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The terraform state pull command downloads the current state and outputs it to stdout.

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Synopsis

Pull current state and output to stdout.

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Usage

terraform state pull [options]
This command “pulls” the current state and outputs it to stdout. As part of this process, Terraform will upgrade the state format of the local copy to the current version. The primary use of this is for state stored remotely. This command will still work with local state but is less useful for this case.

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Options

This command has no command-specific options. It uses the backend configuration from your Terraform configuration.

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Examples

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Pull and view state

Pull the current state and view it: 
terraform state pull
Example output (JSON format): 
{
  "version": 4,
  "terraform_version": "1.6.0",
  "serial": 42,
  "lineage": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "outputs": {},
  "resources": [
    {
      "mode": "managed",
      "type": "aws_instance",
      "name": "web",
      "provider": "provider[\"registry.terraform.io/hashicorp/aws\"]",
      "instances": [
        {
          "schema_version": 1,
          "attributes": {
            "ami": "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0",
            "id": "i-1234567890abcdef0",
            "instance_type": "t2.micro"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

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Save state to a file

Pull state and save it to a local file: 
terraform state pull > backup.tfstate

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View formatted state

Pull and format state with jq: 
terraform state pull | jq .

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Extract specific information

Pull state and extract specific resource information: 
terraform state pull | jq '.resources[] | select(.type == "aws_instance")'

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Check state version

View the Terraform version used to write the state: 
terraform state pull | jq '.terraform_version'
Example output: 
"1.6.0"

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List all resource types

Extract all resource types from the state: 
terraform state pull | jq -r '.resources[].type' | sort -u
Example output: 
aws_instance
aws_security_group
aws_subnet
aws_vpc

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Get resource count

Count total resources in state: 
terraform state pull | jq '.resources | length'

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Common Use Cases

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Backup remote state

Create a local backup of your remote state file: 
terraform state pull > "backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).tfstate"

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Inspect remote state

Examine the contents of your remote state without downloading it as a file.

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State migration

Pull state from one backend as part of migrating to a different backend: 
# Pull from current backend
terraform state pull > migration.tfstate

# Reconfigure backend
terraform init -migrate-state

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Debug state issues

Inspect the raw state format to debug issues with resources or state structure.

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Scripting and automation

Use in scripts to extract information about your infrastructure: 
#!/bin/bash
# Get all EC2 instance IDs
terraform state pull | jq -r '.resources[] | 
  select(.type == "aws_instance") | 
  .instances[].attributes.id'

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Verify state format

Check the state file version and ensure it’s compatible with your Terraform version.

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Extract outputs programmatically

Get output values from state for use in other tools: 
terraform state pull | jq '.outputs'

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Important Notes

  • The output is in JSON format (Terraform state file format)
  • This is a read-only operation; it doesn’t modify the state
  • The state format may be upgraded to match your current Terraform version
  • For remote backends, this downloads the current state snapshot
  • The output includes sensitive data; be careful when redirecting to files or sharing

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