Terraform Commands Overview

Unlock the Power of Infrastructure as Code with Terraform

Introduction

Terraform, an open-source infrastructure as code software tool created by HashiCorp, enables users to define and provision a datacenter infrastructure using a high-level configuration language known as HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL), or optionally JSON. Terraform manages external resources (such as public cloud infrastructure, private cloud infrastructure, network appliances, software as a service, and more) with a ‘provider’ model that is easy to expand.

Understanding Terraform’s core commands is essential for anyone looking to automate their infrastructure management. This article provides an overview of the most commonly used Terraform commands, their purpose, and how they fit into the lifecycle of managing infrastructure.

Terraform Initialization: terraform init

The terraform init command is used to initialize a Terraform working directory. This command performs several different initialization steps in order to prepare a directory for Terraform usage. It will download and install any required provider plugins for the project, based on the code defined in the configuration files. It's the first command that should be run after writing new…