# atmos terraform force-unlock

Use this command to manually unlock the Terraform state for an Atmos component in a stack when automatic unlocking fails.

## Usage

Execute the `terraform force-unlock` command like this:

```shell
atmos terraform force-unlock <component> <lock-id> -s <stack> [options]
```

This command manually unlocks the state for the defined configuration. This is useful when automatic unlocking fails due to a process crash or network issue. Use with caution as it can cause state corruption if another process is actually using the state.

:::info Atmos Behavior
Atmos provides standard setup for this command including automatic `terraform init` and workspace selection. The unlock operation itself is handled by native Terraform.
:::

## Examples

### Force Unlock State

```shell
# Unlock using a specific lock ID
atmos terraform force-unlock vpc -s dev abc123-lock-id
```

### Example Lock Error and Resolution

```shell
# When you see an error like:
# Error: Error acquiring the state lock
# Lock Info:
#   ID:        abc123-xyz789
#   Path:      s3://bucket/terraform.tfstate
#   Operation: OperationTypePlan
#   Who:       user@machine
#   Version:   1.0.0
#   Created:   2024-01-15 10:00:00 +0000 UTC

# Force unlock with the lock ID:
atmos terraform force-unlock vpc -s dev abc123-xyz789
```

## Arguments

- **`component` (required)**

  Atmos component name.
- **`lock-id` (required)**

  The Terraform state lock ID to force unlock. This ID is displayed in the error message when a lock conflict occurs. Example format: `abc123-xyz789-def456`.

## 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 force-unlock vpc -s dev --skip-init
  ```
- **`--dry-run` (optional)**

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

## Native Terraform Flags

The lock ID is a required positional argument. To pass native Terraform flags like `-force` to skip confirmation, use a double-dash separator:

```shell
atmos terraform force-unlock vpc abc123-lock-id -s dev -- -force
```

## 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