Get started with Pulumi for Terraform Users

Install Pulumi

Download and install Pulumi alongside your existing Terraform setup:

$ brew install pulumi/tap/pulumi

$ curl -fsSL https://get.pulumi.com | sh

> choco install pulumi

Test your new installation by running the `pulumi version` command:

$ pulumi version
v3.187.0

$ pulumi version
v3.187.0

> pulumi version
v3.187.0

Configure access to AWS

Pulumi can use the same cloud provider credentials as Terraform. In this tutorial we’re going to focus on AWS. If you’re already using Terraform with AWS, or if you’ve installed and configured the AWS CLI, your existing configuration will work with Pulumi.

You must use an IAM user account that has programmatic access with rights to deploy and manage S3 buckets.

Testing access

To test that your AWS access is configured properly, run:

$ aws sts get-caller-identity

> aws sts get-caller-identity

If your AWS user ID, account, and ARN are printed, you are good to go. If not, read on:

{
    "UserId": "BXO3165...ZP36NYY5FOU:my-session",
    "Account": "9263...9123",
    "Arn": "arn:aws:sts::9263...9123:assumed-role/.../my-session"
}

Alternative approaches

If you don’t have the AWS CLI installed, or you plan on using Pulumi in a CI/CD pipeline, retrieve your access key ID and secret access key and then set the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY environment variables on your workstation:

$ export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="<YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID>"
$ export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="<YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>"

> $env:AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID = "<YOUR_ACCESS_KEY_ID>"
> $env:AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY = "<YOUR_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY>"

You may optionally use AWS profiles if your configuration requires them:

$ export AWS_PROFILE="<YOUR_PROFILE_NAME>"

> $env:AWS_PROFILE = "<YOUR_PROFILE_NAME>"

For detailed information on Pulumi’s use of AWS credentials, see AWS Setup.

Choose your language

Next, make sure you have the necessary runtimes installed for your preferred Pulumi language:

Verify CLI installation

After installing Pulumi, verify everything is in working order by running the pulumi CLI:

$ pulumi version

$ pulumi version

> pulumi version

If you run into trouble, please refer to the Download and install Pulumi page to troubleshoot your setup before moving on.