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terraform-apply Target

Applies the Terraform configuration to create, modify, or destroy infrastructure resources.

Usage​

nx run my-project:terraform-apply

# With configuration
nx run my-project:terraform-apply --configuration=dev

# With saved plan
nx run my-project:terraform-apply -- plan.tfplan

Description​

The terraform-apply target applies your Terraform configuration to:

  • Create new infrastructure resources
  • Modify existing resources
  • Destroy resources marked for removal

Dependencies​

  • terraform-plan: Must run before terraform-apply (unless using saved plan)

Configurations​

Supports environment-specific configurations via tfvars files:

# Uses tfvars/dev.tfvars
nx run my-project:terraform-apply --configuration=dev

# Uses tfvars/prod.tfvars
nx run my-project:terraform-apply --configuration=prod

Behavior​

Interactive Confirmation​

By default, Terraform prompts for confirmation before applying:

Do you want to perform these actions?
  Terraform will perform the actions described above.
  Only 'yes' will be accepted to approve.

  Enter a value: yes

The target runs with -auto-approve by default (no confirmation prompt). Use --configuration=<env> for environment-specific var files when you ran plan with the same configuration.

Apply Saved Plan​

Apply a previously saved plan:

nx run my-project:terraform-apply -- plan.tfplan

Caching​

  • Backend Projects: ✅ Cached (when inputs unchanged)
  • Stateful Projects: ❌ Not cached (state-dependent, modifies infrastructure)
  • Module Projects: N/A (modules don't use apply)

Examples​

Basic Apply​

# Plan first
nx run my-infra:terraform-plan

# Then apply
nx run my-infra:terraform-apply

Apply with Configuration​

nx run my-infra:terraform-apply --configuration=prod

Apply Saved Plan​

The default terraform-plan target writes the plan to tfplan. Apply it with:

nx run my-infra:terraform-plan
nx run my-infra:terraform-apply

To use a custom plan file:

nx run my-infra:terraform-apply -- custom.tfplan

Common Use Cases​

  • Deploy infrastructure: Create or update infrastructure
  • CI/CD pipelines: Automated infrastructure deployment
  • Environment provisioning: Set up dev, staging, prod environments
  • Infrastructure updates: Apply configuration changes
  • terraform-plan: Should run before terraform-apply
  • terraform-destroy: Destroys infrastructure (opposite operation)

Notes​

  • Always review the plan before applying
  • The target uses -auto-approve by default; gate production applies in CI with approval steps
  • Apply operations modify real infrastructure
  • State is updated after successful apply
  • Failed applies may leave infrastructure in partial state