github.com/hugorut/terraform@v1.1.3/website/docs/language/settings/backends/index.mdx (about)

     1  ---
     2  page_title: Backend Overview - Configuration Language
     3  description: >-
     4    A backend defines where Terraform stores its state. Learn about how backends
     5    work.
     6  ---
     7  
     8  # Backends
     9  
    10  Backends define where Terraform's [state](/language/state) snapshots are stored.
    11  
    12  A given Terraform configuration can either specify a backend,
    13  [integrate with Terraform Cloud](/language/settings/terraform-cloud),
    14  or do neither and default to storing state locally.
    15  
    16  The rest of this page introduces the concept of backends; the other pages in
    17  this section document how to configure and use backends.
    18  
    19  - [Backend Configuration](/language/settings/backends/configuration) documents the form
    20    of a `backend` block, which selects and configures a backend for a
    21    Terraform configuration.
    22  - This section also includes a page for each of Terraform's built-in backends,
    23    documenting its behavior and available settings. See the navigation sidebar
    24    for a complete list.
    25  
    26  ## What Backends Do
    27  
    28  Backends primarily determine where Terraform stores its [state](/language/state).
    29  Terraform uses this persisted [state](/language/state) data to keep track of the
    30  resources it manages. Since it needs the state in order to know which real-world infrastructure
    31  objects correspond to the resources in a configuration, everyone working with a given collection of
    32  infrastructure resources must be able to access the same state data.
    33  
    34  By default, Terraform implicitly uses a backend called
    35  [`local`](/language/settings/backends/local) to store state as a local file on disk.
    36  Every other backend stores state in a remote service of some kind, which allows multiple people to
    37  access it. Accessing state in a remote service generally requires some kind of access credentials,
    38  since state data contains extremely sensitive information.
    39  
    40  Some backends act like plain "remote disks" for state files; others support
    41  _locking_ the state while operations are being performed, which helps prevent
    42  conflicts and inconsistencies.
    43  
    44  -> **Note:** In Terraform versions prior to 1.1.0, backends were also classified as being 'standard'
    45  or 'enhanced', where the latter term referred to the ability of the
    46  [remote backend](/language/settings/backends/remote) to store state and perform
    47  Terraform operations. This classification has been removed, clarifying the primary purpose of
    48  backends. Refer to [Using Terraform Cloud](/cli/cloud) for details about how to
    49  store state, execute remote operations, and use Terraform Cloud directly from Terraform.
    50  
    51  ## Available Backends
    52  
    53  Terraform includes a built-in selection of backends, which are listed in the
    54  navigation sidebar. This selection has changed over time, but does not change
    55  very often.
    56  
    57  The built-in backends are the only backends. You cannot load additional backends
    58  as plugins.