Terraform apply for execution - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ service_behavior

intermediate

What happens when you run terraform apply without prior terraform plan?

You have a Terraform configuration ready. You run terraform apply directly without running terraform plan first. What will Terraform do?

A Terraform will apply changes immediately without showing any plan or confirmation.

B Terraform will show the execution plan and ask for confirmation before applying changes.

C Terraform will throw an error saying you must run <code>terraform plan</code> first.

D Terraform will only validate the configuration but not apply any changes.

💡 Hint

Think about Terraform's default behavior when applying changes.

By default, terraform apply runs a plan internally, shows it to you, and asks for confirmation before making changes.

❓ Configuration

intermediate

Which command applies Terraform changes automatically without interactive approval?

You want to apply Terraform changes in an automated script without manual confirmation. Which command should you use?

A terraform apply -auto-approve

B terraform apply -no-confirm

C terraform plan -auto-approve

D terraform deploy --force

💡 Hint

Look for the official Terraform flag that skips approval.

The -auto-approve flag skips the interactive approval step during terraform apply.

❓ Architecture

advanced

What is the effect of running terraform apply with a changed backend configuration?

You modify the backend configuration in your Terraform files (e.g., change S3 bucket for state). What happens when you run terraform apply after this change?

A Terraform will ignore the backend change and use the old backend.

B Terraform will delete the old state and start fresh with the new backend.

C Terraform will fail with an error about inconsistent backend configuration.

D Terraform will migrate the state to the new backend before applying changes.

💡 Hint

Think about how Terraform handles state backend changes.

Terraform automatically migrates the state to the new backend when backend config changes are detected during terraform init or terraform apply.

❓ security

advanced

Which risk is most relevant when running terraform apply with -auto-approve in a production environment?

You run terraform apply -auto-approve in production. What is the main security or operational risk?

A Unintended destructive changes may be applied without review.

B Terraform will expose sensitive variables in logs automatically.

C The state file will be encrypted with a weak algorithm.

D Terraform will disable all resource-level access controls.

💡 Hint

Consider what skipping approval means for changes.

Using -auto-approve skips manual review, so destructive or unintended changes can happen without warning.

🧠 Conceptual

expert

What is the state of resources after a failed terraform apply due to provider API timeout?

You run terraform apply and the provider API times out during resource creation. What is the expected state of the resources and Terraform state file?

A All resources are created and state file is fully updated despite timeout.

B No resources are created and Terraform state remains unchanged.

C Some resources may be created in the cloud but Terraform state is not updated for them.

D Terraform automatically rolls back all created resources and resets state.

💡 Hint

Think about partial failures and state synchronization.

Timeouts can cause resources to be created but Terraform state not updated, leading to drift and manual reconciliation needs.