# Fixing can not create client, bad configuration: did not find a proper configuration for private key


I wanted to learn how to use Terraform. I think there is no better way to learn to use a new tool than actually using it. 

Oracle cloud has [the always free trier](https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/) so even though it's not the most popular cloud provider, I decided to give it a try and play with Terraform on it. 

They prepared a step by step [guide](https://docs.oracle.com/en-us/iaas/developer-tutorials/tutorials/tf-provider/01-summary.htm), but unfortunately, I hit an issue with this very simple case:

```
$ terraform plan

Error: can not create client, bad configuration: did not find a proper configuration for private key
```

After a bit of trial and error, I found the solution, I changed

```terraform
provider "oci" {
  (...)  
  private_key_path = "$HOME/.oci/main.pem"
  (...)
}
```

into

```terraform
provider "oci" {
  (...)  
  private_key_path = "/home/michal/.oci/main.pem"
  (...)
}
```

Looks like I shouldn't use env variables in the terraform files. I hope it saves somebody's time..