github.com/kcburge/terraform@v0.11.12-beta1/website/docs/commands/plan.html.markdown (about)

     1  ---
     2  layout: "docs"
     3  page_title: "Command: plan"
     4  sidebar_current: "docs-commands-plan"
     5  description: |-
     6    The `terraform plan` command is used to create an execution plan. Terraform performs a refresh, unless explicitly disabled, and then determines what actions are necessary to achieve the desired state specified in the configuration files. The plan can be saved using `-out`, and then provided to `terraform apply` to ensure only the pre-planned actions are executed.
     7  ---
     8  
     9  # Command: plan
    10  
    11  The `terraform plan` command is used to create an execution plan. Terraform
    12  performs a refresh, unless explicitly disabled, and then determines what
    13  actions are necessary to achieve the desired state specified in the
    14  configuration files.
    15  
    16  This command is a convenient way to check whether the execution plan for a
    17  set of changes matches your expectations without making any changes to
    18  real resources or to the state. For example, `terraform plan` might be run
    19  before committing a change to version control, to create confidence that it
    20  will behave as expected.
    21  
    22  The optional `-out` argument can be used to save the generated plan to a file
    23  for later execution with `terraform apply`, which can be useful when
    24  [running Terraform in automation](/guides/running-terraform-in-automation.html).
    25  
    26  ## Usage
    27  
    28  Usage: `terraform plan [options] [dir-or-plan]`
    29  
    30  By default, `plan` requires no flags and looks in the current directory
    31  for the configuration and state file to refresh.
    32  
    33  If the command is given an existing saved plan as an argument, the
    34  command will output the contents of the saved plan. In this scenario,
    35  the `plan` command will not modify the given plan. This can be used to
    36  inspect a planfile.
    37  
    38  The command-line flags are all optional. The list of available flags are:
    39  
    40  * `-destroy` - If set, generates a plan to destroy all the known resources.
    41  
    42  * `-detailed-exitcode` - Return a detailed exit code when the command exits.
    43    When provided, this argument changes the exit codes and their meanings to
    44    provide more granular information about what the resulting plan contains:
    45    * 0 = Succeeded with empty diff (no changes)
    46    * 1 = Error
    47    * 2 = Succeeded with non-empty diff (changes present)
    48  
    49  * `-input=true` - Ask for input for variables if not directly set.
    50  
    51  * `-lock=true` - Lock the state file when locking is supported.
    52  
    53  * `-lock-timeout=0s` - Duration to retry a state lock.
    54  
    55  * `-module-depth=n` - Specifies the depth of modules to show in the output.
    56    This does not affect the plan itself, only the output shown. By default,
    57    this is -1, which will expand all.
    58  
    59  * `-no-color` - Disables output with coloring.
    60  
    61  * `-out=path` - The path to save the generated execution plan. This plan
    62    can then be used with `terraform apply` to be certain that only the
    63    changes shown in this plan are applied. Read the warning on saved
    64    plans below.
    65  
    66  * `-parallelism=n` - Limit the number of concurrent operation as Terraform
    67    [walks the graph](/docs/internals/graph.html#walking-the-graph).
    68  
    69  * `-refresh=true` - Update the state prior to checking for differences.
    70  
    71  * `-state=path` - Path to the state file. Defaults to "terraform.tfstate".
    72    Ignored when [remote state](/docs/state/remote.html) is used.
    73  
    74  * `-target=resource` - A [Resource
    75    Address](/docs/internals/resource-addressing.html) to target. This flag can
    76    be used multiple times. See below for more information.
    77  
    78  * `-var 'foo=bar'` - Set a variable in the Terraform configuration. This flag
    79    can be set multiple times. Variable values are interpreted as
    80    [HCL](/docs/configuration/syntax.html#HCL), so list and map values can be
    81    specified via this flag.
    82  
    83  * `-var-file=foo` - Set variables in the Terraform configuration from
    84    a [variable file](/docs/configuration/variables.html#variable-files). If
    85    a `terraform.tfvars` or any `.auto.tfvars` files are present in the current
    86    directory, they will be automatically loaded. `terraform.tfvars` is loaded
    87    first and the `.auto.tfvars` files after in alphabetical order. Any files
    88    specified by `-var-file` override any values set automatically from files in
    89    the working directory. This flag can be used multiple times.
    90  
    91  ## Resource Targeting
    92  
    93  The `-target` option can be used to focus Terraform's attention on only a
    94  subset of resources.
    95  [Resource Address](/docs/internals/resource-addressing.html) syntax is used
    96  to specify the constraint. The resource address is interpreted as follows:
    97  
    98  * If the given address has a _resource spec_, only the specified resource
    99    is targeted. If the named resource uses `count` and no explicit index
   100    is specified in the address, all of the instances sharing the given
   101    resource name are targeted.
   102  
   103  * If the given address _does not_ have a resource spec, and instead just
   104    specifies a module path, the target applies to all resources in the
   105    specified module _and_ all of the descendent modules of the specified
   106    module.
   107  
   108  This targeting capability is provided for exceptional circumstances, such
   109  as recovering from mistakes or working around Terraform limitations. It
   110  is *not recommended* to use `-target` for routine operations, since this can
   111  lead to undetected configuration drift and confusion about how the true state
   112  of resources relates to configuration.
   113  
   114  Instead of using `-target` as a means to operate on isolated portions of very
   115  large configurations, prefer instead to break large configurations into
   116  several smaller configurations that can each be independently applied.
   117  [Data sources](/docs/configuration/data-sources.html) can be used to access
   118  information about resources created in other configurations, allowing
   119  a complex system architecture to be broken down into more managable parts
   120  that can be updated independently.
   121  
   122  ## Security Warning
   123  
   124  Saved plan files (with the `-out` flag) encode the configuration,
   125  state, diff, and _variables_. Variables are often used to store secrets.
   126  Therefore, the plan file can potentially store secrets.
   127  
   128  Terraform itself does not encrypt the plan file. It is highly
   129  recommended to encrypt the plan file if you intend to transfer it
   130  or keep it at rest for an extended period of time.
   131  
   132  Future versions of Terraform will make plan files more
   133  secure.