Terraform Plan, Apply, Destroy, Init, Validate, and Format Commands Explained

Terraform Commands Explained#

Learn the most important Terraform commands: init , fmt , validate , plan , apply , destroy , output , and state .

Basic workflow#

terraform init terraform fmt terraform validate terraform plan terraform apply

terraform init#

Downloads providers, initializes backend, and prepares the working directory.

terraform init

terraform fmt#

Formats Terraform files to standard style.

terraform fmt -recursive

terraform validate#

Checks whether configuration syntax and structure are valid.

terraform validate

terraform plan#

Shows what Terraform will create, update, or destroy.

terraform plan

terraform apply#

Applies the planned infrastructure changes.

terraform apply

terraform destroy#

Destroys infrastructure managed by the current configuration and state.

terraform destroy

Useful commands#

terraform output terraform state list terraform workspace list terraform providers terraform version

Common mistakes#

• Running apply without reviewing plan.
• Running destroy in the wrong environment.
• Not running init after changing backend/provider.
• Skipping fmt and validate in CI/CD.

Related guides#

• Terraform Learning Path
• Install Terraform