In contrast to Terraform Open Source, when working with Terraform Enterprise and Cloud Workspaces, conceptually you could think about them as completely separate working directories.

The statement suggests that workspaces in Terraform Enterprise/Cloud are *not* conceptually separate working directories in the same way as local filesystem directories. This highlights the difference in how isolation is managed between local open source (physical directories) and platform-managed environments (abstract workspaces).

Terraform Cloud and Enterprise workspaces are isolated environments that manage their own state and variables, effectively providing the same isolation as separate working directories for a given configuration. However, they are an abstraction within the platform, not literal separate directories on a local filesystem like in Terraform Open Source, which is the distinction the 'in contrast' clause points to. Thus, stating you can conceptually think of them as 'completely separate working directories' might be considered inaccurate in a literal sense due to the abstract nature of a workspace versus a physical directory.