---
title: "Terraform Commands Cheatsheet | FindUtils"
description: "Infrastructure as Code: init, plan, apply, state management, workspaces, and modules"
url: https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/terraform-commands/
---

# Terraform Commands Cheatsheet

Infrastructure as Code: init, plan, apply, state management, workspaces, and modules 59 commands in 9 sections, filed under [DevOps & Cloud](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/devops/).

## Core Workflow

- `terraform init`: Initialize working directory and download providers
- `terraform plan`: Preview changes before applying
- `terraform apply`: Apply changes to infrastructure
- `terraform apply -auto-approve`: Apply without confirmation prompt
- `terraform destroy`: Destroy all managed infrastructure
- `terraform destroy -target=aws_instance.web`: Destroy specific resource
- `terraform validate`: Validate configuration syntax
- `terraform fmt`: Format .tf files to canonical style
- `terraform fmt -recursive`: Format all .tf files recursively

## State Management

- `terraform state list`: List all resources in state
- `terraform state show aws_instance.web`: Show details of a resource in state
- `terraform state mv old_name new_name`: Rename a resource in state
- `terraform state rm aws_instance.web`: Remove resource from state (keep infra)
- `terraform state pull`: Output current state to stdout
- `terraform state push local.tfstate`: Overwrite remote state (dangerous)
- `terraform refresh`: Deprecated; prefer terraform plan/apply -refresh-only to review state changes
- `terraform import aws_instance.web i-abc123`: Import existing resource into state

## Planning & Targeting

- `terraform plan -out=plan.tfplan`: Save plan to file
- `terraform apply plan.tfplan`: Apply a saved plan file
- `terraform plan -target=aws_instance.web`: Plan for specific resource only
- `terraform plan -var="region=us-west-2"`: Pass variable on command line
- `terraform plan -var-file="prod.tfvars"`: Use variable file
- `terraform plan -destroy`: Preview what destroy would do
- `terraform plan -refresh-only`: Detect drift without changes

## Workspaces

- `terraform workspace list`: List all workspaces
- `terraform workspace new staging`: Create a new workspace
- `terraform workspace select production`: Switch to a workspace
- `terraform workspace show`: Show current workspace
- `terraform workspace delete staging`: Delete a workspace
- `terraform.workspace`: Reference workspace name in config

## Configuration Basics

- `resource "aws_instance" "web" { ami = "..." }`: Define a resource
- `variable "region" { default = "us-east-1" }`: Declare an input variable
- `output "ip" { value = aws_instance.web.public_ip }`: Define an output value
- `data "aws_ami" "latest" { ... }`: Define a data source query
- `locals { env = "prod" }`: Define local values
- `module "vpc" { source = "./modules/vpc" }`: Use a module
- `terraform { required_version = ">= 1.5" }`: Set required Terraform version

## Providers & Modules

- `terraform init -upgrade`: Upgrade providers to latest allowed
- `terraform providers`: Show required providers
- `terraform providers lock`: Generate lock file for providers
- `terraform get`: Download and update modules
- `terraform get -update`: Force update modules
- `source = "hashicorp/aws"`: Use provider from Terraform Registry
- `source = "git::https://example.com/module.git"`: Use module from Git repo

## Output & Inspection

- `terraform output`: Show all output values
- `terraform output -json`: Show outputs as JSON
- `terraform output ip_address`: Show specific output value
- `terraform show`: Show current state in human-readable form
- `terraform show -json plan.tfplan`: Show plan as JSON
- `terraform graph | dot -Tpng > graph.png`: Generate resource dependency graph
- `terraform console`: Interactive expression evaluator

## Best Practices

- `terraform { backend "s3" { ... } }`: Use remote state backend
- `terraform plan -detailed-exitcode`: Exit code 2 if changes detected (CI)
- `TF_LOG=DEBUG terraform plan`: Enable debug logging
- `TF_VAR_region="us-west-2" terraform plan`: Set variable via environment
- `-lock=false`: Skip state locking (use with caution)
- `-parallelism=10`: Set the concurrent operation limit to 10, the documented default

## Sources

- `https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands/plan`: Terraform plan: review workflow, targeting limits, and parallelism settings.
- `https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cli/commands/refresh`: Terraform refresh: deprecated command and the refresh-only alternative.

## Related

- Cheatsheet: [Docker Commands](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/docker-commands/)
- Cheatsheet: [Kubernetes Commands](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/kubernetes-commands/)
- Cheatsheet: [Apache HTTP Server](https://findutils.com/cheatsheets/apache-server/)
- Guide: [Load Balancer Design: Nginx, HAProxy, and Caddy Configs](https://findutils.com/guides/loadbalancer-design-guide/)
- Guide: [Cron Expression Generator: Build and Check Five-Field Schedules](https://findutils.com/guides/cron-expression-generator-guide/)
- Guide: [Yolobox Configurator: Generate AI Sandbox Configs in Seconds](https://findutils.com/guides/yolobox-ai-sandbox-configurator-guide/)