terraform get: Usage & Common CI Errors

Download and update the modules a configuration references.

terraform get downloads and installs the child modules referenced in configuration. terraform init does this too (plus providers and backend), so get is mainly for refreshing modules without a full init.

What it does

terraform get installs modules into .terraform/modules based on each module block’s source. With -update it re-fetches modules whose source allows newer versions (git refs, registry version ranges). It does not touch providers or the backend - that is init’s job.

Common usage

Terminal

# Install modules declared in config
terraform get

# Re-fetch and update modules to newest allowed versions
terraform get -update

Common error in CI: module not installed

plan/validate fails with "Error: Module not installed - this module is not yet installed. Run \"terraform init\" to install all modules". A bare get can miss this if the backend/providers were never initialized. Fix: in CI run terraform init (which installs modules and providers together) rather than a standalone get. Use terraform get -update only to refresh modules in an already-initialized directory.

Key options

Option	Purpose
-update	Re-fetch modules, updating where allowed
-no-color	Disable color

Related guides

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