Terraform Workflow — Init, Plan, Apply

Master the core Terraform workflow: init, plan, apply, and destroy

Terraform Workflow — Init, Plan, Apply

The Core Workflow

Terraform has a standard four-step workflow:

terraform init    →   terraform plan    →   terraform apply    →   terraform destroy

terraform init

Prepares your working directory:

Downloads provider plugins

Sets up backend for state storage

Initializes modules

bash

terraform init

Run init ONCE when starting a new project or adding providers/modules.

terraform plan

Creates an execution plan — shows what will happen without actually doing it:

bash

terraform plan

Output:

Terraform will perform the following actions:
  + create azurerm_resource_group.main
  + create azurerm_virtual_network.main

The + means create, - means destroy, ~ means modify in-place.

terraform apply

Executes the plan — creates, updates, or deletes resources:

bash

terraform apply

Terraform will show you the plan and ask for confirmation. To auto-approve:

bash

terraform apply --auto-approve

terraform destroy

Destroys ALL resources managed by your configuration:

bash

terraform destroy

️ **Warning:** `destroy` is irreversible. Always review the plan first!

State File

After apply, Terraform creates a terraform.tfstate file. This file maps your config to real resources. It contains sensitive information and should be stored remotely for team use.

Your Turn!

Write the four Terraform commands in order for a new project. For each command, add a comment (#) explaining what it does.

💡Need a hint? (4 available)

#1init must always come first — it downloads providers

#2plan shows what will happen without making changes

#3apply asks for confirmation by default

#4destroy removes ALL resources — be careful!

🔑Show solution (try it yourself first!)

# terraform init - Download providers and modules
export TF_INIT="terraform init"

# terraform plan - Preview infrastructure changes
export TF_PLAN="terraform plan"

# terraform apply - Create or update resources
export TF_APPLY="terraform apply"

# terraform destroy - Remove all managed resources
export TF_DESTROY="terraform destroy"

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📤 Output

Write your solution and click "Run Code" to test it!

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