Tfc Run Logs

---
created: 2025-12-16
modified: 2026-04-25
reviewed: 2026-04-25
name: tfc-run-logs
description: "Retrieve plan and apply logs from Terraform Cloud runs. Use when debugging failed plans/applies or reviewing TFC run output. Requires TFE_TOKEN."
user-invocable: false
allowed-tools: Bash, Read
---

# Terraform Cloud Run Logs

Retrieve and display plan and/or apply logs from Terraform Cloud runs directly in the terminal.

## When to Use This Skill

| Use this skill when... | Use a sibling instead when... |
|---|---|
| Reading plan or apply output text for a known TFC run ID | Analyzing resource changes as structured JSON (`tfc-plan-json`) |
| Debugging a failed plan or apply by inspecting log lines | Checking only the pass/fail status without log content (`tfc-run-status`) |
| Reviewing infrastructure changes in human-readable form | Searching for the right run ID across history (`tfc-list-runs`) |
| Capturing logs to share with a teammate or paste into an issue | Browsing latest runs for FVH workspaces by shorthand (`tfc-workspace-runs`) |

## Prerequisites

```bash
# Required environment variables
export TFE_TOKEN="your-api-token"        # User or team token (not organization token)
export TFE_ADDRESS="app.terraform.io"    # Optional, defaults to app.terraform.io
```

## Core Workflow

### Get Both Plan and Apply Logs

```bash
#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

TOKEN="${TFE_TOKEN:?TFE_TOKEN not set}"
BASE_URL="https://${TFE_ADDRESS:-app.terraform.io}/api/v2"
RUN_ID="${1:?Usage: $0 <run-id>}"

# Get run with plan and apply relationships
RUN_DATA=$(curl -sf --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "$BASE_URL/runs/$RUN_ID?include=plan,apply")

# Extract IDs
PLAN_ID=$(echo "$RUN_DATA" | jq -r '.data.relationships.plan.data.id')
APPLY_ID=$(echo "$RUN_DATA" | jq -r '.data.relationships.apply.data.id // empty')

# Get and display plan logs
PLAN_LOG_URL=$(curl -sf --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "$BASE_URL/plans/$PLAN_ID" | jq -r '.data.attributes."log-read-url"')

echo "=== PLAN OUTPUT ==="
curl -sf "$PLAN_LOG_URL" | sed 's/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m//g'  # Strip ANSI codes

# Get apply logs if exists
if [ -n "$APPLY_ID" ]; then
  APPLY_LOG_URL=$(curl -sf --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    "$BASE_URL/applies/$APPLY_ID" | jq -r '.data.attributes."log-read-url"')

  echo ""
  echo "=== APPLY OUTPUT ==="
  curl -sf "$APPLY_LOG_URL" | sed 's/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m//g'
fi
```

### Get Plan Logs Only

```bash
TOKEN="${TFE_TOKEN:?TFE_TOKEN not set}"
BASE_URL="https://${TFE_ADDRESS:-app.terraform.io}/api/v2"
RUN_ID="run-abc123"

# Get plan ID from run
PLAN_ID=$(curl -sf --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "$BASE_URL/runs/$RUN_ID" | jq -r '.data.relationships.plan.data.id')

# Get log URL and fetch logs
PLAN_LOG_URL=$(curl -sf --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "$BASE_URL/plans/$PLAN_ID" | jq -r '.data.attributes."log-read-url"')

curl -sf "$PLAN_LOG_URL"
```

### Get Apply Logs Only

```bash
TOKEN="${TFE_TOKEN:?TFE_TOKEN not set}"
BASE_URL="https://${TFE_ADDRESS:-app.terraform.io}/api/v2"
RUN_ID="run-abc123"

# Get apply ID from run
APPLY_ID=$(curl -sf --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  "$BASE_URL/runs/$RUN_ID" | jq -r '.data.relationships.apply.data.id')

if [ -n "$APPLY_ID" ] && [ "$APPLY_ID" != "null" ]; then
  # Get log URL and fetch logs
  APPLY_LOG_URL=$(curl -sf --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
    "$BASE_URL/applies/$APPLY_ID" | jq -r '.data.attributes."log-read-url"')

  curl -sf "$APPLY_LOG_URL"
else
  echo "No apply for this run"
fi
```

## Quick One-Liners

### Plan Logs (with ANSI colors)
```bash
curl -sf -H "Authorization: Bearer $TFE_TOKEN" \
  "https://app.terraform.io/api/v2/runs/run-abc123?include=plan" | \
  jq -r '.included[0].attributes."log-read-url"' | xargs curl -sf
```

### Plan Logs (clean text)
```bash
curl -sf -H "Authorization: Bearer $TFE_TOKEN" \
  "https://app.terraform.io/api/v2/runs/run-abc123?include=plan" | \
  jq -r '.included[0].attributes."log-read-url"' | \
  xargs curl -sf | sed 's/\x1b\[[0-9;]*m//g'
```

## Important Notes

- **Log URLs are secrets**: Archivist URLs contain embedded authentication - don't log them
- **URLs expire**: Log URLs are valid for 25 hours
- **No auth needed for logs**: Once you have the archivist URL, no bearer token is required
- **ANSI codes**: Logs contain color codes; use `sed` to strip them for clean output
- **Rate limits**: `/runs` endpoint is limited to 30 requests/minute

## Common Errors

### 404 Not Found
- Run ID doesn't exist OR you don't have permission
- TFC returns 404 for both cases (security measure)

### 401 Unauthorized
- Token is invalid or expired
- Organization tokens cannot access run data - use user/team token

### No Apply Logs
- Run may be plan-only, not yet applied, or discarded
- Check run status first

## See Also

- `tfc-run-status`: Quick status check for a run
- `tfc-list-runs`: List recent runs in a workspace
- `tfc-plan-json`: Get structured plan JSON output