53 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: "docs"
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page_title: "State"
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sidebar_current: "docs-state"
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description: |-
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Terraform stores state which caches the known state of the world the last time Terraform ran.
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---
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# State
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Terraform stores the state of your managed infrastructure from the last
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time Terraform was run. By default this state is stored in a local file
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named "terraform.tfstate", but it can also be stored remotely, which works
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better in a team environment.
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Terraform uses this local state to create plans and make changes to your
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infrastructure. Prior to any operation, Terraform does a
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[refresh](/docs/commands/refresh.html) to update the state with the
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real infrastructure.
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-> **Note:** Terraform currently requires the state to exist after Terraform
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has been run. Technically,
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at some point in the future, Terraform should be able to populate the local
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state file with the real infrastructure if the file didn't exist. But currently,
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Terraform state is a mixture of both a cache and required configuration and
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isn't optional.
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## Inspection and Modification
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While the format of the state files are just JSON, direct file editing
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of the state is discouraged. Terraform provides the
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[terraform state](/docs/commands/state/index.html) command to perform
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basic modifications of the state using the CLI.
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The CLI usage and output of the state commands is structured to be
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friendly for Unix tools such as grep, awk, etc. Additionally, the CLI
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insulates users from any format changes within the state itself. The Terraform
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project will keep the CLI working while the state format underneath it may
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shift.
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Finally, the CLI manages backups for you automatically. If you make a mistake
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modifying your state, the state CLI will always have a backup available for
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you that you can restore.
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## Format
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The state is in JSON format and Terraform will promise backwards compatibility
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with the state file. The JSON format makes it easy to write tools around the
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state if you want or to modify it by hand in the case of a Terraform bug.
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The "version" field on the state contents allows us to transparently move
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the format forward if we make modifications.
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