Which provider authentication method prevents credentials from being stored in the state file?

The correct answer is A. Using environment variables. When using environment variables to provide authentication credentials, Terraform does not store these credentials in the state file. This is a secure method of passing sensitive information to Terraform because the credentials are not directly managed by Terraform itself, reduci

Submitted by rohit_dlh· Apr 18, 2026Understand Terraform Providers

Question

Which provider authentication method prevents credentials from being stored in the state file?

Options

AUsing environment variables
BSpecifying the login credentials in the provider block
CSetting credentials as Terraform variables
DNone of the above

How the community answered

(64 responses)

A
91% (58)
B
5% (3)
C
2% (1)
D
3% (2)

Explanation

When using environment variables to provide authentication credentials, Terraform does not store these credentials in the state file. This is a secure method of passing sensitive information to Terraform because the credentials are not directly managed by Terraform itself, reducing the risk of exposing them inadvertently.

Topics

#Provider authentication#Security best practices#State file security#Environment variables

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