Default workspace in Terraform - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

When you use Terraform to manage infrastructure, it organizes your work into workspaces. The default workspace is the first and main workspace where your infrastructure state is stored. It helps keep track of what resources Terraform manages.

When you start managing infrastructure with Terraform and have not created any additional workspaces.

When you want to keep your infrastructure state simple and do not need multiple environments like dev or prod.

When you want to run Terraform commands without specifying a workspace explicitly.

When you want to test Terraform configurations quickly without workspace switching.

When you want to understand how Terraform stores state by default.

Commands

This command shows the current workspace you are working in. By default, it should show 'default'.

Terminal

terraform workspace show

Expected Output

default

This command lists all the workspaces available in your Terraform setup. Initially, only the 'default' workspace exists.

Terminal

terraform workspace list

Expected Output

* default

This command initializes the Terraform working directory. It prepares Terraform to manage infrastructure and creates the default workspace if it does not exist.

Terminal

terraform init

Expected Output

Initializing the backend...



Initializing provider plugins...

- Finding latest version of hashicorp/aws...

- Installing hashicorp/aws v4.0.0...

- Installed hashicorp/aws v4.0.0 (signed by HashiCorp)



Terraform has been successfully initialized!



You may now begin working with Terraform. Try running "terraform plan" to see

any changes that are required for your infrastructure. All Terraform commands

should now work.

This command applies the Terraform configuration to create or update infrastructure in the current workspace, which is 'default' unless changed.

Terminal

terraform apply -auto-approve

Expected Output

aws_instance.example: Creating...

aws_instance.example: Still creating... [10s elapsed]

aws_instance.example: Creation complete after 15s [id=i-1234567890abcdef0]



Apply complete! Resources: 1 added, 0 changed, 0 destroyed.

→

-auto-approve - Automatically approve the apply without prompting for confirmation

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: the default workspace is where Terraform stores your infrastructure state unless you create and switch to other workspaces.

Common Mistakes

Trying to create resources without running 'terraform init' first

Terraform needs initialization to set up the backend and plugins; without it, commands fail.

Always run 'terraform init' before applying or planning infrastructure.

Assuming multiple workspaces exist by default

Only the 'default' workspace exists initially; others must be created explicitly.

Use 'terraform workspace new <name>' to create additional workspaces.

Not checking the current workspace before applying changes

Applying in the wrong workspace can cause changes in unintended environments.

Use 'terraform workspace show' to confirm your workspace before running 'terraform apply'.

Summary

The 'default' workspace is the initial workspace Terraform uses to store state.

'terraform workspace show' and 'terraform workspace list' help you see your current and available workspaces.

'terraform init' prepares your directory and creates the default workspace if needed.