# atmos terraform console

Use this command to open an interactive Terraform console for an Atmos component in a stack, with all component variables and configuration pre-loaded.

## Usage

Execute the `terraform console` command like this:

```shell
atmos terraform console <component> -s <stack> [options]
```

This command opens an interactive console for experimenting with Terraform expressions. You can use it to test interpolations, explore data from providers, and debug complex expressions.

:::info Atmos Behavior
Atmos provides standard setup for this command including automatic `terraform init`, workspace selection, and variable file generation. The console itself operates as native Terraform.
:::

## Examples

### Open Console

```shell
# Open an interactive console
atmos terraform console vpc -s dev
```

### Example Console Usage

```hcl
# Once in the console, you can evaluate expressions:
> var.instance_type
"t3.micro"

> length(var.availability_zones)
3

> [for az in var.availability_zones : upper(az)]
["US-EAST-1A", "US-EAST-1B", "US-EAST-1C"]

> exit
```

## Arguments

- **`component` (required)**

  Atmos component name.

## Flags

- **`--stack` / `-s` (required)**

  Atmos stack name where the component is defined.
- **`--skip-init` (optional)**

  Skip running `terraform init` before executing the command.
  ```shell
  atmos terraform console vpc -s dev --skip-init
  ```
- **`--dry-run` (optional)**

  Show what would be executed without actually running the command.
  ```shell
  atmos terraform console vpc -s dev --dry-run
  ```

## Native Terraform Flags

This command supports native `terraform console` flags such as `-state` to specify state file path, `-var` to set variables, `-var-file` to specify variable files.

## Related Commands

- [`atmos terraform plan`](/cli/commands/terraform/plan) - Generate execution plan
- [`atmos terraform apply`](/cli/commands/terraform/apply) - Apply changes
- [`atmos terraform init`](/cli/commands/terraform/init) - Initialize working directory