Many Terraform users begin by treating workspaces as environments.
The configuration stays the same while Terraform switches between different state files. At first this appears to solve environment separation, but the actual boundary remains hidden inside runtime workspace selection.
In this lesson, we walk through a migration strategy that replaces workspace-driven deployments with explicit environment directories, dedicated backend keys, and clear state ownership.
The goal is not simply moving state files. The goal is ensuring that every infrastructure object has one authoritative Terraform configuration managing it.
Understanding that ownership model is often the difference between a safe migration and an accidental resource recreation.