An administrator wants to generate a plan that only updates the state with current real-world resource settings, without proposing any configuration changes. Which command should they use?

`terraform plan -target=aws_instance.web`

`terraform plan -var-file=prod.tfvars`

`terraform plan -out=plan.tfplan`

Why is `terraform plan` valuable in an automated pipeline before running `terraform apply`?

It deletes the state file to ensure a clean apply

It allows the pipeline to skip the apply step if no changes are needed

It automatically fixes any configuration errors

It speeds up the apply step by pre-creating resources

A company uses Terraform in CI/CD. They want to require manual approval for any plan that includes destructive actions, but automatically apply plans that only add or change resources. They also need to ensure that the applied changes match the reviewed plan. What is the best approach?

Run `terraform apply` directly, as it will prompt for confirmation if there are destructive changes.

Run `terraform plan -refresh-only` and then `terraform apply` if there are changes.

Run `terraform plan -out=plan.tfplan`, parse the plan output for destructive symbols, and if none are found, apply the saved plan; otherwise, require manual approval.

Run `terraform plan`, and if the exit code is 2, automatically run `terraform apply`.

A team uses a saved plan file in CI/CD. They run `terraform apply plan.tfplan` but the apply fails because the state has changed since the plan was created. What is the most likely reason for this failure?

The plan file was created with a different Terraform version.

The plan file was corrupted during transfer.

The user does not have permission to apply the plan.

Terraform detects that the saved plan is no longer valid due to state changes.

HashiCorp Certified:Terraform Associate

Domain 3Objective 4

3d Generate and Review an Execution Plan for Terraform TERRAFORM-ASSOCIATE-004 Practice Questions (Page 3)

Part of the Core Terraform workflow domain, which makes up ~20% of our current practice bank. HashiCorp does not publish an official question count, but from its 60-minute exam (~25–40 total, ~5–8 in this domain), expect 1–1 from this objective — we provide 28 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

28questions here

6free pages

10concepts

Questions 11–15

11application · medium
An administrator wants to generate a plan that only updates the state with current real-world resource settings, without proposing any configuration changes. Which command should they use?
Select an answer first
12foundation · easy
Why is `terraform plan` valuable in an automated pipeline before running `terraform apply`?
Select an answer first
13expert · hard
A company uses Terraform in CI/CD. They want to require manual approval for any plan that includes destructive actions, but automatically apply plans that only add or change resources. They also need to ensure that the applied changes match the reviewed plan. What is the best approach?
Select an answer first
14application · medium
A team uses a saved plan file in CI/CD. They run `terraform apply plan.tfplan` but the apply fails because the state has changed since the plan was created. What is the most likely reason for this failure?
Select an answer first
15foundation · easy
Which option is used with `terraform plan` to set a variable value directly on the command line?
Select an answer first

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