. Use the OpenTofu CI/CD component to form your .gitlab-ci.yml file.
3. Push your project to GitLab. This action triggers a pipeline, which runs the gitlab-tofu init, gitlab-tofu validate, and gitlab-tofu plan commands.
4. Trigger the manual deploy job from the previous pipeline. This action runs the gitlab-tofu apply command, which provisions the defined infrastructure.

The output from the above commands should be viewable in the job logs.

The gitlab-tofu CLI is a wrapper around the tofu CLI.

Customizing your OpenTofu environment variables

You can use OpenTofu HTTP configuration variables when you define your CI/CD jobs.

To customize your init and override the OpenTofu configuration, use environment variables instead of the init -backend-config=... approach. When you use -backend-config, the configuration is:

• Cached in the output of the plan command.
• Usually passed forward to the apply command.

This configuration can lead to problems like being unable to lock the state files in CI jobs.

Access the state from your local machine

You can access the GitLab-managed OpenTofu state from your local machine.

1. Ensure the OpenTofu state has been initialized for CI/CD.

2. Copy a pre-populated OpenTofu init command:

   1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
   2. Select Operate > Terraform states.
   3. Next to the environment you want to use, select Actions () and select Copy Terraform init command.
3. Open a terminal and run this command on your local machine.

Migrate to a GitLab-managed OpenTofu state

OpenTofu supports copying the state when the backend changes or is reconfigured. Use these actions to migrate from another backend to GitLab-managed OpenTofu state.

You should use a local terminal to run the commands needed for migrating to GitLab-managed OpenTofu state.

The following example demonstrates how to change the state name. The same workflow is needed to migrate to GitLab-managed OpenTofu state from a different state storage backend.

You should run these commands on your local machine.

Set up the initial backend

PROJECT_ID="<gitlab-project-id>"
TF_USERNAME="<gitlab-username>"
TF_PASSWORD="<gitlab-personal-access-token>"
TF_ADDRESS="https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/${PROJECT_ID}/terraform/state/old-state-name"

tofu init \
  -backend-config=address=${TF_ADDRESS} \
  -backend-config=lock_address=${TF_ADDRESS}/lock \
  -backend-config=unlock_address=${TF_ADDRESS}/lock \
  -backend-config=username=${TF_USERNAME} \
  -backend-config=password=${TF_PASSWORD} \
  -backend-config=lock_method=POST \
  -backend-config=unlock_method=DELETE \
  -backend-config=retry_wait_min=5

Initializing the backend...

Successfully configured the backend "http"! Terraform will automatically
use this backend unless the backend configuration changes.

Initializing provider plugins...

Terraform has been successfully initialized!

You may now begin working with Terraform. Try running "terraform plan" to see
any changes that are required for your infrastructure. All Terraform commands
should now work.

If you ever set or change modules or backend configuration for Terraform,
re-run this command to reinitialize your working directory. If you forget, other
commands will detect it and remind you to do so if necessary.

Change the backend

Now that tofu init has created a .terraform/ directory that knows where the old state is, you can tell it about the new location:

TF_ADDRESS="https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/${PROJECT_ID}/terraform/state/new-state-name"

terraform init \
  -migrate-state \
  -backend-config=address=${TF_ADDRESS} \
  -backend-config=lock_address=${TF_ADDRESS}/lock \
  -backend-config=unlock_address=${TF_ADDRESS}/lock \
  -backend-config=username=${TF_USERNAME} \
  -backend-config=password=${TF_PASSWORD} \
  -backend-config=lock_method=POST \
  -backend-config=unlock_method=DELETE \
  -backend-config=retry_wait_min=5

Initializing the backend...
Backend configuration changed!

Terraform has detected that the configuration specified for the backend
has changed. Terraform will now check for existing state in the backends.


Acquiring state lock. This may take a few moments...
Do you want to copy existing state to the new backend?
  Pre-existing state was found while migrating the previous "http" backend to the
  newly configured "http" backend. No existing state was found in the newly
  configured "http" backend. Do you want to copy this state to the new "http"
  backend? Enter "yes" to copy and "no" to start with an empty state.

  Enter a value: yes


Successfully configured the backend "http"! Terraform will automatically
use this backend unless the backend configuration changes.

Initializing provider plugins...

Terraform has been successfully initialized!

You may now begin working with Terraform. Try running "terraform plan" to see
any changes that are required for your infrastructure. All Terraform commands
should now work.

If you ever set or change modules or backend configuration for Terraform,
rerun this command to reinitialize your working directory. If you forget, other
commands will detect it and remind you to do so if necessary.

If you type yes, it copies your state from the old location to the new location. You can then go back to running it in GitLab CI/CD.

Use your GitLab backend as a remote data source

You can use a GitLab-managed OpenTofu state backend as an OpenTofu data source.

1. In your main.tf or other relevant file, declare these variables. Leave the values empty.

   variable "example_remote_state_address" {
     type = string
     description = "Gitlab remote state file address"
   }
   
   variable "example_username" {
     type = string
     description = "Gitlab username to query remote state"
   }
   
   variable "example_access_token" {
     type = string
     description = "GitLab access token to query remote state"
   }
   

2. To override the values from the previous step, create a file named example.auto.tfvars. This file should not be versioned in your project repository.

   example_remote_state_address = "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/<TARGET-PROJECT-ID>/terraform/state/<TARGET-STATE-NAME>"
   example_username = "<GitLab username>"
   example_access_token = "<GitLab personal access token>"
   

3. In a .tf file, define the data source by using OpenTofu input variables:

   data "terraform_remote_state" "example" {
     backend = "http"
   
     config = {
       address = var.example_remote_state_address
       username = var.example_username
       password = var.example_access_token
     }
   }
   

   • address: The URL of the remote state backend you want to use as a data source. For example, https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/<TARGET-PROJECT-ID>/terraform/state/<TARGET-STATE-NAME>.
   • username: The username to authenticate with the data source. If you are using a personal access token for authentication, this value is your GitLab username. If you are using GitLab CI/CD, this value is 'gitlab-ci-token'.
   • password: The password to authenticate with the data source. If you are using a personal access token for authentication, this value is the token value (the token must have the API scope). If you are using GitLab CI/CD, this value is the contents of the ${CI_JOB_TOKEN} CI/CD variable.

Outputs from the data source can now be referenced in your Terraform resources using data.terraform_remote_state.example.outputs.<OUTPUT-NAME>.

To read the OpenTofu state in the target project, you need at least the Developer role.

Manage OpenTofu state files

To view OpenTofu state files:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Operate > Terraform states.

An epic exists to track improvements to this UI.

Manage individual OpenTofu state versions

Individual state versions can be managed using the GitLab REST API.

If you have at least the Developer role, you can retrieve state versions by using their serial number::

curl --header "Private-Token: <your_access_token>" "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/<your_project_id>/terraform/state/<your_state_name>/versions/<version-serial>"

If you have at least the Maintainer role, you can remove state versions by using their serial number:

curl --header "Private-Token: <your_access_token>" --request DELETE "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/<your_project_id>/terraform/state/<your_state_name>/versions/<version-serial>"

Remove a state file

If you have at least the Maintainer role, you can remove a state file.

1. On the left sidebar, select Operate > Terraform states.
2. In the Actions column, select Actions () and then Remove state file and versions.

Remove a state file by using the API

You can remove a state file by making a request to the REST API using a personal access token:

curl --header "Private-Token: <your_access_token>" --request DELETE "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/<your_project_id>/terraform/state/<your_state_name>"

You can also use CI/CD job token and basic authentication:

curl --user "gitlab-ci-token:$CI_JOB_TOKEN" --request DELETE "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/<your_project_id>/terraform/state/<your_state_name>"

You can also use the GraphQL API.

Related topics

• Troubleshooting GitLab-managed Terraform state
• Sample project: Terraform deployment of AWS EC2 instance in a custom VPC