How to Set Up an AWS EC2 Server Using Terraform on Mac [Step-by-Step Guide]

🧠 Introduction

Setting up cloud infrastructure can be overwhelming — but with Terraform, it becomes clean, fast, and automated. In this guide, you'll learn how to set up an AWS EC2 server using Terraform right from your Mac, step by step.

Whether you're a developer, DevOps enthusiast, or beginner exploring infrastructure as code (IaC), this tutorial will help you get started confidently.

🚀 What You’ll Learn

• Installing Terraform on Mac
• Creating an IAM user for Terraform access
• Writing your first Terraform configuration
• Launching an EC2 instance in AWS using Terraform

🛠 Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have:

• A Mac (running macOS)
• An AWS account
• Terminal access
• Basic command-line knowledge

🔧 Step 1: Install Terraform on Mac

Use Homebrew to install Terraform:

brew tap hashicorp/tap
brew install hashicorp/tap/terraform

Verify installation:

terraform -v

🔐 Step 2: Create an IAM User in AWS

1. Go to the AWS IAM dashboard.
2. Create a new user (e.g., terraform-admin) with programmatic access.
3. Attach the AdministratorAccess policy.
4. Save the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key.

🔌 Step 3: Configure AWS CLI

In your terminal:

aws configure

Enter your keys, default region (like us-east-1), and output format (json).

🧱 Step 4: Set Up Your Terraform Project

Create a new folder and initialize the project:

mkdir terraform-ec2-setup && cd terraform-ec2-setup
touch main.tf variables.tf outputs.tf

✏️ Step 5: Write Terraform Configuration

main.tf

provider "aws" {
  region = var.aws_region
}

resource "aws_instance" "web_server" {
  ami                    = var.ami_id
  instance_type          = var.instance_type
  subnet_id              = aws_subnet.main.id
  vpc_security_group_ids = [aws_security_group.allow_ssh.id]

  tags = {
    Name = "TerraformEC2"
  }
}

variables.tf

variable "aws_region" {
  default = "us-east-1"
}

variable "ami_id" {
  default = "ami-04505e74c0741db8d" # Amazon Linux 2
}

variable "instance_type" {
  default = "t2.micro"
}

outputs.tf

output "instance_public_ip" {
  value = aws_instance.web_server.public_ip
}

Also add VPC, Subnet, and Security Group setup (shared earlier).

▶️ Step 6: Deploy the Infrastructure

Initialize Terraform:

terraform init

Preview the changes:

terraform plan

Apply the configuration:

terraform apply

📡 Step 7: Access Your Server

Terraform will output the EC2 server’s public IP. If you added a key pair, connect using:

ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@<public-ip>

🧹 Step 8: Destroy the Infrastructure (Optional)

To clean everything up:

terraform destroy

💡 Conclusion

You just launched your first AWS EC2 instance using Terraform on macOS — all from scratch. This is a foundational step in mastering infrastructure as code and automating your cloud setups.