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terraform workspace show

The terraform workspace show command displays the name of the current workspace.

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Usage

terraform [global options] workspace show

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Description

This command outputs the name of the currently selected workspace to standard output. It’s useful for scripting and automation where you need to determine which workspace is active.

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Example Output

terraform workspace show
Output: 
production

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Options

This command accepts no command-specific options. Only global options are available.

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Usage in Scripts

The workspace show command is particularly useful in shell scripts and CI/CD pipelines: 
#!/bin/bash

# Get the current workspace
CURRENT_WORKSPACE=$(terraform workspace show)

if [ "$CURRENT_WORKSPACE" = "production" ]; then
  echo "Running in production workspace"
  # Apply additional safety checks
else
  echo "Running in $CURRENT_WORKSPACE workspace"
fi

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Workspace Override Behavior

The command reflects the actual workspace being used, including when overridden by the TF_WORKSPACE environment variable: 
export TF_WORKSPACE=staging
terraform workspace show
Output: 
staging

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Exit Codes

  • 0 - Success
  • 1 - Error (e.g., failed to determine workspace)

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Use Cases

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Conditional Deployment

Use workspace information to control deployment behavior: 
WORKSPACE=$(terraform workspace show)

if [ "$WORKSPACE" = "production" ]; then
  terraform apply -var="instance_count=10"
else
  terraform apply -var="instance_count=2"
fi

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Environment Validation

Validate that you’re in the correct workspace before applying changes: 
EXPECTED_WORKSPACE="production"
CURRENT_WORKSPACE=$(terraform workspace show)

if [ "$CURRENT_WORKSPACE" != "$EXPECTED_WORKSPACE" ]; then
  echo "Error: Expected workspace '$EXPECTED_WORKSPACE' but currently in '$CURRENT_WORKSPACE'"
  exit 1
fi

terraform apply

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CI/CD Integration

Determine workspace from branch name and verify: 
# In CI/CD pipeline
BRANCH_NAME=$(git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD)

case $BRANCH_NAME in
  main)
    EXPECTED_WORKSPACE="production"
    ;;
  develop)
    EXPECTED_WORKSPACE="development"
    ;;
  *)
    EXPECTED_WORKSPACE="feature"
    ;;
esac

terraform workspace select $EXPECTED_WORKSPACE

# Verify workspace selection
if [ "$(terraform workspace show)" != "$EXPECTED_WORKSPACE" ]; then
  echo "Failed to select correct workspace"
  exit 1
fi

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