The backend determines where Terraform stores infrastructure memory. With the local backend, that memory lives on the execution machine itself.
This lesson explains how Terraform writes local state, how resource identities become mapped inside the state file, and why local filesystem locking only protects operations on the same machine.
The lesson also covers the operational boundary of local state. Single-operator workflows behave differently from shared infrastructure environments because local state does not naturally coordinate across multiple systems.
This lesson continues the Terraform backend and state management sequence with a focused explanation of local backend behavior and state ownership.