Section Introduction Terraform CLI

Welcome to the Terraform CLI introduction. The Terraform command-line interface (CLI) is the primary tool for authoring, provisioning, and managing infrastructure as code. It offers a consistent set of commands that work across providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, and many more) and across operating systems (Linux, Windows, macOS). This consistency simplifies multi-cloud and hybrid infrastructure workflows by providing a single interface to manage cloud resources, on-premises systems, and third-party services.

The Terraform CLI is consistent across providers and platforms, which reduces the learning curve for teams that manage multi-cloud or hybrid environments.

In the sections below you’ll get a concise, practical overview of the essential Terraform CLI workflow: initializing a working directory, creating and reviewing plans, applying changes, and maintaining state. Each command is shown with examples so you can quickly try them in your environment.

Overview of the typical Terraform lifecycle:

Initialize a working directory with provider plugins and backend configuration.
Author or update Terraform configuration files (.tf).
Run a plan to preview changes Terraform will make.
Apply the plan to enact changes.
Inspect and manage state, and iterate.

Core Terraform CLI commands — quick reference:

Command	Purpose	Example
`terraform init`	Initialize a working directory, download providers and modules, and configure backends.	`terraform init`
`terraform validate`	Validate configuration syntax and internal consistency.	`terraform validate`
`terraform fmt`	Format configuration files to canonical style.	`terraform fmt -recursive`
`terraform plan`	Create an execution plan showing changes Terraform will make.	`terraform plan -out=tfplan`
`terraform apply`	Apply changes required to reach the desired state.	`terraform apply tfplan`
`terraform destroy`	Destroy all resources managed by the configuration.	`terraform destroy`

Example workflow (basic):

Initialize your directory (downloads providers and sets backend):

terraform init

Preview proposed infrastructure changes:

terraform plan -out=tfplan

Apply the planned changes:

terraform apply tfplan

When you no longer need the infrastructure:

terraform destroy

Best practices and hints:

Use terraform plan -out=<file> to save a plan you can review and then apply with terraform apply <file>.
Store Terraform state remotely (e.g., S3, Azure Blob, or Terraform Cloud) for collaboration and locking.
Run terraform fmt and terraform validate in CI to enforce style and correctness before applying.

Links and resources:

Terraform CLI documentation — https://www.terraform.io/cli
Terraform getting started guides — https://learn.hashicorp.com/collections/terraform/aws-get-started
Configuration best practices — https://www.terraform.io/docs/cloud/guides/recommended-practices.html

Next steps

Try the example workflow in a test workspace.
Explore provider-specific resources and remote state backends.
Use version control and CI to automate terraform fmt, terraform validate, and terraform plan before applying changes.

Course Introduction

Preparing Your Environment

Terraform Foundations

The Core Terraform Workflow

Terraform CLI

Terraform File Structure and Organization

Terraform Configuration - Fundamentals

Understading and Managing Terraform State

Marking Code Reusable

Refactoring Terraform State

Terraform Modules

Managing Resource Behavior and Dependencies

Securing Terraform Configurations

Terraform Troubleshooting

HCP Terraform

Section Introduction Terraform CLI

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