8.1. Running Infrastructure in HCP Terraform

💡 First Principle: HCP Terraform is the same Terraform workflow executed on managed infrastructure instead of your laptop — so plans and applies become shared, auditable, consistently-executed events rather than whatever each engineer runs locally.

Why care: The exam expects you to know that HCP Terraform provides remote operations, managed state, and several connection workflows. Understanding it as "remote execution of the familiar workflow" makes the details fall into place.

The mental model: If the CLI is cooking in your own kitchen, HCP Terraform is a shared professional kitchen — same recipes and techniques, but standardized equipment, a shared pantry (state), and a manager who logs every dish and prevents two cooks from grabbing the same pan (locking).

⚠️ Common Misconception: "HCP Terraform is a different tool that competes with the Terraform CLI." It runs the same Terraform engine; you still write the same HCL. It adds state storage, remote runs, collaboration, and governance around that engine.