Which command should you use to tell Terraform to no longer manage the resource?

• A. terraform state rm aws_instance.ubuntu[1]
• B. terraform apply rm aws_instance.ubuntu[1]
• C. terraform plan rm aws_instance.ubuntu[1]
• D. terraform delete aws_instance.ubuntu[1]

Answer: (A)

Detaching a resource from Terraform’s management is done by removing it from the state. The correct approach is to run terraform state rm aws_instance.ubuntu[1]. This command deletes the resource’s entry from Terraform’s state file, so Terraform will no longer track or manage that resource in future operations.

It’s important to note that this does not delete the actual resource in the cloud provider—it simply forgets about it. If the resource still exists and the configuration still defines it, a subsequent apply could recreate it because Terraform no longer has a record of its prior existence.

If your goal is to also remove the resource from the cloud, you’d separately delete it (for example, with terraform destroy targeting that resource) or remove it from the configuration and then apply after removing from state.