| --- |
| page_title: terraform refresh command reference |
| description: |- |
| The `terraform refresh` command reads the current settings from all managed |
| remote objects and updates the Terraform state to match. |
| --- |
| |
| # `terraform refresh` command |
| |
| The `terraform refresh` command reads the current settings from all managed |
| remote objects and updates the Terraform state to match. This command is deprecated. Instead, add the `-refresh-only` flag to [`terraform apply`](/terraform/cli/commands/apply) and [`terraform plan`](/terraform/cli/commands/plan) commands. |
| |
| This does not modify your real remote objects, but it modifies the |
| [Terraform state](/terraform/language/state). |
| |
| > **Hands-on:** Try the [Use Refresh-Only Mode to Sync Terraform State](/terraform/tutorials/state/refresh) tutorial. |
| |
| ## Usage |
| |
| Usage: `terraform refresh [options]` |
| |
| This command is effectively an alias for the following command: |
| |
| ``` |
| terraform apply -refresh-only -auto-approve |
| ``` |
| |
| Consequently, it supports all of the same options as |
| [`terraform apply`](/terraform/cli/commands/apply) except that it does not accept a saved |
| plan file, it doesn't allow selecting a planning mode other than "refresh only", |
| and `-auto-approve` is always enabled. |
| |
| Automatically applying the effect of a refresh is risky. If you have |
| misconfigured credentials for one or more providers, Terraform may |
| be misled into thinking that all of the managed objects have been deleted, |
| causing it to remove all of the tracked objects without any confirmation prompt. |
| |
| Instead, we recommend using the following command in order to get the same |
| effect but with the opportunity to review the changes that Terraform has |
| detected before committing them to the state: |
| |
| ``` |
| terraform apply -refresh-only |
| ``` |
| |
| This alternative command will present an interactive prompt for you to confirm |
| the detected changes. |
| |
| The `-refresh-only` option for `terraform plan` and `terraform apply` was |
| introduced in Terraform v0.15.4. For prior versions you must use |
| `terraform refresh` directly if you need this behavior, while taking into |
| account the warnings above. Wherever possible, avoid using `terraform refresh` |
| explicitly and instead rely on Terraform's behavior of automatically refreshing |
| existing objects as part of creating a normal plan. |
