When using a remote backend or Terraform Cloud integration, where is resource state stored?

• A. On the disk
• B. In memory
• C. In an environment variable
• D. In the remote backend or Terraform Cloud

Answer: (D)

When you use a remote backend or Terraform Cloud, the resource state is stored remotely in that backend rather than on your local disk. The state file lives in the remote service (for example, a Terraform Cloud workspace or a configured remote backend like S3 with locking). Terraform reads the state from that remote location during plans and applies, and then updates it back to the same remote place. This setup provides a single source of truth, enables state locking to prevent concurrent changes, and supports collaboration across teams. Your local machine just runs the operations and holds configuration temporarily; the persistent state lives in the remote backend.