State File Link

: It records the exact state of what was deployed. When you run an update, Terraform compares your code to this file to determine if resources need to be created, modified, or deleted.

You should the state file. Instead, use the Terraform CLI to interact with it safely: How to manage Terraform state - Gruntwork Blog State File

: It helps identify "resource drift," which occurs when someone manually changes a resource (e.g., via the AWS Console) outside of the Terraform workflow. : It records the exact state of what was deployed