---
Title: Automate cd
URL Source: https://company-skill.com/p/terraform/terraform-automate-cd
Language: en
Description: You want to trigger Terraform from a CI/CD pipeline (like GitLab CI) to automatically provision cloud resources—such as an OSS Bucket—while securely managing state, credentials, and approvals.…
---

# Automate cd

Part of **Terraform**. Route queries via `POST https://company-skill.com/api/route`.

## What You Want to Do

You want to trigger Terraform from a CI/CD pipeline (like GitLab CI) to automatically provision cloud resources—such as an OSS Bucket—while securely managing state, credentials, and approvals.

**Typical User Questions**:
- How to integrate Terraform with GitLab CI/CD?
- Can I trigger Terraform from a pipeline to provision resources?
- Terraform CI 

## Decision Tree

Pick the best path for your situation:

- **If** you need to create **only an OSS Bucket** using a **Cloud Management Platform (CMP)** form that triggers a **GitLab Pipeline** with approval and **Merge Request** workflows → Use GitLab Pipeline CMP OSS Bucket (go to *terraform/terraform-instance*)
- **If** you are building a **reusable Infrastructure as Code (IaC)** pipeline that integrates with **VCS Integration**, uses **Terraform Cloud** or **Terraform Explorer**, and supports debugging via **Create Project** and **Plan & Apply** → Use CI/CD (go to *terraform/terraform-iac*)
- **Otherwise (default)** → Use CI/CD — it provides a general-purpose, extensible foundation for most Terraform automation needs beyond single-resource requests.

## Path Comparison

| Path | Best For | Complexity | Code Required | Automation | Key Fact | Detail Skill |
|------|----------|------------|---------------|------------|----------|-------------|
| GitLab Pipeline CMP OSS Bucket | CI/CD | medium | Yes | Yes | Billing: OSS Bucket creation costs ¥0.002 per request; storage ¥0.12/GB | `terraform/guide/terraform-instance` |
| CI/CD | Terraform | high | Yes | Yes | Terraform Cloud free tier limits to 5 workspaces and 5 users | `terraform/guide/terraform-iac` |

## Path Details

### Path 1: GitLab Pipeline CMP OSS Bucket

**Best For**: CI/CD 

**Brief Description**: This approach uses a **Cloud Management Platform (CMP)** to initiate a **Resource Application** via a form where users specify **OSS Bucket Name**, **Region**, and **Reason for Application**. Upon approval, a **Merge Request** is created in GitLab, and the pipeline triggers **Execute** to run Terraform. The flow includes **Apply for Resources**, **Pass** (approval), and automated provisioning via **GitLab Pipeline**.

**Key technical facts**:
- Billing: OSS 0.12 /GBOSS Bucket 0.002 /
- Regions available: cn-hangzhou, cn-beijing, cn-shanghai

**When to Use**:
- OSS Bucket GitLab CI/CD 
- CMP GitLab Terraform 

**When NOT to Use**:
- OSS Bucket VPCACK 
- Terraform CMP 

### Path 2: CI/CD 

**Best For**: Terraform 

**Brief Description**: This method follows **Infrastructure as Code (IaC)** principles using tools like **Terraform Cloud** or **Terraform Explorer**. Users navigate to **Console > Projects > Create Project**, configure **Workspace Type**, enable **VCS Integration** with GitLab or GitHub, and use **Plan**, **Apply**, and **Debug Terraform Configuration** features to validate and deploy infrastructure.

**Key technical facts**:
- Billing: Terraform CLI Terraform Cloud 5 5 

**When to Use**:
- IaC Terraform 
- Web Terraform Explorer Terraform 
- Terraform VCS GitHubGitLab CI/CD

**When NOT to Use**:
- CLI-based CI/CD Web 
- Terraform Cloud >5 >5 

## FAQ

Q: Which path should I start with?
A: Start with ** CI/CD ** unless you are in an organization that already uses a **Cloud Management Platform (CMP)** and only needs to provision **OSS Buckets** via form-based requests.

Q: What if I need to create a VPC or ACK cluster but used the CMP path?
A: You’ll hit a hard limitation — the CMP path **only supports OSS Bucket creation** and does not allow modification of underlying HCL code, making it impossible to provision other resources.

Q: What if my team has 8 engineers but I chose Terraform Cloud in the IaC path?
A: You’ll exceed the **free tier limit of 5 users** in Terraform Cloud and either need to upgrade to a paid plan or switch to self-hosted CLI-based pipelines.

Q: Can I modify Terraform code directly when using the CMP path?
A: No — the CMP path **locks users into pre-approved templates**, and the **Resource Application** form does not expose HCL editing. Any customization requires ops team involvement.

Q: Does the IaC path support GitLab CI without Terraform Cloud?
A: Yes — while **Terraform Explorer** and **Terraform Cloud** are highlighted for debugging and collaboration, the core IaC approach works with any CI system (including GitLab CI) using the open-source CLI, as long as **VCS Integration** or manual pipeline triggers are configured.

Q: Are regions outside China supported in the CMP path?
A: No — the CMP path explicitly lists only **cn-hangzhou, cn-beijing, and cn-shanghai** as available regions.

Q: Can I change Workspace Type after creating a project in Terraform Cloud?
A: No — **Workspace Type** is immutable after project creation, so you must decide between Private and Shared upfront.

## Related queries

automate terraform, terraform ci/cd, gitlab terraform pipeline, run terraform in ci, terraform automation, ci/cd for terraform, deploy infrastructure with terraform, how to run terraform in pipeline, terraform gitlab ci, automated terraform apply, terraform oss bucket automation, cloud management pl

---
Part of [Terraform](https://company-skill.com/p/terraform.md) · https://company-skill.com/llms.txt