Terraform Interview Guide 30 Key Questions 2025 iCert Global

Increasingly, individuals are resorting to cloud computing, generating a whole new number of employment opportunities. Cloud computing offers plenty of various forms of jobs, making it a fine choice for most to have as a career. •Beginner-level Terraform interview questions

•Intermediate-level Terraform interview questions

•Advanced-level Terraform interview questions

Terraform Interview Questions and Answers

1. What is Terraform in AWS?

Terraform is a DevOps tool in AWS. It assists in creating, updating, and configuring cloud infrastructure with code, just like AWS Cloud Formation.

2. What are the main features of Terraform?

Terraform enables you to control your cloud configuration with code. Some of the main features are:

• A console to view functions

• Ability to transform HCL code into JSON

• A configuration language that supports interpolation

• A count of modules to manage used modules

3. What is IAC (Infrastructure as Code)?

IAC allows you to create and maintain infrastructure in code rather than manually. The configuration files are written to emulate your setup and can be changed and shared safely.

4. What are the most helpful Terraform commands?

Below are significant Terraform commands:

• terrform init - Initializes Terraform in the working directory

• terrform refresh - Updates the state file

• terraform output - Displays the output of Terraform

•           terraform apply - Applies the code to create resources

•           terraform destroy - Destroys what Terraform created

•           terraform graph - Creates a graph of the configuration

•           terraform plan - Displays what Terraform will do before applying it

5. Can Terraform utilize callbacks on Azure?

Yes, Terraform can utilize Azure Event Hubs to process callbacks. Azure Cloud Shell has Terraform pre-installed.

6. What is Terraform init?

terraform init is the initial command you need to execute. It initializes Terraform and gets it ready to use your files. You can execute this command repeatedly if necessary.

7. What is Terraform D?

Terraform D is a plugin utilized on various systems, such as Windows. Terraform looks for these plugins during execution.

8. Is history the same when using the TFS API?

Yes, the history in the API is identical to the UI, since the UI is an abstraction on top of the API.

9. Why is Terraform valuable to DevOps?

Terraform has a straightforward programming language known as HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language). It makes it simple for DevOps teams to define and handle cloud infrastructure across platforms.

Intermediate Terraform Interview Questions

10. What is a null resource in Terraform?

A null resource is similar to other Terraform resources but does not do anything. The triggers option allows you to monitor changes and replace resources as necessary.

11. What is Terraform Cloud?

Terraform Cloud makes it easy for teams to collaborate with Terraform. It provides:

• Shared state and secret management

•Security policies for infrastructure

•A private registry to hold modules

12. What is Oracle Cloud Infrastructure?

Oracle Cloud is an Oracle service that delivers storage, servers, apps, and networks via its data centers across the world.

13. What is a Terraform backend?

A backend assists Terraform in:

1. Defining where Terraform operates

2. Storing the state file to keep track of all resources

14. Which version control systems does Terraform support?

Apart from GitHub, Terraform supports:

•           GitLab EE & CE

•           Bitbucket Cloud

•           Azure DevOps Services

15. Who are Terraform's major competitors?

Alternative products to Terraform are:

•           Azure Management Tools

•           Morpheus

•           CloudHealth

•           Turbonomic

•           CloudBolt

Additional Terraform Interview Questions

16. What is Terraform CLI and some commands?

Terraform CLI (Command-Line Interface) is used for managing infrastructure. Some of the fundamental commands are:

•           terraform init - Initialises the folder

•           terraform destroy - Deletes resources

•           terraform validate - Validates whether the configuration is proper

•           terraform apply - Creates or updates infrastructure

•           terraform plan - Shows preview before applying

17. What are modules in Terraform?

In Terraform, a module is similar to a box that contains a lot of resources that cooperate with each other. The root module contains all the resources in.tf files, and it is required for all Terraform configurations.

18. What is a Private Module Registry?

Private Module Registry is an optional feature within Terraform Cloud that enables collaboration across teams sharing Terraform modules across an organization. It even permits defining rules, referred to as "sentinel policies," for governing team members' utilization of these modules.

19. Can Terraform be utilized on on-premises infrastructure?

Yes, Terraform is applicable to on-premise (on-prem) infrastructure. There are numerous providers out there, and we can use the one best suited for us. All it needs is an API.

20. Does Terraform support multi-provider usage?

Yes, Terraform supports using multiple providers. This also means on-prem services such as OpenStack and VMware. Terraform can be used to manage Software-Defined Networking (SDN) too.

21. How do we resolve the duplicate resource error using terraform apply?

We could attempt the following solutions:

•Delete the resources from the cloud provider (via the API) and then recreate them using Terraform.

•Delete the resources from Terraform code so that Terraform no longer manages them.

•Use the terraform import command to import the resource into Terraform and delete the portion of the code that attempts to create it again.

22. Which version control systems are supported by Terraform?

Terraform supports the following version control systems:

•         Azure DevOps Services

•           Azure DevOps Server

•           Bitbucket Server

•           Bitbucket Cloud

•           GitLab EE and CE

•           GitLab.com

•           GitHub Enterprise

•           GitHub.com (OAuth)

•           GitHub.com

23. What built-in provisioners are available in Terraform?

Here are some built-in provisioners in Terraform:

•           Salt-masterless Provisioner

•           Remote-exec Provisioner

•           Puppet Provisioner

•           Local-exec Provisioner

•           Habitat Provisioner

•           File Provisioner

•           Chef Provisioner

25. What are some important uses of Terraform?

Terraform can be used in many ways because it helps manage different resources. Some key uses are:

•           Creating software demos

•           Scheduling resources

•           Deploying apps on multiple cloud platforms

•           Setting up temporary environments

•           Developing multi-layer applications

•           Creating self-service clusters

•          Creating Heroku apps

26. What are the principal components of Terraform's architecture?

There are a number of key components in Terraform that enable it to function:

• Sub-graphs – Small segments of the root graph

• Expression Evaluation – Interpreting and resolving expressions

• Vertex Evaluation – Verifying various elements of the system

• Graph Walk – Walking through the resource structure step-by-step

• Graph Builder – Building the resource structure

• State Manager – Managing changes

•Configuration Loader – Reading and loading setup files

• CLI (Command Line Interface) – The utility used to execute Terraform commands

• Backend – The mechanism that stores Terraform's state

27. What is a Resource Graph in Terraform?

Resource graph is an image illustrating all of Terraform's resources. It serves to organize and update multiple resources simultaneously. Terraform dictates the way the graph should be structured, draws an action plan, and upgrades the system. Everything becomes simpler, and the system is able to identify faults conveniently.

28. Provide some examples of Sentinel policies?

Sentinel policies ensure controlling and Terraform securing use. Some are as follows:

• Ensuring each resource has an explicit owner

• Restricting what roles a cloud provider can be used for

• Maintaining a history of changes in Terraform Cloud

• Preventing certain resources, providers, or data sources

• Enforcing certain tags on resources

• Regulating module usage in the Private Module Registry

29. What are the various Sentinel enforcement levels?

Sentinel offers three levels of enforcement:

•Advisory – The rule is logged but doesn't prevent anything. An error message is printed if the rule is violated.

•Soft Mandatory – The rule should be obeyed unless an administrator permits an exception.

•Hard Mandatory – The rule is always required to be obeyed. It cannot be bypassed unless it's deleted from Terraform. This is the default.

30. How can we safely store sensitive data in Terraform?

Terraform needs login details (credentials) to connect with cloud providers. However, saving these details as plain text on a computer is unsafe because hackers could access them. Many API and security keys get leaked on platforms like GitHub every day. To keep data safe, sensitive details like passwords, TLS certificates, and SSH keys should be stored in encrypted storage instead of directly in Terraform code.

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Conclusion

Terraform is an amazing tool, but mastering it requires practice and time. Don't just memorize answers, keep experimenting and creating projects. This will give you a deeper understanding of Terraform and serve you well in interviews!

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