Docs API ReferenceManage Infrastructure with Terraform

Manage Infrastructure with Terraform

Use the LightYear Terraform provider to provision and manage cloud resources as code.

advanced

12 min read

LightYear Docs Team

Updated April 24, 2026

terraformiacinfrastructure-as-codeautomation

Terraform allows you to define your LightYear infrastructure as code, enabling version control, repeatable deployments, and automated provisioning.

Prerequisites

Terraform v1.5+ installed
A LightYear API key

Step 1 — Configure the Provider

Create a main.tf file:

HCL

terraform {
  required_providers {
    lightyear = {
      source  = "lightyear/lightyear"
      version = "~> 1.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "lightyear" {
  api_key = var.lightyear_api_key
}

variable "lightyear_api_key" {
  type      = string
  sensitive = true
}

Create a terraform.tfvars file (add to .gitignore):

HCL

lightyear_api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"

Step 2 — Define a Server Resource

HCL

data "lightyear_os" "ubuntu_22" {
  filter {
    name   = "name"
    values = ["Ubuntu 22.04 LTS"]
  }
}

resource "lightyear_server" "web" {
  region    = "sgp-01"
  plan      = "vc2-2c-4gb"
  os_id     = data.lightyear_os.ubuntu_22.id
  label     = "web-server-tf"
  hostname  = "web-server-tf"
  backups   = "enabled"

  ssh_key_ids = [lightyear_ssh_key.deployer.id]

  tags = ["production", "terraform"]
}

resource "lightyear_ssh_key" "deployer" {
  name    = "deployer-key"
  ssh_key = file("~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub")
}

output "server_ip" {
  value = lightyear_server.web.main_ip
}

Step 3 — Initialise and Apply

>_BASH

$terraform init

OUTPUT

Initializing the backend...
Initializing provider plugins...
- Finding lightyear/lightyear versions matching "~> 1.0"...
- Installing lightyear/lightyear v1.2.0...
Terraform has been successfully initialized!

>_BASH

$terraform plan

OUTPUT

Plan: 2 to add, 0 to change, 0 to destroy.

Changes to Outputs:
  + server_ip = (known after apply)

>_BASH

$terraform apply

Step 4 — Define a Load Balancer

HCL

resource "lightyear_load_balancer" "web_lb" {
  region = "sgp-01"
  label  = "web-lb-tf"

  forwarding_rules {
    frontend_protocol = "HTTP"
    frontend_port     = 80
    backend_protocol  = "HTTP"
    backend_port      = 80
  }

  health_check {
    protocol           = "HTTP"
    port               = 80
    path               = "/health"
    check_interval     = 15
    response_timeout   = 5
    unhealthy_threshold = 3
    healthy_threshold  = 2
  }

  attached_instances = [lightyear_server.web.id]
}

Step 5 — Destroy Infrastructure

>_BASH

$terraform destroy

[!IMPORTANT] terraform destroy permanently deletes all managed resources. Always review the plan output before confirming.

Store State Remotely

For team environments, store Terraform state in object storage:

HCL

terraform {
  backend "s3" {
    bucket   = "my-terraform-state"
    key      = "lightyear/production.tfstate"
    region   = "sgp-01"
    endpoint = "https://sgp-01.objectstorage.lightyear.host"
  }
}

Was this article helpful?