Collect Terraform Enterprise logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Terraform Enterprise logs to Google Security Operations using Google Cloud Storage V2.

Terraform Enterprise (TFE) is a self-hosted infrastructure as code platform that generates application logs containing audit events for workspace operations, policy checks, state changes, and user activity. Audit events are embedded within the TFE application logs and marked with the [Audit Log] tag. Because TFE stores these logs locally on the application server, you must export them to a Google Cloud Storage (GCS) bucket and then configure a Google SecOps feed to ingest them.

Note: The Audit Trails API is only available for HCP Terraform (Cloud), not for self-hosted Terraform Enterprise. This guide covers TFE application log collection from the self-hosted server.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• A Google SecOps instance
• A Google Cloud project with Cloud Storage API enabled
• Permissions to create and manage GCS buckets
• Permissions to manage IAM policies on GCS buckets
• Administrative access to the Terraform Enterprise server (SSH or console access)
• Access to TFE application logs on the server file system (typically at /var/log/terraform-enterprise/ or accessible via replicatedctl app logs)

Create a Google Cloud Storage bucket

1. Go to the Google Cloud Console.
2. Select your project or create a new one.
3. In the navigation menu, go to Cloud Storage > Buckets.
4. Click Create bucket.

5. Provide the following configuration details:

   Setting	Value
   Name your bucket	Enter a globally unique name (for example, terraform-enterprise-logs)
   Location type	Choose based on your needs (Region, Dual-region, Multi-region)
   Location	Select the location closest to your Google SecOps instance (for example, us-central1)
   Storage class	Standard (recommended for frequently accessed logs)
   Access control	Uniform (recommended)
   Protection tools	Optional: Enable object versioning or retention policy

6. Click Create.

   Note: Record the bucket name. You will use it when configuring the Google SecOps feed.

Configure automated export of TFE application logs to GCS

Terraform Enterprise embeds audit log entries within its application logs. Audit events are marked with the [Audit Log] string and can be filtered from the application log output. Choose one of the following approaches to automate the export.

Option 1: TFE log forwarding with Fluent Bit to GCS (recommended)

Terraform Enterprise supports external log forwarding using a built-in Fluent Bit-based mechanism. You can configure TFE to forward application logs to a GCS bucket.

1. Access the TFE administration console.
2. Go to Settings > Logging.
3. Enable External Logging.

4. Configure the Fluent Bit output to use the GCS plugin:

   [OUTPUT]
       Name                       gcs
       Match                      *
       Bucket                     terraform-enterprise-logs
       Object_key_format          audit-logs/tfe_logs_%Y%m%d_%H%M%S.json
       Content_Type               application/json
   

   Note: Replace terraform-enterprise-logs with your GCS bucket name. The TFE server must have a service account or credentials with Storage Object Admin role on the bucket.

5. Save the configuration and restart the TFE services if prompted.

   Note: Consult the Terraform Enterprise log forwarding documentation for the full list of supported configuration options and authentication methods.

Option 2: Compute Engine VM with cron (for direct log collection)

If the TFE server runs on Google Compute Engine or has network connectivity to GCP, configure a cron job on the TFE server to export filtered audit logs to GCS.

1. Install the Google Cloud CLI on the TFE server.

2. Create a service account for the export:

   1. In the GCP Console, go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
   2. Click Create Service Account.
   3. Provide the following configuration details:
      • Service account name: Enter tfe-log-export-sa
      • Service account description: Enter Service account for TFE log export to GCS
   4. Click Create and Continue.
   5. Add the Storage Object Admin role.
   6. Click Done.
   7. Download a JSON key for the service account and copy it to the TFE server.

3. Create an export script on the TFE server (/opt/tfe-export/export_logs.sh):

   #!/usr/bin/env bash
   set -euo pipefail
   
   BUCKET="terraform-enterprise-logs"
   PREFIX="audit-logs"
   LOG_DIR="/var/log/terraform-enterprise"
   EXPORT_DIR="/tmp/tfe-export"
   TIMESTAMP=$(date -u +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
   
   mkdir -p "$EXPORT_DIR"
   
   # Filter audit log entries from TFE application logs
   grep '\[Audit Log\]' "$LOG_DIR"/*.log > "$EXPORT_DIR/tfe_audit_${TIMESTAMP}.json" 2>/dev/null || true
   
   if [ -s "$EXPORT_DIR/tfe_audit_${TIMESTAMP}.json" ]; then
       gcloud storage cp "$EXPORT_DIR/tfe_audit_${TIMESTAMP}.json" \
           "gs://${BUCKET}/${PREFIX}/"
       echo "Uploaded tfe_audit_${TIMESTAMP}.json to gs://${BUCKET}/${PREFIX}/"
   else
       echo "No audit log entries found."
   fi
   
   rm -rf "$EXPORT_DIR"
   

   Note: Replace terraform-enterprise-logs with your bucket name. Adjust the LOG_DIR path to match your TFE installation. For Docker-based TFE installations, logs may be accessible via docker logs terraform-enterprise or replicatedctl app logs.

4. Make the script executable and schedule it with cron:

   chmod +x /opt/tfe-export/export_logs.sh
   (crontab -l ; echo "0 * * * * /opt/tfe-export/export_logs.sh >> /var/log/tfe-export.log 2>&1") | crontab -
   

Option 3: Storage Transfer Service (for file-based log collection)

If TFE logs are written to a file system accessible via a Storage Transfer Agent, use Storage Transfer Service to move them to GCS.

1. In the GCP Console, go to Storage Transfer Service.
2. Click Create transfer job.
3. Select POSIX filesystem as the source.
4. Follow the instructions to install the Storage Transfer Agent on the TFE server or a machine with access to the TFE log directory.

5. Configure the transfer job:

   Setting	Value
   Source directory	Path to TFE log directory (for example, /var/log/terraform-enterprise/)
   Destination bucket	terraform-enterprise-logs
   Destination path	audit-logs/
   Schedule	Set a recurring schedule (for example, every hour)

6. Click Create.

Retrieve the Google SecOps service account

1. Go to SIEM Settings > Feeds.
2. Click Add New Feed.
3. Click Configure a single feed.
4. In the Feed name field, enter a name for the feed (for example, Terraform Enterprise Logs).
5. Select Google Cloud Storage V2 as the Source type.
6. Select Terraform Enterprise Audit as the Log type.

7. Click Get Service Account. A unique service account email will be displayed, for example:

   [e-mail]
   

8. Copy this email address for use in the next step.

   Note: Each Google SecOps instance has a unique service account. Do not use service accounts from other documentation or examples.

Grant IAM permissions to the Google SecOps service account

The Google SecOps service account needs Storage Object Viewer role on your GCS bucket.

1. Go to Cloud Storage > Buckets.
2. Click on your bucket name (for example, terraform-enterprise-logs).
3. Go to the Permissions tab.
4. Click Grant access.
5. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Add principals: Paste the Google SecOps service account email (for example, [e-mail]).
   • Assign roles: Select Storage Object Viewer.

6. Click Save.

   Note: If you plan to use the deletion option "Delete transferred files and empty directories," grant Storage Object Admin role instead of Storage Object Viewer.

Configure the Google SecOps feed

1. Go to SIEM Settings > Feeds.
2. Click Add New Feed.
3. Click Configure a single feed.
4. In the Feed name field, enter a name for the feed (for example, Terraform Enterprise Logs).
5. Select Google Cloud Storage V2 as the Source type.
6. Select Terraform Enterprise Audit as the Log type.
7. Click Next.

8. Specify values for the following input parameters:

   • Storage bucket URL: Enter the GCS bucket URI:

     gs://terraform-enterprise-logs/audit-logs/
     

     • Replace terraform-enterprise-logs with your GCS bucket name.
     • Replace audit-logs with your configured prefix path.
   Note: Always include the trailing slash (/) at the end of the URI.

   • Source deletion option: Select the deletion option according to your preference:

     • Never: Never deletes any files after transfers (recommended for testing).

     • Delete transferred files and empty directories: Deletes files and empty directories after successful transfer.

       Note: If you select a deletion option, the Google SecOps service account must have Storage Object Admin role instead of Storage Object Viewer. Update IAM permissions accordingly.

   • Maximum File Age: Include files modified in the last number of days (default is 180 days).

   • Asset namespace: The asset namespace.

   • Ingestion labels: The label to be applied to the events from this feed.

9. Click Next.

10. Review your new feed configuration in the Finalize screen, and then click Submit.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
action_label	additional.fields	Merged
allow_config_generation_label	additional.fields	Merged
allow_empty_apply_label	additional.fields	Merged
auto_apply_label	additional.fields	Merged
can_apply_label	additional.fields	Merged
can_cancel_label	additional.fields	Merged
can_comment_label	additional.fields	Merged
can_discard_label	additional.fields	Merged
can_force_cancel_label	additional.fields	Merged
can_force_execute_label	additional.fields	Merged
can_override_policy_check_label	additional.fields	Merged
comments_label	additional.fields	Merged
cost_estimated_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
cost_estimating_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
dd_span_id_label	additional.fields	Merged
dd_trace_id_label	additional.fields	Merged
has_changes_label	additional.fields	Merged
is_cancelable_label	additional.fields	Merged
is_confirmable_label	additional.fields	Merged
is_destroy_label	additional.fields	Merged
is_discardable_label	additional.fields	Merged
is_force_cancelable_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_auth_source_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_db_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_dd_env_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_dd_service_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_dd_span_id_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_dd_trace_id_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_dd_version_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_ddsource_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_duration_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_format_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_node_id_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_selinux_context_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_systemd_cgroup_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_systemd_slice_label	additional.fields	Merged
jsonPayload_view_label	additional.fields	Merged
json_image_name_label	additional.fields	Merged
json_syslog_identifier_label	additional.fields	Merged
json_transport_label	additional.fields	Merged
json_uid_label	additional.fields	Merged
msg_label	additional.fields	Merged
plan_only_label	additional.fields	Merged
plan_queueable_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
plan_queued_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
planned_and_finished_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
planned_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
planning_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
policychecks_label	additional.fields	Merged
post_plan_completed_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
post_plan_running_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
queuing_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
refresh_label	additional.fields	Merged
refresh_only_label	additional.fields	Merged
resource_label	additional.fields	Merged
runevents_label	additional.fields	Merged
save_plan_label	additional.fields	Merged
source_label	additional.fields	Merged
source_realtime_timestamp_label	additional.fields	Merged
taskstages_label	additional.fields	Merged
trigger_reason_label	additional.fields	Merged
updated_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
uuid_label	additional.fields	Merged
data.attributes.created-at	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as ISO8601
receiveTimestamp	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as ISO8601
time	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as MMM dd HH:mm:ss
time_stamp	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
time_zone	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
timestamp	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss.SSSSSS+Z.Z
event_type	metadata.event_type	Directly mapped
has_principal	metadata.event_type	Mapped: true → STATUS_UPDATE, true → NETWORK_HTTP, true → NETWORK_CONNECTION
has_principal_user	metadata.event_type	Mapped: true → USER_UNCATEGORIZED
has_user	metadata.event_type	Mapped: true → USER_RESOURCE_ACCESS, true → USER_UNCATEGORIZED
type	metadata.product_event_type	Directly mapped
id	metadata.product_log_id	Directly mapped
insertId	metadata.product_log_id	Directly mapped
data.attributes.terraform-version	metadata.product_version	Directly mapped
vault_version	metadata.product_version	Directly mapped
logName	metadata.url_back_to_product	Directly mapped
method	network.http.method	Directly mapped
status	network.http.response_code	Renamed/mapped
user_agent	network.http.user_agent	Directly mapped
request_id	network.session_id	Directly mapped
jsonPayload.machine_id	principal.asset.asset_id	Directly mapped
dd_service	principal.asset.hostname	Directly mapped
hostname	principal.asset.hostname	Directly mapped
actor_ip	principal.asset.ip	Merged
sha	principal.file.sha1	Directly mapped
dd_service	principal.hostname	Directly mapped
hostname	principal.hostname	Directly mapped
jsonPayload.hostname	principal.hostname	Directly mapped
src_host	principal.hostname	Directly mapped
actor_ip	principal.ip	Merged
remote_ip	principal.ip	Merged
port	principal.port	Renamed/mapped
src_port	principal.port	Renamed/mapped
jsonPayload.cap_effective	principal.process.access_mask	Renamed/mapped
jsonPayload.cmdline	principal.process.command_line	Directly mapped
jsonPayload.exe	principal.process.file.full_path	Directly mapped
jsonPayload.comm	principal.process.file.names	Merged
jsonPayload.pid	principal.process.pid	Directly mapped
jsonPayload_container_tag_label	principal.resource.attribute.labels	Merged
jsonPayload.container_id_full	principal.resource.product_object_id	Directly mapped
resource_id	principal.resource.product_object_id	Directly mapped
resource.type	principal.resource.resource_subtype	Directly mapped
auth_impersonator_id_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
client_token_accessor_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
client_token_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
mount_accessor_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
mount_point_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
namespace_id_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
organization_id_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
request_id_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
write_timestamp_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
role	principal.user.attribute.roles	Merged
organization	principal.user.department	Merged
jsonPayload.gid	principal.user.group_identifiers	Merged
auth.entity_id	principal.user.product_object_id	Directly mapped
auth.display_name	principal.user.user_display_name	Directly mapped
actor	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
auth.accessor_id	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
auth.entity_id	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
request.client_id	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
user	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
record.resource.action	security_result.action_details	Directly mapped
request.operation	security_result.action_details	Directly mapped
data.attributes.status	security_result.category_details	Merged
apply_detection_field_id	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
apply_detection_field_related	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
auth_accessor_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
auth_client_token_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
auth_metadata_role_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
auth_policy_results_allowed_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
auth_token_type_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
comments_related_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
configuration_version_detection_field_id	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
configuration_version_detection_field_related	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
cost_estimate_detection_field_id	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
cost_estimate_detection_field_related	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
data_id_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
data_links_self_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
detection_fields_organization_id	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
id_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
plan_detection_field_id	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
plan_detection_field_related	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
policy_checks_related_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
run_events_related_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
task_stages_related_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
token_ttl_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
workspace_detection_field_id	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
jsonPayload.priority	security_result.priority_details	Directly mapped
severity	security_result.severity	Mapped: INFO → INFORMATIONAL
severity_detail	security_result.severity	Mapped: (?i)Info → INFORMATIONAL, (?i)Error → ERROR, (?i)Warning → MEDIUM
request.remote_address	target.asset.ip	Merged
target_ip	target.asset.ip	Merged
request.remote_address	target.ip	Merged
target_ip	target.ip	Merged
labels_namespace	target.namespace	Directly mapped
request.remote_port	target.port	Renamed/mapped
labels_location	target.resource.attribute.cloud.availability_zone	Directly mapped
region	target.resource.attribute.cloud.availability_zone	Directly mapped
provider	target.resource.attribute.cloud.environment	Mapped: aws → AMAZON_WEB_SERVICES
cluster_size_label	target.resource.attribute.labels	Merged
cluster_tier_label	target.resource.attribute.labels	Merged
hcp_product_label	target.resource.attribute.labels	Merged
image_tag_label	target.resource.attribute.labels	Merged
instance-id_label	target.resource.attribute.labels	Merged
organization_id_label	target.resource.attribute.labels	Merged
cluster_id	target.resource.name	Directly mapped
jsonPayload.container_name	target.resource.name	Directly mapped
name	target.resource.name	Directly mapped
record.resource.id	target.resource.name	Directly mapped
project_id	target.resource.product_object_id	Directly mapped
resource.meta.project_id	target.resource.product_object_id	Directly mapped
record.resource.type	target.resource.resource_subtype	Directly mapped
target_resource_ancestors	target.resource_ancestors	Merged
path	target.url	Directly mapped
request.path	target.url	Directly mapped
mount_accessor_label	target.user.attribute.labels	Merged
mount_class_label	target.user.attribute.labels	Merged
mount_point_label	target.user.attribute.labels	Merged
mount_running_plugin_version_label	target.user.attribute.labels	Merged
mount_type_label	target.user.attribute.labels	Merged
replication_cluster_label	target.user.attribute.labels	Merged
N/A	metadata.event_type	Constant: USER_RESOURCE_ACCESS
N/A	metadata.product_name	Constant: TERRAFORM_ENTERPRISE
N/A	metadata.vendor_name	Constant: TERRAFORM_ENTERPRISE
N/A	security_result.severity	Constant: INFORMATIONAL
N/A	target.resource.attribute.cloud.environment	Constant: AMAZON_WEB_SERVICES

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