How to fix No space left on device in Terraform

TerraformINTERMEDIATEHIGH

The "No Space Left on Device" error occurs when Terraform runs out of disk space during initialization, planning, or apply operations. This typically happens in CI/CD environments or when provider caches grow too large. Diagnose disk usage and implement caching strategies to resolve.

What this error means

This error occurs when Terraform attempts to write files (provider plugins, state, or temporary files) but the filesystem has zero available space. Unlike some errors that may have misleading messages, this one is usually literal - the disk is genuinely full. The error can occur at various stages: - During "terraform init" when downloading and extracting provider plugins - During "terraform plan" when creating temporary files - During "terraform apply" when writing state files - In CI/CD when containers or build agents have limited storage

How to fix "No space left on device"

1Check available disk space

Identify the bottleneck:

bash

# Check disk usage
df -h

# Check inode usage (can be full even with space left)
df -i

# Find what's consuming space
du -sh ~/ /tmp/ /var/tmp/ 2>/dev/null
du -sh .terraform/

Look for filesystems at 100% capacity.

2Clear .terraform cache

Remove provider cache to free space:

bash

# In your Terraform working directory
rm -rf .terraform/

# Or just remove provider plugins
rm -rf .terraform/providers/

# For multiple workspaces
find . -name ".terraform" -type d -exec rm -rf {} +

You'll need to run terraform init again to re-download providers.

3Configure provider caching to reduce disk usage

Set up shared provider cache for all projects:

bash

# Create cache directory (use a location with more space)
mkdir -p ~/.terraform.d/plugin-cache

# Set environment variable
export TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR="$HOME/.terraform.d/plugin-cache"

# Make persistent in ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
echo 'export TF_PLUGIN_CACHE_DIR="$HOME/.terraform.d/plugin-cache"' >> ~/.bashrc

Or configure in ~/.terraformrc:

hcl

plugin_cache_dir = "$HOME/.terraform.d/plugin-cache"

This shares provider binaries across all projects instead of duplicating them.

4For CI/CD: Clean up before each run

Add cleanup steps to your CI pipeline:

yaml

# GitHub Actions
- name: Clean Terraform cache
  run: |
    rm -rf ~/.terraform.d/plugin-cache
    rm -rf .terraform/
    df -h

- name: Terraform Init
  run: terraform init

# GitLab CI
script:
  - rm -rf ~/.terraform.d/plugin-cache .terraform/
  - df -h
  - terraform init
  - terraform plan

Run this before every terraform init to ensure a clean state.

5For CI/CD: Increase available disk space

Configure larger storage in your CI system:

yaml

# GitHub Actions - use larger runner
runs-on: ubuntu-latest-xl  # More disk than ubuntu-latest

# GitLab CI
resources:
  disk: 100Gi

# Docker - increase container disk
docker run --storage-opt size=100G

# Kubernetes - increase PVC
resources:
  requests:
    storage: 100Gi

6Set TMP/TMPDIR to directory with space

If /tmp is full, redirect to alternate location:

bash

# Check /tmp usage
du -sh /tmp

# Use location with more space
export TMPDIR="/path/with/more/space"
export TMP="$TMPDIR"

# Run terraform
terraform init
terraform plan

This prevents Terraform from filling /tmp during operations.

7Disable lock files if not needed

Reduce filesystem writes in minimal environments:

bash

# Disable lock file (only if not using state locking)
terraform init -lock=false

# Or in terraform config
terraform {
  backend "s3" {
    skip_credentials_validation = true
    skip_requesting_account_id  = true
    skip_metadata_api_check      = true
  }
}

Note: Only disable locking if you have single-user access.

How to fix No space left on device in Terraform

What this error means

Typical symptoms

Common causes

How to fix "No space left on device"

Advanced notes

Related errors

Official resources & further reading