The landscape of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is shifting—again. In the first week of June 2025, HashiCorp introduced several high-impact advancements that signal the next evolution of secure, AI-integrated, and cloud-aligned Terraform usage. From ephemeral resources that eliminate state leakage to a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server powering AI assistants like GitHub Copilot, the direction is clear: automation is maturing—and Terraform is leading the charge.
This edition of Pipeline Perspective distills the latest developments and their relevance to continuous delivery, platform engineering, and SRE workflows.
1. Ephemeral Resources and Secure State Hygiene
Announced at HashiDays London, June 3, 2025, Terraform now supports the definition of ephemeral resources—allowing sensitive values such as API keys or passwords to be provisioned without persisting in the Terraform state file.
Key Capabilities:
- Write-only arguments: Define secret data that only exists during plan/apply execution.
- No state exposure: Secure values are neither stored in .tfstate nor logged to stdout.
- Improved CI/CD security posture: Secrets rotation and credential provisioning can now occur inline without risk of leakage.
SRE Takeaway:
Start migrating secrets handling away from external scripts and wrappers. Inline ephemeral configuration allows for tighter control, faster rotation, and easier auditing—all within Terraform’s native lifecycle.
2. Terraform MCP Server: AI Meets IaC
On May 22, 2025, HashiCorp released the Terraform MCP Server (Beta)—a new open-source implementation of the Model Context Protocol, enabling AI tools to programmatically retrieve metadata from the Terraform Registry.
What It Enables:
- Real-time schema and example fetching for providers and modules.
- AI assistant integration for IDEs, linters, or CLI tools.
- Foundation for AI-assisted infrastructure writing, with context-aware code completions and validations.
SRE Takeaway:
Teams experimenting with GitHub Copilot, Cody, or custom ChatOps assistants can now provide them Terraform-aware intelligence. Add MCP queries into internal developer portals, or use them to enhance documentation generators and policy engines.
3. AzureRM Provider Surpasses 1 Billion Downloads
Terraform’s AzureRM provider has now exceeded one billion lifetime downloads, according to HashiCorp’s registry metrics.
Strategic Significance:
- Validates Terraform as the default standard for Azure IaC implementations.
- Indicates continued investment from both Microsoft and HashiCorp in deeper integrations.
- Suggests maturity and long-term ecosystem support for Terraform-based Azure solutions.
SRE Takeaway:
For organizations operating hybrid or multi-cloud with Azure, Terraform remains the recommended IaC layer. Consider consolidating Azure IaC under a single Terraform module strategy, particularly for platform teams managing subscriptions, RBAC, and networking.
4. Terraform Enterprise Deployment: Replicated EOL
HashiCorp confirmed that Terraform Enterprise Replicated support will end in April 2026, with the final release occurring in March 2025.
Actions Required:
- Migrate to Docker/Nomad-based deployments or Terraform Cloud.
- Redefine platform upgrade pipelines before support lapses.
- Audit dependencies on Replicated installer features, such as license automation or static IPs.
SRE Takeaway:
Begin migration planning immediately. Modern Terraform Enterprise pipelines should transition to container-based orchestration or offload lifecycle management to Terraform Cloud. This shift will reduce maintenance overhead and unlock newer platform features.
Pipeline Perspective
The updates released over the past two weeks mark a watershed moment for Terraform practitioners. With ephemeral security features, AI extensibility via MCP, and strong Azure momentum, the future of Infrastructure as Code is one of context-awareness, security-by-default, and modular scale. SREs and platform teams should begin absorbing these patterns into pipeline architecture and infrastructure governance strategies now—before they become reactive necessities.
At Terraform Academy, our mission is to ensure these shifts aren’t just observed—but operationalized.