What is the default backend when no remote backend is configured in Terraform?

What is the default backend when no remote backend is configured in Terraform?

• A. Terraform Cloud
• B. Consul
• C. Remote
• D. Local

Answer: (D)

The default backend is the local backend, which stores state on your local machine. If you don’t configure any remote backend, Terraform writes the state to a file on disk (typically terraform.tfstate, with terraform.tfstate.backup as a fallback). This means there’s no remote storage or locking by default, and state is tied to the machine and directory you’re working in. If you later want shared state or locking, you’d configure a remote backend (like Terraform Cloud or another remote option) and run terraform init to switch to it.

The default backend is the local backend, which stores state on your local machine. If you don’t configure any remote backend, Terraform writes the state to a file on disk (typically terraform.tfstate, with terraform.tfstate.backup as a fallback). This means there’s no remote storage or locking by default, and state is tied to the machine and directory you’re working in. If you later want shared state or locking, you’d configure a remote backend (like Terraform Cloud or another remote option) and run terraform init to switch to it.