This error occurs when Terraform detects a mismatch between what a provider planned to do during the plan phase and what it actually did during apply. This typically indicates a provider bug, race condition, or computed value inconsistency.
When you run `terraform plan`, the provider calculates what changes are needed. During `terraform apply`, the provider applies those changes and reads back the resource state. If the final state differs from the planned state, Terraform raises this error. This means the provider produced an invalid new value that does not match its own plan output. This is almost always a bug in the provider itself, though it can occasionally be caused by external factors like race conditions or the provider setting unexpected default values.
The most common fix is upgrading to a newer provider version, as many inconsistent final plan bugs are fixed regularly.
terraform {
required_providers {
aws = {
source = "hashicorp/aws"
version = "~> 5.0" # Use latest stable
}
}
}Then run:
terraform init -upgrade
terraform plan
terraform applySearch the provider's GitHub repository for this error and your specific resource type. For AWS provider, visit: https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform-provider-aws/issues
Search terms to use:
- "inconsistent final plan" + resource name (e.g., "aws_lambda_function")
- Your specific error from the logs
If you find a matching issue, check if:
- It's been fixed in a newer version (upgrade)
- A workaround is documented
- You should report the issue if it's not already filed
If the issue is with a specific computed attribute, you can ignore changes to that attribute. This tells Terraform to ignore any differences that appear after apply:
resource "aws_lambda_function" "example" {
filename = "function.zip"
function_name = "my-function"
role = aws_iam_role.example.arn
handler = "index.handler"
lifecycle {
ignore_changes = [source_code_hash]
}
}Replace source_code_hash with whatever attribute is causing the inconsistency. You can find this in the error message or logs.
Sometimes the inconsistency is transient. Try running the same apply command again:
terraform applyIf it succeeds on the second try, the infrastructure was actually created correctly despite the error. This indicates a temporary issue like a race condition.
If it fails again with the same error, proceed to the next steps.
If apply partially succeeded and the resource was created, you can import it into Terraform state:
# Remove the resource from state
terraform state rm aws_lambda_function.example
# Import it back using its AWS ID
terraform import aws_lambda_function.example my-functionThen run plan again to see if the inconsistency persists. This refreshes the state with actual values from AWS.
If you've confirmed this is a provider bug not yet fixed:
1. Collect information:
- Terraform version: terraform version
- Provider version: terraform version -json | jq .provider_selections
- Resource configuration (sanitized)
- Full error output
- Reproduction steps
2. Open a GitHub issue on the provider's repository (e.g., terraform-provider-aws)
3. Include a minimal reproducible example (MRE) that triggers the error
This helps provider maintainers prioritize and fix the issue.
As a last resort, if you're blocked, try using an older stable provider version:
required_providers {
aws = {
source = "hashicorp/aws"
version = "4.55.0" # Use known-stable version
}
}Run:
terraform init -upgrade
terraform planIf this works, file a bug report that the issue exists in the newer version. This is temporary—upgrade once the provider is fixed.
This error is almost always a provider bug, not a Terraform core issue. The error message "This is a bug in the provider" is Terraform's way of saying the provider violated its own contract by producing a plan that doesn't match the apply result.
Common affected resources by provider:
- AWS: aws_lambda_function (especially with skip_destroy), aws_ecs_task_definition (container_definitions), aws_wafv2_*, aws_autoscaling_group (tags)
- GCP: Generally fewer issues, but can occur with computed nested attributes
- Azure: Less common, usually version-specific
Root causes are typically:
- Computed attributes that have non-deterministic values
- JSON/list normalization differences (e.g., field order, null vs empty)
- Sensitive fields with complex update logic
- Provider not properly handling API defaults during read-back
The best long-term solution is always to upgrade the provider and file issues with maintainers.
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