Terraform state is often described as a file.
That description is accurate.
And also misleading.
State is not important because of where it lives.
It is important because of what it remembers.
Terraform state is memory of identity.
It is how Terraform knows whether a block is new, changed, or already real.
When state is local, that memory is private.
Two people can hold the same code
and still see different realities.
When state is remote, the code does not change.
The intent does not change.
Only the visibility of identity changes.
This lesson explores local versus remote state
without teaching commands or workflows.
Instead, it answers a quieter question:
Who knows what exists,
and who does not?
If you understand that,
every backend decision later becomes obvious.