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Merge pull request #30223 from hashicorp/replace-flag-updates
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Update taint command page to make alternative clearer
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laurapacilio committed Dec 21, 2021
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Expand Up @@ -9,36 +9,26 @@ description: |-

The `terraform taint` command informs Terraform that a particular object has
become degraded or damaged. Terraform represents this by marking the
object as "tainted" in the Terraform state, in which case Terraform will
object as "tainted" in the Terraform state, and Terraform will
propose to replace it in the next plan you create.

~> _Warning:_ This command is deprecated, because there are better alternatives
available in Terraform v0.15.2 and later. See below for more details.
~> **Warning:** This command is deprecated. For Terraform v0.15.2 and later, we recommend using the `-replace` option with `terraform apply` instead (details below).

If your intent is to force replacement of a particular object even though
there are no configuration changes that would require it, we recommend instead
to use the `-replace` option with [`terraform apply`](/cli/commands/apply).
For example:
## Recommended Alternative

For Terraform v0.15.2 and later, we recommend using the [`-replace` option](/cli/commands/plan#replace-address) with `terraform apply` to force Terraform to replace an object even though there are no configuration changes that would require it.

```
terraform apply -replace="aws_instance.example[0]"
$ terraform apply -replace="aws_instance.example[0]"
```

Creating a plan with the "replace" option is superior to using `terraform taint`
because it will allow you to see the full effect of that change before you take
any externally-visible action. When you use `terraform taint` to get a similar
effect, you risk someone else on your team creating a new plan against your
tainted object before you've had a chance to review the consequences of that
change yourself.

The `-replace=...` option to `terraform apply` is only available from
Terraform v0.15.2 onwards, so if you are using an earlier version you will need
to use `terraform taint` to force object replacement, while considering the
caveats described above.
We recommend the `-replace` option because the change will be reflected in the Terraform plan, letting you understand how it will affect your infrastructure before you take any externally-visible action. When you use `terraform taint`, other users could create a new plan against your tainted object before you can review the effects.

## Usage

Usage: `terraform taint [options] address`
```
$ terraform taint [options] <address>
```

The `address` argument is the address of the resource to mark as tainted.
The address is in
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