TF-Associate-004 - Core Terraform workflow (19% of the exam) - Section 3a
Describe the Terraform workflow.
The core loop is write, plan, apply: author configuration, preview the changes Terraform proposes, then apply them. Candidates should place init, validate, fmt and destroy correctly around that loop and know which step actually changes infrastructure.
write plan applycore workflow orderingwhich step changes infrastructure
Practice question for this objective
lock_openFree sampleCore Terraform workfloweasy
Which sequence describes the core Terraform workflow that a practitioner follows when managing infrastructure with configuration files?
AWrite, then plan, then apply the configurationcheck_circle Correct
BPlan, then write, then apply the resulting configuration
CApply, then plan, then write the configuration afterwards
DWrite, then apply, then plan the configuration afterwards
The core Terraform workflow proceeds in the order write, plan, then apply. Terraform's core workflow starts by authoring configuration, then generating a plan that previews the changes, and finally applying that plan so the intended changes are made only after review.
Why A is correct: The core loop is write the configuration, review a plan of the proposed changes, then apply those changes, which matches Terraform's documented workflow.
Why B is wrong: This is tempting because planning does happen before apply, but you cannot generate a plan before any configuration has been written, so write must come first.
Why C is wrong: This reverses the workflow entirely; applying before writing or planning has nothing to act on and is not how the core loop is ordered.
Why D is wrong: This is tempting because write is correctly first, but planning is meant to preview changes before apply commits them, not after.
Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the TF-Associate-004 bank for this domain.
terraform plan
errorWhy it is wrong: Plan is tempting because it reports every change Terraform intends to make, but it only previews those changes and never alters real infrastructure.
Terraform applies the changes immediately because a plan was already generated during the same command.
errorWhy it is wrong: Tempting because apply does generate its own plan, but without a saved plan file or -auto-approve it still stops and asks for confirmation first.
terraform apply, which shows the intended actions and then provisions them straight away
errorWhy it is wrong: Apply does display a plan first, which makes it tempting, but it proceeds to change infrastructure once confirmed, so it is not a change-free preview.