» Configuring GitLab.com Access

These instructions are for using GitLab.com for Terraform Cloud's VCS features. GitLab CE and GitLab EE have separate instructions, as do the other supported VCS providers.

Connecting Terraform Cloud to your VCS involves five steps:

On your VCS	On Terraform Cloud
Register your Terraform Cloud organization as a new app. Get ID and key.
	Tell Terraform Cloud how to reach VCS, and provide ID and key. Get callback URL.
Provide callback URL.
	Request VCS access.
Approve access request.

The rest of this page explains the GitLab.com versions of these steps.

» Step 1: On GitLab, Create a New Application

1. Open gitlab.com in your browser and log in as whichever account you want Terraform Cloud to act as. For most organizations this should be a dedicated service user, but a personal account will also work.

   Important: The account you use for connecting Terraform Cloud must have admin (master) access to any shared repositories of Terraform configurations, since creating webhooks requires admin permissions.

2. Navigate to GitLab's User Settings > Applications page.

   This page is located at https://gitlab.com/profile/applications. You can also reach it through GitLab's menus:

   • In the upper right corner, click your profile picture and choose "Settings."
   • In the navigation sidebar, click "Applications."

3. This page has a list of applications and a form for adding new ones. The form has two text fields and some checkboxes.

   

   Fill out the form as follows:

   Field	Value
   (all checkboxes)	(empty)
   Name	Terraform Cloud (<YOUR ORGANIZATION NAME>)
   Redirect URI	https://example.com/replace-this-later (or any placeholder; the correct URI doesn't exist until the next step.)

4. Click the "Save application" button, which creates the application and takes you to its page.

5. Leave this page open in a browser tab. In the next step, you will copy and paste the unique Application ID and Secret.

   

» Step 2: On Terraform Cloud, Add a VCS Provider

1. Open Terraform Cloud in your browser and navigate to the "VCS Provider" settings for your organization. Click the "Add VCS Provider" button.

   If you just created your organization, you might already be on this page. Otherwise:

   1. Click the upper-left organization menu, making sure it currently shows your organization.
   2. Click the "Settings" link at the top of the page (or within the ☰ menu)
   3. On the next page, click "VCS Provider" in the left sidebar.
   4. Click the "Add VCS Provider" button.

2. The next page has a drop-down and four text fields. Select "GitLab.com" from the drop-down, and enter the Application ID and Secret from the previous step. (Ignore the two disabled URL fields, which are used for on-premise VCSs.)

   

3. Click "Create VCS Connection." This will take you back to the VCS Provider page, which now includes your new GitLab client.

4. Locate the new client's "Callback URL," and copy it to your clipboard; you'll paste it in the next step. Leave this page open in a browser tab.

   

» Step 3: On GitLab, Update the Callback URL

1. Go back to your GitLab browser tab. (If you accidentally closed it, you can reach your OAuth app page through the menus: use the upper right menu > Settings > Applications > "Terraform Cloud (<YOUR ORG NAME>)".)

2. Click the "Edit" button.

3. In the "Redirect URI" field, paste the callback URL from Terraform Cloud's VCS Provider page, replacing the "example.com" placeholder you entered earlier.

4. Click the "Save application" button. A banner saying the update succeeded should appear at the top of the page.

» Step 4: On Terraform Cloud, Request Access

1. Go back to your Terraform Cloud browser tab and click the "Connect organization <NAME>" button on the VCS Provider page.

   

   This takes you to a page on GitLab.com, asking whether you want to authorize the app.

   

2. Click the green "Authorize" button at the bottom of the authorization page. This returns you to Terraform Cloud's VCS Provider page, where the GitLab.com client's information has been updated.

» Finished

At this point, GitLab.com access for Terraform Cloud is fully configured, and you can create Terraform workspaces based on your organization's shared repositories.