What command is used to initialize a new Terraform configuration?

The command used to initialize a new Terraform configuration is terraform init. This command is essential because it prepares your working directory for other Terraform commands. When you run terraform init, it performs several important tasks, including downloading the necessary provider plugins that your configuration depends on, setting up the backend where the state can be stored, and configuring the workspace for your Terraform project. This initialization step must be executed before applying any configuration to ensure that Terraform has all the required components ready to manage the infrastructure effectively.

Other commands like terraform apply are intended for executing Terraform configurations and applying changes to your infrastructure. Commands such as terraform start and terraform setup do not exist in the Terraform command set, which further highlights the importance of terraform init as the foundational step in starting any Terraform project.