How to fix Operation failed: failed uploading in Terraform

TerraformINTERMEDIATEHIGH

This error occurs when Terraform fails to upload plan, state, or configuration files to a remote backend or Terraform Enterprise. Common causes include network timeouts, authentication issues, or S3 compatibility problems.

What this error means

The 'Operation failed: failed uploading' error in Terraform indicates that the system attempted to upload files (plan JSON, state, or configuration) to a remote backend but encountered a failure. This typically happens during terraform plan or terraform apply when using Terraform Cloud, Terraform Enterprise, or S3-compatible backends. The upload failure prevents Terraform from persisting the state remotely, which can lead to state management issues and potential infrastructure synchronization problems.

How to fix "Operation failed: failed uploading"

1Verify network connectivity to the remote backend

Ensure your system can reach the Terraform backend (TFE URL or S3 endpoint):

bash

# Test connectivity to Terraform Enterprise
curl -v https://<TFE_HOSTNAME>

# Test S3 connectivity
aws s3 ls s3://your-bucket/ --region your-region

If the connection fails, check firewall rules, VPN connections, and load balancer configurations.

2Check and renew authentication credentials

If using AWS S3 with assume_role, AWS credentials can expire during long operations:

bash

# Verify AWS credentials are valid
aws sts get-caller-identity

# For assume_role, check the session token expiration
echo $AWS_SESSION_TOKEN

For Terraform Cloud/Enterprise, verify your API token is valid and hasn't expired in your configuration files or environment variables.

3Review Terraform Enterprise version if using TFE v202507-1 or later

If you recently upgraded Terraform Enterprise to v202507-1 or later, you may encounter S3 compatibility issues:

- Check if using S3-compatible storage (DigitalOcean Spaces, Wasabi, etc.)
- Enable additional logging: Set TF_LOG=DEBUG environment variable
- Contact HashiCorp support with the error message containing 'XAmzContentSHA256Mismatch'

bash

export TF_LOG=DEBUG
terraform apply

4Increase timeout settings for uploads

For S3 backends, increase the HTTP client timeout to handle slower networks:

hcl

terraform {
  backend "s3" {
    bucket         = "my-bucket"
    key            = "terraform.tfstate"
    region         = "us-east-1"
    # Note: S3 backend doesn't directly support timeout config,
    # but you can use environment variables
  }
}

Set environment variable for HTTP timeout:

bash

export AWS_MAX_ATTEMPTS=5
export AWS_RETRY_MODE=adaptive
terraform apply

5Check for state conflicts or lock issues

If using Terraform Cloud with the remote backend, verify workspace locking state:

bash

# If you see 'Conflict' errors about locking, your workspace state may be misaligned
# Verify the workspace is not locked by another run
terraform state lock

# If state file is corrupted locally, recover from remote:
terraform state pull > backup.tfstate
terraform init -reconfigure

6Resolve state recovery if local state was written

When Terraform fails to upload, it writes state locally to 'errored.tfstate':

bash

# List files to check for errored state
ls -la | grep errored

# If found, push the errored state back:
terraform state push errored.tfstate

# Do NOT run terraform apply again without resolving the upload issue,
# as this creates a forked state

How to fix Operation failed: failed uploading in Terraform

What this error means

Typical symptoms

Common causes

How to fix "Operation failed: failed uploading"

Advanced notes

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