hashicorp/setup-terraform "401" from releases.hashicorp.com

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

setup-terraform fetches the binary from releases.hashicorp.com. A 401 or transient network failure during that download fails the step before Terraform is available.

What this error means

The setup-terraform step fails with a 401 or download error against releases.hashicorp.com.

Error: Failed to download Terraform: unexpected status code 401 from https://releases.hashicorp.com
##[error]Error: Failed to download Terraform

Common causes

Transient endpoint error

A momentary 401/5xx from the releases CDN drops the download.

Proxy or rate interference

A network proxy or rate limit on the runner blocks the binary fetch.

How to fix it

Pin a version and retry the download

1. Pin terraform_version to a released version.
2. Wrap flaky setup in a retry, or re-run the job for transient CDN errors.
3. Confirm terraform --version after setup.

- uses: hashicorp/setup-terraform@v3
  with:
    terraform_version: 1.9.5
- run: terraform version

How to prevent it

• Pin terraform_version so the download target is deterministic.
• Latchkey managed runners auto-retry transient download failures from upstream release CDNs, so these flakes usually clear without manual re-runs.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• GitHub Actions documentation
• Workflow syntax for GitHub Actions