Infrastructure as Code FAQ: Top Questions

Terraform uses a state file to keep track of the resources it manages. This state is stored in a file called terraform.tfstate, which maps your configuration files to real-world infrastructure resources. Managing state is critical for enabling Terraform to perform accurate updates and deletions of infrastructure components.

🗺️ Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Run terraform apply — this creates or updates resources and writes metadata to the terraform.tfstate file.
2. Use terraform plan — Terraform compares the current state with the desired state to determine what changes are needed.
3. Optionally, configure a remote backend (e.g., AWS S3, Azure Blob, Terraform Cloud) for storing the state securely and enabling collaboration.
4. Enable locking to prevent concurrent modifications using supported backends like S3 with DynamoDB locking.

📥 Example Input:

# backend.tf
terraform {
  backend "s3" {
    bucket         = "my-terraform-state"
    key            = "env/dev/terraform.tfstate"
    region         = "us-west-2"
    dynamodb_table = "terraform-locks"
    encrypt        = true
  }
}

🏆 Expected Output:

State file is stored in AWS S3, locked using DynamoDB for consistency and team collaboration.

✅ Terraform Commands for State:

terraform init
terraform plan
terraform apply
terraform state list
terraform state show <resource>
terraform state rm <resource>
terraform state mv <source> <destination>

📘 Detailed Explanation:

• What is State? A snapshot of what resources Terraform believes it manages, mapping resource IDs to config.
• Why Important? Without it, Terraform wouldn’t know what exists and what needs to be created, updated, or deleted.
• Remote State: Useful for collaboration and centralization. Prevents configuration drift.
• Security: State files may contain secrets. Always encrypt state files and restrict access.

🛠️ Use Cases:

• Team collaboration with centralized state in cloud storage.
• Auditing and debugging using state history and diffs.
• Ensuring consistent infrastructure updates across environments.