Which command would you use to test your Terraform configuration without applying it?

Using the command to test your Terraform configuration without applying it is vital for ensuring that your infrastructure code is correct and will execute as intended. The command terraform plan is specifically designed to show you a preview of the changes that will be made by your Terraform configuration. This includes any resources that will be created, destroyed, or modified, allowing you to review the proposed actions before actually deploying them.

terraform plan performs a dry run and outputs a detailed report about the actions Terraform would take based on the current state and the configuration files. This helps detect potential issues early and ensures that the configuration aligns with your expectations.

In contrast, other choices do not serve this purpose. While terraform validate checks if your configuration files are syntactically valid and can be interpreted by Terraform, it does not assess the execution plan. The terraform test command does not exist in the traditional Terraform CLI context, rather it is more commonly associated with testing frameworks or plugins. terraform assess is also not a recognized command in Terraform.

Therefore, using terraform plan is the appropriate command to conduct a thorough review of your infrastructure code without making any changes, ensuring that you are fully aware of what will occur during an actual apply action.