Install terraform-ls with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, scoop, winget

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• terraform-ls

Project history

The hashicorp/terraform-ls repository was created on GitHub in February 2020. The README identifies it as the official Terraform language server maintained by HashiCorp and says it provides IDE features to any editor compatible with the Language Server Protocol.

The project followed an incremental release model from the beginning. Its README says not all language features are available at any one time and describes the project as actively delivering smaller updates. It also credits prior research and language-server implementation work, including Julio Sueiras's terraform-lsp.

Adoption history

terraform-ls became the common packaged binary behind Terraform editor integrations. Its installation docs say some editors install and update the server automatically, including HashiCorp's Terraform VS Code extension and Sublime Text LSP-terraform, while manual installation is available through Homebrew, HashiCorp's apt/RPM repositories, and release archives.

The input package facts list Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, Scoop, and winget packaging. That multi-platform packaging matters because language servers must be discoverable by editors on developer workstations, not only by Terraform users inside a single operating-system or language package ecosystem.

How it is used

The normal interaction is through an IDE or editor plugin rather than by running ad hoc commands. The usage guide documents Terraform-related language IDs for `.tf`, `.tfvars`, Terraform Stack, Terraform Deploy, and Terraform Search files, and recommends opening folders so the server can index the workspace.

Manual editor configurations commonly invoke `terraform-ls serve`. The official usage guide includes examples for VS Code, Sublime Text, Vim, Neovim, coc.nvim, vim-lsp, YouCompleteMe, LanguageClient-neovim, and nvim-lspconfig.

Why package nerds care

terraform-ls is important to package-manager users because it turns Terraform editor support into a separately versioned, installable binary. That matches the broader LSP model: editors can remain thin clients while the domain-specific intelligence ships as a command-line server.

For infrastructure developers, having terraform-ls in Homebrew, Nix, MacPorts, Scoop, winget, and HashiCorp package repositories means editor setups can be made reproducible in dotfiles, devcontainers, and workstation bootstrap scripts.

Timeline

• 2020: GitHub repository created.
• 2020: Early v0.5.x through v0.11.0 releases published.
• 2020: Installation docs documented Homebrew and HashiCorp-maintained Linux packages.
• 2026: v0.38.8 listed as the latest GitHub release during research.
• 2026: v0.39.0 beta releases were also listed during research.

Related projects

• The README ties terraform-ls to Terraform, HCL, the Language Server Protocol, HashiCorp's Terraform VS Code extension, Sublime Text LSP-terraform, and the earlier terraform-lsp implementation credited in the project.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/hashicorp/terraform-ls
• https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform-ls#readme
• https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform-ls/blob/main/docs/USAGE.md
• https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform-ls/blob/main/docs/installation.md
• https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform-ls/releases
• source_facts.package-manager