A Terraform plan is a preview of the changes Terraform will make to reach the state described in your configuration. Running terraform plan compares the configuration with the state file and real infrastructure, then lists every resource to be created, updated, replaced or destroyed. Nothing changes until you run terraform apply.
The plan is Terraform’s dry run, and the most important review point in the workflow. A single changed argument can force a resource to be destroyed and recreated, and the plan is where that becomes visible.
Save a plan with terraform plan -out=tfplan, then convert it to JSON with terraform show -json tfplan. Policy tools check that JSON, and terraform apply tfplan applies exactly what was reviewed.
Steampunk Spotter verifies Terraform plans before execution. It flags provider breaking changes and policy violations in CI/CD, before the plan reaches the execution platform for apply.
A plan reads current state and calls provider APIs to refresh data, but it doesn’t create, change or delete anything.
