# Finding what keeps changing your infra outside Terraform
## Symptom
Every `terraform plan` reports `Objects have changed outside of Terraform` on the same resources, even right after a clean apply.
## Cause
Something with API access is mutating the resources: an autoscaler, a Kubernetes controller, a console user, another IaC tool, or a provider-side defaulting behavior.
## Confirmation
1. Read the drift note: which attributes change? Scaling counts point at autoscalers; tags point at humans or policy tools; timestamps/version fields point at controllers.
2. Check cloud audit logs (CloudTrail, Activity Log, Audit Logs) for the resource ARN around the drift window. The `userIdentity` field names the writer.
3. Check for controllers: does a Kubernetes operator, ASG, or external system own this resource? Resource tags and descriptions often name the owner.
4. Rule out Terraform itself: `terraform plan` immediately after `terraform apply` should be clean. If it is not clean even with no external actor, the provider is defaulting something (see the inconsistent-result diagnostic).
## Fix
1. Human writers: move their workflow into Terraform or into the config. Console hotfixes during incidents should be codified afterwards.
2. Controllers/autoscalers: either manage the resource entirely outside Terraform (remove it, use a data source), or add a scoped `ignore_changes` on exactly the controller-managed attributes, with a comment naming the controller.
3. Another IaC tool: split ownership clearly. Two writers for one resource is the bug; decide who owns it.
## Verification
1. Apply, wait a full controller cycle (or a day for human-driven drift), then plan. Clean means the writer is handled.
2. `ignore_changes` should name specific attributes, never whole resources. Verify the plan still catches changes to the non-ignored attributes.