testform force-unlock

testform force-unlock [options] <lock-id>

The testform force-unlock command forcefully removes a stuck or orphaned distributed state lock on the current workspace.

When to Use force-unlock

State locking prevents two team members or CI jobs from mutating the state concurrently. However, if a CI runner crashes abruptly, a machine loses power, or a process is killed (kill -9), the lock may remain active in DynamoDB, Azure Blob leases, or GCS, blocking subsequent commands:

Error: Error acquiring the state lock
  Lock Info:
    ID:        b7c93e41-0f82-498b-9d22-123456789abc
    Path:      my-bucket/testform.state
    Owner:     ci-runner-ip-10-0-2-44
    Created:   2026-10-19 15:20:00 UTC

Command Options

Option	Default	Description
-force	false	Skips interactive confirmation before unlocking.

Real Execution Example

$ testform force-unlock b7c93e41-0f82-498b-9d22-123456789abc

Do you really want to force-unlock?
  Testform will remove the lock on the current state.
  Please ensure that no other process is actively running against this state.

  Enter a value: yes

Testform state lock b7c93e41-0f82-498b-9d22-123456789abc successfully released!

Warning: Concurrency Risks

Only use force-unlock after verifying that the process that created the lock is genuinely dead. Unlocking a state while an apply is actively running can cause state corruption.

Exit Codes

• 0: Lock successfully removed.
• 1: Invalid lock ID or backend communication error.