What is Terraform state?

[Chris Pietschmann]

HashiCorp Terraform state is a representation of the current state of your infrastructure resources. This is how Terraform tracks the resources managed by the Terraform project. This includes resource attributes such as resource names, resource IDs, and any metadata associated with the deployed resources.

Terraform state is stored in a state file, using a .tfstate file extension, which is created and maintained by Terraform. The state file is not manually edited. This state file is essential because it allows Terraform to track the resources it manages and is used to determine the actions required to bring the resources into the desired state when Terraform configuration is changed.

Why is Terraform state used?

Terraform state is used to effectively manage the infrastructure resources that are deployed and managed by the Terraform project. Infrastructure resources can be complex and require multiple steps to create, configure, and manage. Terraform allows you to declare the desired state of your resources in code and Terraform uses the state file to keep track of the state of those resources.

Terraform state is also used to enforce idempotency. Idempotency is the ability to apply a configuration multiple times and achieve the same result every time. Terraform uses state to ensure that the resources’ current state matches the declared state. If the current state does not match the declared state, Terraform will take the necessary actions to bring the resources into the desired state.

Another essential use of Terraform state is to enable collaboration. Terraform state is shared among team members to ensure that everyone is working on the same version of the infrastructure deployed to the environment. This allows for better collaboration, easier debugging, and a more transparent workflow while implementing HashiCorp Terraform as code on your projects.

For more information, please go check out this article: https://build5nines.com/terraform-state-management-explained/