What you will learn
- Read a plan
- Apply changes
- Use lifecycle rules
New to this? Start here
The basics, in plain English
Terraform never changes things blindly. First it shows you a plan: exactly what it will add, change, or destroy. You read it, and only then do you apply it. This preview step prevents costly mistakes.
- plan
- A preview of the exact changes Terraform will make, shown before anything happens.
- apply
- The step that actually carries out the changes from the plan.
- destroy
- Tearing down the resources Terraform created.
- Diff
- The list of differences between what exists now and what your files describe.
- Always read the plan
- The golden habit: never apply without checking the plan, especially for destroys.
01
Plan then apply
plan shows the diff before anything changes. Always read it. apply executes; lifecycle blocks control create/destroy ordering.
Try it yourself
bash
$terraform init↳Download providers and set up the working directory.$terraform plan -out tfplan↳Preview changes and save them to a plan file.$terraform apply tfplan↳Apply exactly the changes you reviewed in the plan.↳ lines explain what each command does — only the commands get copied
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