What command is used to evaluate the changes before applying them in Terraform?

The command that evaluates the changes before applying them in Terraform is the terraform plan. When you run this command, Terraform examines the current state of the infrastructure and compares it with the configurations defined in your Terraform files. This comparison results in an execution plan that outlines what actions Terraform will take to achieve the desired state specified in your configuration.

The plan provides detailed insights, such as which resources will be created, modified, or destroyed, allowing you to review the impending changes beforehand. This review step is crucial for preventing unintended alterations to your infrastructure, ensuring that you can make informed decisions about proceeding.

Other commands serve different purposes: terraform validate checks the syntax and structure of your Terraform configurations for correctness but does not evaluate the changes against the current infrastructure state. terraform apply executes the changes to the infrastructure as per the provided plan but does not offer an intermediate step to review those changes first. Lastly, terraform refresh updates the state file with the current status of existing infrastructure but does not generate a plan or evaluate potential changes.