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HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate Terraform Associate (004) · Domain 4: Terraform configuration

Explicit dependencies with `depends_on`; `lifecycle` rules: `create_before_destroy`, `prevent_destroy`, `ignore_changes`, `replace_triggered_by`

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Last reviewed September 25, 2026 · Leer en español

Most dependencies are implicit, created by references. Occasionally one resource relies on another without using any of its attributes. The classic example is an instance whose application, at boot, calls a cloud API using a role; the instance must wait for the role's permission policy to be attached, but its arguments never reference the policy. depends_on states that hidden dependency explicitly.

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