Which action brings existing external resources under Terraform management by creating an entry in the state file?

Which action brings existing external resources under Terraform management by creating an entry in the state file?

• A. Destroying the resource
• B. Importing the existing resource
• C. Refreshing the state
• D. Initializing the backend

Answer: (B)

Bringing an existing external resource under Terraform management means adding it to Terraform's state so Terraform can track and manage it alongside resources it creates. The import operation creates a state entry that links the resource described in your configuration to the real resource instance, using the provider’s identifying ID. This does not create the resource itself; it only tells Terraform, “here’s an existing resource that you should now manage.” After importing, plans and applies can update or delete the resource according to the config. Other actions don’t accomplish this: destroying removes a resource; refreshing only updates the state to match reality; initializing the backend sets up where state is stored, not what resources Terraform manages.

Bringing an existing external resource under Terraform management means adding it to Terraform's state so Terraform can track and manage it alongside resources it creates. The import operation creates a state entry that links the resource described in your configuration to the real resource instance, using the provider’s identifying ID. This does not create the resource itself; it only tells Terraform, “here’s an existing resource that you should now manage.” After importing, plans and applies can update or delete the resource according to the config. Other actions don’t accomplish this: destroying removes a resource; refreshing only updates the state to match reality; initializing the backend sets up where state is stored, not what resources Terraform manages.