hashicorp/terraform · error

errApplyNeedsUIConfirmation

errApplyNeedsUIConfirmation

Error message

Cannot confirm apply due to -input=false. Please handle run confirmation in the UI.

What it means

Returned at backend_apply.go:174 when a cloud-backed run requires interactive confirmation (mustConfirm is true) but the backend's input mode is disabled (!b.input, set by -input=false). Since the run cannot be confirmed locally and the CLI cannot prompt, the error directs the user to handle confirmation in the TFC/TFE UI.

Source

Thrown at internal/cloud/errors.go:22

package cloud

import (
	"errors"
	"fmt"
	"strings"

	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/internal/tfdiags"
	"github.com/zclconf/go-cty/cty"
)

// String based errors
var (
	errApplyDiscarded                    = errors.New("Apply discarded.")
	errDestroyDiscarded                  = errors.New("Destroy discarded.")
	errRunApproved                       = errors.New("approved using the UI or API")
	errRunDiscarded                      = errors.New("discarded using the UI or API")
	errRunOverridden                     = errors.New("overridden using the UI or API")
	errApplyNeedsUIConfirmation          = errors.New("Cannot confirm apply due to -input=false. Please handle run confirmation in the UI.")
	errPolicyOverrideNeedsUIConfirmation = errors.New("Cannot override soft failed policy checks when -input=false. Please open the run in the UI to override.")
)

// Diagnostic error messages
var (
	invalidWorkspaceConfigMissingValues = tfdiags.AttributeValue(
		tfdiags.Error,
		"Invalid workspaces configuration",
		fmt.Sprintf("Missing workspace mapping strategy. Either workspace \"tags\" or \"name\" is required.\n\n%s", workspaceConfigurationHelp),
		cty.Path{cty.GetAttrStep{Name: "workspaces"}},
	)

	invalidWorkspaceConfigMisconfiguration = tfdiags.AttributeValue(
		tfdiags.Error,
		"Invalid workspaces configuration",
		fmt.Sprintf("Only one of workspace \"tags\" or \"name\" is allowed.\n\n%s", workspaceConfigurationHelp),
		cty.Path{cty.GetAttrStep{Name: "workspaces"}},
	)

View on GitHub (pinned to d32a084675)

Solutions

1. Add -auto-approve to your apply command for non-interactive environments.
2. Remove -input=false if running interactively and you want the confirmation prompt.
3. Handle the run confirmation in the Terraform Cloud UI or via API as the message suggests.
4. Configure the workspace for speculative-only or auto-apply in TFC settings.

Example fix

// before
terraform apply -input=false
// error: Cannot confirm apply due to -input=false

// after (option 1: auto-approve)
terraform apply -input=false -auto-approve
// after (option 2: interactive)
terraform apply

// Before running terraform apply in CI, check your flags:
// if !interactive && !autoApprove {
//     return fmt.Errorf("must use -auto-approve with -input=false")
// }
// Then run: terraform apply -input=false -auto-approve

When it happens

Trigger: Running 'terraform apply -input=false' with a cloud backend where the workspace requires run confirmation and -auto-approve was not provided. backend_apply.go:173 checks 'mustConfirm && !b.input' and returns this error instead of attempting a prompt.

Common situations: CI/CD pipelines running terraform apply with -input=false but forgetting -auto-approve; scripts that disable interactive input but expect automatic apply; migrating from local backend to cloud backend where confirmation semantics differ.

Related errors

• errApplyDiscarded
• errRunApproved
• errPolicyOverrideNeedsUIConfirmation
• errDestroyDiscarded
• errRunDiscarded

AI-assisted analysis of hashicorp/terraform@d32a084675 (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/262932f575e5de84. Report an issue: GitHub.