Introducing the StackGen + HCP Terraform Integration: Visual Infrastructure Design Meets Enterprise State Management

HashiCorp Terraform has fundamentally transformed how organizations manage infrastructure. As the world's most widely adopted Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool, Terraform enables teams to provision, modify, and version infrastructure safely and efficiently across hundreds of cloud providers. Its declarative syntax, powerful state management, and extensive provider ecosystem have made it the foundation for modern DevOps practices at enterprises worldwide.

But even with Terraform's proven capabilities, platform engineering teams face mounting challenges. While Terraform provides incredible power and flexibility, the complexity of writing, maintaining, and scaling Terraform configurations continues to create bottlenecks. Organizations report that developers spend 23% of their time on infrastructure provisioning instead of building features, and 76% of platform teams experience cognitive overload from infrastructure complexity.

The opportunity is clear: what if we could harness Terraform's enterprise-grade capabilities while making infrastructure creation more intuitive, visual, and accessible to broader development teams?

Today, we're excited to announce our technology partnership with HashiCorp and the availability of our HCP Terraform integration. This integration bridges the gap between Terraform's proven enterprise deployment capabilities and the need for more accessible infrastructure design workflows.

The Integration: How It Works

The StackGen-HCP Terraform integration creates a seamless workflow that transforms visual infrastructure designs into production deployments with enterprise-grade state management. Watch the video below or read on for exactly how it works:

Step 1: Visual Infrastructure Design in StackGen

Platform engineers use StackGen's drag-and-drop interface to create AppStacks (infrastructure blueprints). For example, creating a simple S3-based storage solution involves:

• Dragging an S3 bucket resource onto the canvas
• Configuring bucket properties, encryption settings, and access policies
• Adding related resources like IAM roles or CloudFront distributions
• Validating the configuration against security policies in real-time

(For re-architecting existing deployments, you can also import your .tfstate file or TF code instead of the simple S3 example provided above).

Step 2: HCP Terraform Configuration

When ready to deploy, engineers configure the HCP Terraform integration by specifying:

• Hostname: app.terraform.io
• Organization: Your HCP Terraform organization name
• Project: The target project within your organization
• Workspace: The specific workspace for this deployment

This configuration is stored within the AppStack definition, enabling consistent deployments across environments.

Step 3: Code Generation and Deployment

StackGen generates production-ready, security-hardened Terraform code that includes:

hcl

  
terraform {
  cloud {
    organization = "your-org"
    workspaces {
      name = "your-workspace"
    }
  }
}

The generated code can then be deployed through:

• Local Terraform CLI execution
• CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins)
• Direct integration with HCP Terraform runs

Step 4: HCP Terraform State Management

Once deployed, HCP Terraform handles:

• Remote state storage and locking
• Team collaboration and workspace permissions
• Run history and audit logs
• Policy enforcement and compliance reporting

Technical Architecture: Loose Coupling for Maximum Flexibility

The integration follows a loosely coupled architecture that preserves flexibility:

Visual Design → Generated IaC → HCP Terraform Backend → Cloud Resources

    ↓              ↓                    ↓                    ↓

StackGen      Standard           Remote State         AWS/Azure/GCP

AppStack      Terraform          Management

Key architectural principles:

1. Standard Code Generation: StackGen generates standard Terraform HCL that can be version controlled, modified, and deployed independently
2. Multi-Environment Support: Different AppStacks can target different HCP Terraform workspaces for environment separation
3. Regional Deployment: Support for multiple regions through separate workspace configurations

Here’s in summary what the integration covers:

Multi-Environment Patterns

Environment Promotion

Development: AppStack-dev → HCP Terraform (dev workspace)

Staging: AppStack-staging → HCP Terraform (staging workspace)  

Production: AppStack-prod → HCP Terraform (prod workspace)

Integration Benefits: Beyond Visual Design

For Platform Engineers:

• Reduce Terraform expertise requirements while maintaining enterprise deployment capabilities
• Visual dependency mapping helps identify resource relationships
• Built-in security scanning catches misconfigurations before deployment
• Standardized infrastructure patterns improve consistency

For Development Teams:

• Self-service infrastructure provisioning without learning Terraform syntax
• Visual collaboration on infrastructure requirements
• Faster iteration cycles with immediate visual feedback

For Enterprise Operations:

• Centralized state management and governance through HCP Terraform
• Complete audit trails and compliance reporting
• Team-based access controls and approval workflows
• Integration with existing CI/CD and GitOps processes

Real Integration Examples

Example 1: Multi-Tier Web Application

A typical AppStack might include:

• Application Load Balancer
• Auto Scaling Group with EC2 instances
• RDS database with read replicas
• S3 bucket for static assets
• CloudFront distribution

StackGen generates the complete Terraform configuration with proper dependencies, security groups, and networking configured automatically.

Example 2: Data Pipeline Infrastructure

For data processing workloads:

• S3 data lake buckets with lifecycle policies
• Lambda functions for data processing
• Step Functions for workflow orchestration
• IAM roles with least-privilege access

The visual canvas shows data flow relationships, while HCP Terraform manages the deployment lifecycle.

Security and Compliance Integration

The integration embeds security throughout the workflow:

Design-Time Validation:

• Security group rule analysis
• IAM policy validation
• Encryption at rest verification
• Network segmentation checks

Generated Code Security:

• Secure defaults for all resources
• Compliance framework templates (MARS-E, FedRAMP, HIPAA)
• Automated tagging for resource governance

HCP Terraform Governance:

• Policy as Code enforcement
• Sentinel policies for deployment validation
• Cost estimation and approval workflows

Getting Started: Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Prerequisites

• StackGen account (free trial available)
• HCP Terraform account and organization
• Terraform CLI installed locally (optional)

Step 1: Set Up HCP Terraform Workspace

1. Log into HCP Terraform at app.terraform.io
2. Create a new workspace or use an existing one
3. Configure workspace settings:
   • Execution Mode: "Remote" or "Local"
   • Terraform Version: Latest stable
   • Environment Variables: Cloud provider credentials

Step 2: Create Your First AppStack

1. Log into StackGen and create a new AppStack
2. Choose your target cloud provider (AWS/Azure/GCP)
3. Drag infrastructure resources onto the canvas
4. Configure resource properties and relationships
5. Run security validation checks

Step 3: Configure HCP Terraform Integration

1. Navigate to AppStack settings
2. Select "HCP Terraform" as the state backend
3. Enter your configuration:

 Hostname: app.terraform.io

   Organization: your-hcp-org

   Project: your-project-name

   Workspace: your-workspace-name

Step 4: Generate and Deploy

1. Click "Generate IaC" to create Terraform code
2. Download the generated .tf files
3. Deploy using your preferred method:

Deploy infrastructure using the Terraform Init, Plan and Apply commands, either locally or in your CI/CD pipeline.

Step 5: Monitor and Manage

1. View deployment status in HCP Terraform workspace
2. Monitor resource state and changes
3. Use StackGen's visual canvas for ongoing infrastructure updates
4. Leverage HCP Terraform's audit and compliance features

Troubleshooting Common Integration Issues

Issue: Workspace Not Found

• Verify organization and workspace names are correct
• Ensure your HCP Terraform user has access to the workspace

Ready to Get Started?

The StackGen-HCP Terraform integration is available today for all StackGen users. Whether you're new to infrastructure automation or looking to modernize existing Terraform workflows, this integration provides a powerful bridge between visual design and enterprise deployment.

Get Started Now:

• Live Demo: Have our team walk you through the integration in action at stackgen.com/demo
• Free Trial: Start building with StackGen at stackgen.com/get-started
• Documentation: Technical guides at docs.stackgen.com/integrations/hcp-terraform
• Support: Questions? Contact contact@stackgen.com

Experience how visual infrastructure design can accelerate your development workflows while maintaining the enterprise governance and control that HCP Terraform provides.