How to fix Error: The given plan file was created with a different set of external dependency selections in Terraform

Ensure the .terraform.lock.hcl file matches what was used when the plan was created. If you're in a CI/CD environment, check that your artifact or cache includes the correct lock file:

ls -la .terraform.lock.hcl
cat .terraform.lock.hcl | head -20

If the lock file is missing or outdated, this is likely the cause.

Initialize your Terraform working directory with the current configuration and lock file:

terraform init

This command downloads and installs the provider versions specified in your lock file and ensures all dependencies are synchronized. If the lock file has changed, it will update it to match your configuration.

After running terraform init, create a new plan file in the current environment:

terraform plan -out=plan.tfplan

This new plan will be created with the current dependency selections and can be safely applied in this environment. Discard the old plan file that had mismatched dependencies.

If you're working in a multi-platform environment (local development on macOS but CI/CD on Linux), explicitly lock providers for all target platforms:

terraform providers lock -platform=linux_amd64 -platform=darwin_amd64 -platform=darwin_arm64

This generates checksums for each platform and adds them to the lock file, ensuring consistency across environments.

Once you've regenerated the plan in the same environment, apply it:

terraform apply plan.tfplan

This applies the infrastructure changes with dependencies that match your current configuration.