How to fix Error: Error making HTTP request: 500 Internal Server Error in Terraform

Set the TF_LOG environment variable to DEBUG and re-run your Terraform command. This will print the full HTTP requests and responses, revealing the actual error from the cloud provider:

export TF_LOG=DEBUG
terraform plan

Redirect output to a file for easier inspection:

TF_LOG=DEBUG terraform plan 2>&1 | tee debug.log

Check if the cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP) is experiencing service issues:

- AWS: Check https://status.aws.amazon.com/
- Azure: Check https://status.azure.com/
- GCP: Check https://status.cloud.google.com/

If service degradation is reported, wait and retry. Many 500 errors are transient and will resolve themselves.

Ensure you're running the latest versions of Terraform and your cloud provider:

# Update Terraform
terraform version

# Update provider in your configuration
terraform init -upgrade

Many 500 errors are fixed in newer provider releases. Check the provider's changelog for relevant fixes.

Verify that the resource type and SKU you're using are supported in your region:

# For Azure resources, check available SKUs
az vm list-skus --location eastus

# For AWS, verify AMI IDs are valid in your region
aws ec2 describe-images --region us-east-1

Check the cloud provider's documentation for region-specific limitations. For example, not all RDS instance types or Azure SKUs are available in every region.

Verify that your credentials are valid, not expired, and have the necessary permissions:

# For AWS, verify credentials are configured correctly
aws sts get-caller-identity

# For Azure, check the current account
az account show

# For GCP, verify authentication
gcloud auth list

If using CI/CD, ensure environment variables, secrets, and tokens are not expired. GitLab state backends commonly fail when TF_ADDRESS or TF_STATE_NAME environment variables are missing.

If only one resource fails, temporarily comment it out and apply the rest:

# Comment out the failing resource and apply
terraform apply

# Then test the resource configuration separately
# Simplify it by removing optional parameters that might cause conflicts

Test with minimal required parameters. For API Gateway integrations or similar complex resources, the AWS console workaround is to detach and reattach the integration.