hashicorp/terraform · error

can't delete default state

Error message

can't delete default state

What it means

Thrown by the in-memory backend's DeleteWorkspace when the workspace name equals backend.DefaultStateName ("default") or is empty (backend.go:118-121). The default workspace is protected and cannot be deleted; only non-default workspaces can be removed from the inmem store.

Solutions

1. Switch to a non-default workspace first, then delete that workspace — never delete 'default'.
2. In cleanup scripts, skip name == "default" before calling DeleteWorkspace.
3. To reset default state, use 'terraform destroy' or overwrite state rather than deleting the workspace.

Example fix

// before
for _, ws := range workspaces {
    b.DeleteWorkspace(ws, false)
}
// after
for _, ws := range workspaces {
    if ws == "default" || ws == "" {
        continue
    }
    b.DeleteWorkspace(ws, false)
}

// Never delete the default workspace — guard before calling:
// if name == backend.DefaultStateName || name == "" {
//   return errors.New("refusing to delete default workspace")
// }
// b.DeleteWorkspace(name, force)

// err := b.DeleteWorkspace(name, force)
// if err != nil && strings.Contains(err.Error(), "can't delete default state") {
//   // expected for the default workspace; skip
// }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling 'terraform workspace delete default' or programmatically invoking DeleteWorkspace("default") / DeleteWorkspace("") against the inmem backend.

Common situations: A script that loops over all workspaces and deletes them hits the default workspace; attempting to clean up by deleting the default workspace instead of switching off it; tests that delete workspaces indiscriminately.

Related errors

• can't delete default state
• can't delete default state
• can't delete default state
• can't delete default state
• can't delete default state

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/terraform@d32a084675 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/687ecae5cc54cb7d. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at internal/backend/remote-state/inmem/backend.go:119

	states.Lock()
	defer states.Unlock()

	var workspaces []string

	for s := range states.m {
		workspaces = append(workspaces, s)
	}

	sort.Strings(workspaces)
	return workspaces, nil
}

func (b *Backend) DeleteWorkspace(name string, _ bool) tfdiags.Diagnostics {
	states.Lock()
	defer states.Unlock()

	if name == backend.DefaultStateName || name == "" {
		return tfdiags.Diagnostics{}.Append(fmt.Errorf("can't delete default state"))
	}

	delete(states.m, name)
	return nil
}

func (b *Backend) StateMgr(name string) (statemgr.Full, tfdiags.Diagnostics) {
	var diags tfdiags.Diagnostics

	states.Lock()
	defer states.Unlock()

	s := states.m[name]
	if s == nil {
		s = &remote.State{
			Client: &RemoteClient{
				Name: name,
			},

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