terraform/website/docs/commands/init.html.markdown

---
layout: "docs"
page_title: "Command: init"
sidebar_current: "docs-commands-init"
description: |-
  The `terraform init` command is used to initialize a Terraform configuration. This is the first command that should be run for any new or existing Terraform configuration. It is safe to run this command multiple times.
---

# Command: init

> **Hands-on:** Try the [Terraform: Get Started](https://learn.hashicorp.com/collections/terraform/aws-get-started?utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS) collection on HashiCorp Learn.

The `terraform init` command is used to initialize a working directory
containing Terraform configuration files. This is the first command that should
be run after writing a new Terraform configuration or cloning an existing one
from version control. It is safe to run this command multiple times.

## Usage

Usage: `terraform init [options]`

This command performs several different initialization steps in order to
prepare the current working directory for use with Terraform. More details on
these are in the sections below, but in most cases it is not necessary to worry
about these individual steps.

This command is always safe to run multiple times, to bring the working
directory up to date with changes in the configuration. Though subsequent runs
may give errors, this command will never delete your existing configuration or
state.

## General Options

The following options apply to all of (or several of) the initialization steps:

* `-input=true` Ask for input if necessary. If false, will error if
  input was required.

* `-lock=false` Disable locking of state files during state-related operations.

* `-lock-timeout=<duration>` Override the time Terraform will wait to acquire
  a state lock. The default is `0s` (zero seconds), which causes immediate
  failure if the lock is already held by another process.

* `-no-color` Disable color codes in the command output.

* `-upgrade` Opt to upgrade modules and plugins as part of their respective
  installation steps. See the sections below for more details.

## Copy a Source Module

By default, `terraform init` assumes that the working directory already
contains a configuration and will attempt to initialize that configuration.

Optionally, init can be run against an empty directory with the
`-from-module=MODULE-SOURCE` option, in which case the given module will be
copied into the target directory before any other initialization steps are
run.

This special mode of operation supports two use-cases:

* Given a version control source, it can serve as a shorthand for checking out
  a configuration from version control and then initializing the working directory
  for it.

* If the source refers to an _example_ configuration, it can be copied into
  a local directory to be used as a basis for a new configuration.

For routine use it is recommended to check out configuration from version
control separately, using the version control system's own commands. This way
it is possible to pass extra flags to the version control system when necessary,
and to perform other preparation steps (such as configuration generation, or
activating credentials) before running `terraform init`.

## Backend Initialization

During init, the root configuration directory is consulted for
[backend configuration](/docs/backends/config.html) and the chosen backend
is initialized using the given configuration settings.

Re-running init with an already-initialized backend will update the working
directory to use the new backend settings. Depending on what changed, this
may result in interactive prompts to confirm migration of workspace states.
The `-force-copy` option suppresses these prompts and answers "yes" to the
migration questions. The `-reconfigure` option disregards any existing
configuration, preventing migration of any existing state.

To skip backend configuration, use `-backend=false`. Note that some other init
steps require an initialized backend, so it is recommended to use this flag only
when the working directory was already previously initialized for a particular
backend.

The `-backend-config=...` option can be used for
[partial backend configuration](/docs/backends/config.html#partial-configuration),
in situations where the backend settings are dynamic or sensitive and so cannot
be statically specified in the configuration file.

## Child Module Installation

During init, the configuration is searched for `module` blocks, and the source
code for referenced [modules](/docs/modules/) is retrieved from the locations
given in their `source` arguments.

Re-running init with modules already installed will install the sources for
any modules that were added to configuration since the last init, but will not
change any already-installed modules. Use `-upgrade` to override this behavior,
updating all modules to the latest available source code.

To skip child module installation, use `-get=false`. Note that some other init
steps can complete only when the module tree is complete, so it's recommended
to use this flag only when the working directory was already previously
initialized with its child modules.

## Plugin Installation

During init, Terraform searches the configuration for both direct and indirect
references to providers and attempts to load the required plugins.

For [providers distributed by HashiCorp](/docs/providers/index.html),
init will automatically download and install plugins if necessary. Plugins
can also be manually installed in the user plugins directory, located at
`~/.terraform.d/plugins` on most operating systems and
`%APPDATA%\terraform.d\plugins` on Windows.

For more information about configuring and installing providers, see
[Configuration: Providers](/docs/configuration/providers.html).

On subsequent runs, init only installs providers without acceptable versions
installed. (This includes newly added providers, and providers whose installed
versions can't meet the current version constraints.) Use `-upgrade` if you want
to update _all_ providers to the newest acceptable version.

You can modify `terraform init`'s plugin behavior with the following options:

- `-upgrade` — Update all previously installed plugins to the newest version
  that complies with the configuration's version constraints. This option does
  not apply to manually installed plugins.
- `-get-plugins=false` — Skips plugin installation. Terraform will use plugins
  installed in the user plugins directory, and any plugins already installed
  for the current working directory. If the installed plugins aren't sufficient
  for the configuration, init fails.
- `-plugin-dir=PATH` — Skips plugin installation and loads plugins _only_ from
  the specified directory. This ignores the user plugins directory and any
  plugins already installed in the current working directory. To restore the
  default behavior after using this option, run init again and pass an empty
  string to `-plugin-dir`.
- `-verify-plugins=false` — Skips release signature validation when
  installing downloaded plugins (not recommended). Official plugin releases are
  digitally signed by HashiCorp, and Terraform verifies these signatures when
  automatically downloading plugins. This option disables that verification.
  (Terraform does not check signatures for manually installed plugins.)

## Running `terraform init` in automation

For teams that use Terraform as a key part of a change management and
deployment pipeline, it can be desirable to orchestrate Terraform runs in some
sort of automation in order to ensure consistency between runs, and provide
other interesting features such as integration with version control hooks.

There are some special concerns when running `init` in such an environment,
including optionally making plugins available locally to avoid repeated
re-installation. For more information, see
the [Running Terraform in Automation](https://learn.hashicorp.com/tutorials/terraform/automate-terraform?in=terraform/automation&utm_source=WEBSITE&utm_medium=WEB_IO&utm_offer=ARTICLE_PAGE&utm_content=DOCS) tutorial on HashiCorp Learn.

## Passing a Different Configuration Directory

Terraform v0.13 and earlier also accepted a directory path in place of the
plan file argument to `terraform apply`, in which case Terraform would use
that directory as the root module instead of the current working directory.

That usage is still supported in Terraform v0.14, but is now deprecated and we
plan to remove it in Terraform v0.15. If your workflow relies on overriding
the root module directory, use
[the `-chdir` global option](./#switching-working-directory-with--chdir)
instead, which works across all commands and makes Terraform consistently look
in the given directory for all files it would normaly read or write in the
current working directory.

If your previous use of this legacy pattern was also relying on Terraform
writing the `.terraform` subdirectory into the current working directory even
though the root module directory was overridden, use
[the `TF_DATA_DIR` environment variable](environment-variables.html#TF_DATA_DIR)
to direct Terraform to write the `.terraform` directory to a location other
than the current working directory.