When you initialize Terraform, where does it cache modules from the public Terraform Module Registry?

When you initialize Terraform, where does it cache modules from the public Terraform Module Registry?

• A. On disk in the /tmp directory
• B. In memory
• C. On disk in the .terraform sub-directory
• D. They are not cached

Answer: (C)

When you run terraform init, Terraform downloads public registry modules to your local workspace and stores them on disk in a hidden .terraform directory inside your project. Specifically, the modules end up under .terraform/modules so Terraform can reuse them on subsequent runs without re-downloading. This cached copy is tied to the project directory, and if you delete the .terraform folder, Terraform will fetch the modules again on the next init. They aren’t kept in memory, nor do they live in /tmp, and they are indeed cached for reuse.

When you run terraform init, Terraform downloads public registry modules to your local workspace and stores them on disk in a hidden .terraform directory inside your project. Specifically, the modules end up under .terraform/modules so Terraform can reuse them on subsequent runs without re-downloading. This cached copy is tied to the project directory, and if you delete the .terraform folder, Terraform will fetch the modules again on the next init. They aren’t kept in memory, nor do they live in /tmp, and they are indeed cached for reuse.