Terraform-Associate-004 Exam Dumps - HashiCorp Terraform Associate Questions and Answers

Rationale for Correct Answer: terraform plan -refresh-only refreshes (reconciles) the state with the real infrastructure only for the purpose of the plan output. It does not persist (write) those updates to the state file. To actually update the stored state, you must run terraform apply -refresh-only (or a normal terraform apply). This matches the Terraform CLI objective: plan previews changes; apply makes changes (including writing state).

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

A (True): Incorrect because terraform plan does not write state; it only calculates and displays what would change.

Key Concept: The plan vs apply workflow and when Terraform writes state.

terraform apply can runwithout explicitly running terraform plan first.

Running terraform plan before apply isrecommendedbutnot mandatory.

If no plan file is provided, terraform applyautomatically creates and executes a planbefore applying changes.

Official Terraform Documentation Reference:

terraform apply - HashiCorp Documentation

You can install third party plugins using terraform init, as long as you specify the plugin directory in your configuration or as a command-line argument. You can also use the terraform providers mirror command to create a local mirror of providers from any source.

Rationale for Correct Answer: Marking a variable (or output) as sensitive = true primarily prevents Terraform from displaying the value in CLI output and in some UI contexts. It does not prevent the value from being stored in the state file if that value is used by resources. Terraform state must often store attribute values to track and manage infrastructure; sensitive marking is about redaction, not state omission.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

A (True): Incorrect—sensitive values can still be written to state; you must protect state storage (encryption, access control) and avoid storing secrets in state where possible.

Key Concept: Sensitive values are redacted in output, but still can exist in state.

Rationale for Correct Answer: With immutable infrastructure, you don’t modify running servers/resources in place; you replace them with new versions built from a known image/artifact. This reduces configuration drift and “snowflake” issues, making deployments and rollbacks more predictable—often resulting in less operational complexity compared with troubleshooting in-place changes.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

A: Incorrect—immutable infrastructure specifically avoids in-place upgrades.

B: Not the best answer—upgrades can be fast in some setups, but “quicker” is not guaranteed; replacing infrastructure may take time depending on provisioning and rollout strategy.

C: Incorrect—immutability doesn’t inherently mean upgrades are “automatic”; automation is a separate practice/tooling choice.

Key Concept: Immutable vs mutable infrastructure; replace instead of modify to reduce drift and simplify operations.

Rationale for Correct Answer: Locals are evaluated as expressions, and one local can reference another using local.. This supports building up derived values cleanly:

locals {

env = "prod"

app_name = "api-${local.env}"

}

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

B (False): Incorrect—Terraform explicitly supports local-to-local references.

Key Concept: Local values (locals) and expression references.

This is how Terraform chooses which version of the provider to use, when you add a new resource to an existing Terraform configuration, but do not update the version constraint in the configuration. The lock file records the exact version of each provider that was installed in your working directory, and ensures that Terraform will always use the same provider versions until you run terraform init -upgrade to update them.

Rationale for Correct Answer: Terraform logging is controlled via environment variables. TF_LOG sets the verbosity (e.g., DEBUG), and TF_LOG_PATH directs Terraform to write those logs to a specified file path. This is part of Terraform CLI troubleshooting and operational usage.

Analysis of Incorrect Options (Distractors):

B (Update the Terraform CLI configuration file): The CLI config can control some behaviors (credentials helpers, plugin cache, etc.), but log-to-file is specifically handled by TF_LOG_PATH.

C (Add a path argument to the terraform block): The terraform block configures required versions, required providers, and backends—not CLI logging output.

D (Run the terraform output command): terraform output displays output values from state; it has nothing to do with logging.

Key Concept: Terraform debugging and logging via environment variables (TF_LOG, TF_LOG_PATH).

Rationale for Correct Answer (D):

The Terraform Registry provides documentation for published modules, including:

Required inputs (variables you must supply).

Optional inputs with defaults (so you know what you can override).

Outputs (what values the module returns for use elsewhere).

Therefore, the correct answer is all of the above.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. Required inputs only: Incomplete.

B. Outputs only: Incomplete.

C. Optional inputs only: Incomplete.

D. All of the above: Correct because the Registry provides all relevant documentation.

Key Concept:

Terraform Registry modules include inputs, outputs, and usage details, enabling reusability and modular design.

Rationale for Correct Answer (D):

The terraform.lock.hcl file is automatically created and maintained by Terraform. It records the specific versions and checksums of providers used in a configuration, ensuring consistent runs across environments and machines.

Analysis of Incorrect Options:

A. There is no such file: Incorrect — the lock file exists and is crucial for dependency management.

B. Storing references to workspaces: Incorrect — workspaces are tracked in the state file, not the lock file.

C. Preventing Terraform runs: Incorrect — the lock file does not block runs; it enforces consistent provider versions.

Key Concept:

The terraform.lock.hcl file enforces provider version consistency, which is critical for reproducible and reliable Terraform deployments.