True or False: Terraform automatically reconciles manually destroyed resources on the next plan?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It depends on the resource
• D. Only when using Terraform Cloud

Answer: (B)

Drift detection and reconciliation are central to how Terraform keeps your infrastructure in sync. Terraform compares what you’ve declared in configuration (the desired state) with what’s recorded in the state file (the current state). If you manually destroy a resource, it still exists in the state file, so the next plan detects that the real world no longer matches the desired state. The plan will show that Terraform would recreate that resource to restore alignment, but this is only a preview. No actual changes happen automatically during a plan; you must run apply (and confirm) to enact the recreation. So the statement is false: reconciliation does not occur automatically on the next plan without your explicit apply action.