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terraform-plan Target

Creates an execution plan showing what Terraform will do when you apply your configuration.

Usage​

nx run my-project:terraform-plan

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

Description​

The terraform-plan target creates an execution plan that shows:

  • Resources that will be created
  • Resources that will be modified
  • Resources that will be destroyed
  • Resource attribute changes

Dependencies​

  • terraform-init: Must run before terraform-plan

Configurations​

Supports environment-specific configurations via args array. Configure in your project.json:

{
  "targets": {
    "terraform-plan": {
      "options": {
        "args": ["-var-file=tfvars/dev.tfvars"]
      },
      "configurations": {
        "prod": {
          "args": ["-var-file=tfvars/prod.tfvars"]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Paths in -var-file are relative to the project root (where the command runs). Then use configurations:

# Uses tfvars/dev.tfvars
nx run my-project:terraform-plan

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

Behavior​

Plan Output​

The plan shows:

  • + (green): Resources to be created
  • ~ (yellow): Resources to be modified
  • - (red): Resources to be destroyed
  • - (no change): Resources that won't change

Plan File​

The target saves the plan to tfplan by default. Run terraform-apply to apply it (no extra arguments needed).

Caching​

  • Backend Projects: ✅ Cached (when inputs unchanged)
  • Stateful Projects: ❌ Not cached (state-dependent, shows infrastructure changes)
  • Module Projects: N/A (stub operation)

Examples​

Basic Plan​

nx run my-infra:terraform-plan

Plan with Configuration​

nx run my-infra:terraform-plan --configuration=dev

Plan for Specific Resource​

nx run my-infra:terraform-plan -- -target=aws_instance.example

Common Use Cases​

  • Preview changes: See what will change before applying
  • CI/CD validation: Check plans in CI before applying
  • Review changes: Review infrastructure changes with team
  • Save plans: Save plans for later application
  • terraform-init: Must run before terraform-plan
  • terraform-apply: Uses the plan to apply changes

Notes​

  • AWS S3 backend projects: This target runs scripts/sync_backend_state.sh (state sync then plan) instead of terraform plan directly. See the terraform-backend generator for details.
  • Plans are state-dependent and cannot be cached for stateful projects
  • Plans can be saved and applied later
  • Plans show detailed change information
  • Use -refresh=false to skip state refresh if needed