---
layout: "docs"
page_title: "Terraform Cloud Settings - Terraform CLI"
---

# Terraform Cloud Settings

Terraform CLI can integrate with Terraform Cloud, acting as a client for Terraform Cloud's
[CLI-driven run workflow](https://www.terraform.io/docs/cloud/run/cli.html).

To use Terraform Cloud for a particular working directory, you must configure the following settings:

- Provide credentials to access Terraform Cloud, preferably by using the
  [`terraform login`](/docs/cli/commands/login.html) command.
- Add a `cloud` block to the directory's Terraform configuration, to specify
  which organization and workspace(s) to use.
- Optionally, use a `.terraformignore` file to specify files that shouldn't be
  uploaded with the Terraform configuration when running plans and applies.

After adding or changing a `cloud` block, you must run `terraform init`.

## The `cloud` Block

The `cloud` block is a nested block within the top-level `terraform` settings
block. It specifies which Terraform Cloud workspaces to use for the current
working directory.

```hcl
terraform {
  cloud {
    organization = "my-org"
    hostname = "app.terraform.io" # Optional; defaults to app.terraform.io

    workspaces {
      tags = ["networking", "source:cli"]
    }
  }
}
```

The `cloud` block has some special restrictions:

- A configuration can only provide one `cloud` block.
- A `cloud` block cannot be used with [state backends](/docs/language/settings/backends/index.html).
  A configuration can use one or the other, but not both.
- A `cloud` block cannot refer to named values (like input variables, locals, or
  data source attributes).

The `cloud` block only affects Terraform CLI's behavior. When Terraform Cloud uses a configuration
that contains a cloud block - for example, when a workspace is configured to use a VCS provider
directly - it ignores the block and behaves according to its own workspace settings.

### Arguments

The `cloud` block supports the following configuration arguments:

- `organization` - (Required) The name of the organization containing the
  workspace(s) the current configuration should use.

- `workspaces` - (Required) A nested block that specifies which remote Terraform Cloud workspaces to
use for the current configuration. The `workspaces` block must contain **exactly one** of the
following arguments, each denoting a strategy for how workspaces should be mapped:

    - `tags` - (Optional) A set of Terraform Cloud workspace tags. You will be able to use
      this working directory with any workspaces that have all of the specified tags,
      and can use [the `terraform workspace` commands](/docs/cli/workspaces/index.html)
      to switch between them or create new workspaces. New workspaces will automatically have
      the specified tags. This option conflicts with `name`.

    - `name` - (Optional) The name of a single Terraform Cloud workspace. You will
      only be able to use the workspace specified in the configuration with this working
      directory, and cannot manage workspaces from the CLI (e.g. `terraform workspace select` or
      `terraform workspace new`). This option conflicts with `tags`.

- `hostname` - (Optional) The hostname of a Terraform Enterprise installation, if using Terraform
  Enterprise. Defaults to Terraform Cloud (app.terraform.io).

- `token` - (Optional) The token used to authenticate with Terraform Cloud.
  We recommend omitting the token from the configuration, and instead using
  [`terraform login`](/docs/cli/commands/login.html) or manually configuring
  `credentials` in the
  [CLI config file](/docs/cli/config/config-file.html#credentials).

## Excluding Files from Upload with .terraformignore

When executing a remote `plan` or `apply` in a [CLI-driven run](/docs/cloud/run/cli.html),
a copy of your configuration directory is uploaded to Terraform Cloud. You can define
paths to exclude from upload by adding a `.terraformignore` file at the root of your
configuration directory. If this file is not present, the upload will exclude
the following by default:

- `.git/` directories
- `.terraform/` directories (exclusive of `.terraform/modules`)

The rules in `.terraformignore` file resemble the rules allowed in a
[.gitignore file](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Basics-Recording-Changes-to-the-Repository#_ignoring):

- Comments (starting with `#`) or blank lines are ignored.
- End a pattern with a forward slash `/` to specify a directory.
- Negate a pattern by starting it with an exclamation point `!`.

-> **Note:** Unlike `.gitignore`, only the `.terraformignore` at the root of the configuration directory is considered.