Basic Terraform commands

Terraform command line is the terraform command that accepts a variety of subcommands.

Main commands used:

• terraform init — initializes the Terraform working directory.
• terraform validate — validates the syntax of the Terraform file.
• terraform plan — generates the file of changes and shows what will change on startup. It is recommended that you run this command before running the apply command to ensure that the results are as intended.
• terraform apply — builds or changes the infrastructure. The command will show the execution plan and require a "yes" or "no" answer (unless the --auto-approve flag is used, which will cause the command to be executed automatically).
• terraform refresh — updates the local state file with respect to real resources. This ensures that Terraform has an accurate idea of what is in the current environment.
• terraform destroy — deletes infrastructure managed by Terraform. This will permanently remove everything created and stored in the state file from the cluster.

Before using the commands, switch to the working directory that contains the .tf configuration files.

In cases where commands are used in automation scripts, for convenience, the -chdir= option is used to change the working directory before applying the command:

Copy
terraform -chdir=terraform/configuration apply