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tofu plan compares the infrastructure described by your configuration with OpenTofu’s state and its refreshed view of managed remote objects, then shows the actions OpenTofu proposes. A plan previews changes; it does not make them. Changes happen when you run tofu apply.

What OpenTofu does when you run tofu plan

Planning is a comparison-and-proposal stage. OpenTofu evaluates the configuration in the current working directory, checks the selected workspace and its state, refreshes information about managed remote objects by default, and calculates actions intended to bring those objects in line with the configuration. The OpenTofu plan command documentation describes the result as a proposed change set—not an execution.

  1. Evaluate configuration. The working directory must be initialized before plan or apply operations. The selected workspace and its state determine which managed objects are in scope.
  2. Refresh remote observations. By default, OpenTofu uses provider APIs to read managed objects and update its understanding of their current state.
  3. Compare desired and observed state. OpenTofu calculates proposed resource actions from the configuration, prior state, and refreshed observations.
  4. Show the proposal. The plan displays the actions it intends to take. If no resource-instance or root-output changes are needed, it reports that no actions are needed.
  5. Wait for a later apply. Running tofu plan alone does not alter real infrastructure.

That proposal is based on what OpenTofu observed while planning. Remote infrastructure can change afterward, so a plan is not a guarantee that the same actions will still be appropriate at apply time.

Previewing a plan versus saving one for apply

By default, tofu plan creates a speculative plan: it describes possible effects but is not intended to be applied directly. This is useful for reviewing a proposed change before deciding whether to proceed.

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To save an executable plan, use -out=FILE, then pass that file to tofu apply. OpenTofu documents this two-step approach as useful in automation. The saved plan is an opaque, sensitive artifact: it can contain the full configuration, values associated with planned changes, and plan options. Sensitive values may be present in cleartext even when terminal output redacts them. Restrict access and store the file accordingly.

Workflow What apply does Approval and review
tofu apply without a saved plan Creates a fresh plan, then applies it if approved. Requests confirmation by default.
tofu apply PLANFILE Executes the actions in the saved plan. Does not prompt for confirmation again; inspect the file with tofu show PLANFILE first.

Use the OpenTofu apply command documentation for the apply workflow and options. Ephemeral variables cannot be stored in a plan file, so you may need to supply their values again when applying it.

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A speculative preview can become stale if infrastructure changes between planning and applying. Before execution, review the final plan that will actually be applied; do not assume an earlier preview still reflects remote reality.

Choosing a planning mode or control

Normal planning aims to make remote infrastructure match configuration. Other modes and flags change what OpenTofu plans or what information it uses.

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Mode or option Purpose Key consideration
Normal mode Plans changes to reconcile remote infrastructure with configuration. This is the default planning goal.
-destroy Plans to destroy managed remote objects. Use only when removal is the intended result.
-refresh-only Plans updates to OpenTofu state and root outputs to reflect out-of-band changes, without aiming to change remote infrastructure. Useful when an external change, such as an incident-response action, should be reflected in state.
-refresh=false Skips the normal refresh of remote objects. Can reduce remote API requests, but ignores external changes and may produce an incomplete or incorrect plan.
-target=ADDRESS Limits planning to selected resource instances and their dependencies. OpenTofu recommends reserving targeting for exceptional cases, such as recovery or working around a limitation.

For a reviewed state reconciliation, use tofu apply -refresh-only. The standalone tofu refresh command is deprecated: it changes state without a review opportunity, and misconfigured provider credentials could cause objects to appear deleted in state. See the OpenTofu refresh command documentation.

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Inspecting plans in automation

OpenTofu provides a documented JSON representation of plan changes for machine-readable inspection. Use that representation when building integrations rather than depending on the internal structure of a saved plan file, which OpenTofu says is unsuitable for external tools. See the OpenTofu JSON output documentation.

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CLI behavior and available options can vary by release. Check the documentation for the OpenTofu version installed in your environment, particularly when building an automated plan-and-apply workflow.

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