Scalr
Terraform Cloud alternative for infrastructure
OpenTofu
Declarative, safe, and efficient infrastructure management for any provider
OpenTofu lets you define, plan, and apply infrastructure as code across cloud, on‑prem, and custom services, with automated execution plans and parallel resource graphs.
Overview
Overview
OpenTofu provides a declarative approach to managing infrastructure, allowing teams to describe resources in a high‑level configuration language. By treating infrastructure like any other code, changes are versioned, reviewed, and shared across the organization, reducing drift and manual errors.
Capabilities & Deployment
The tool generates an execution plan that previews every change before it is applied, giving operators confidence and visibility. Its built‑in resource graph identifies dependencies and runs independent resources in parallel, optimizing deployment speed. OpenTofu supports a wide range of cloud providers, on‑prem solutions, and custom in‑house integrations, making it suitable for heterogeneous environments. Installation is straightforward via package managers or binaries, and the community offers Slack channels, GitHub Discussions, and regular meetings for support and contribution.
Getting Started
After installing, define your infrastructure in HCL files, run opentofu plan to review changes, and opentofu apply to enact them. State files can be stored locally or in remote backends for collaboration. The project is licensed under MPL‑2.0 and welcomes contributions.
Highlights
Infrastructure as Code with high‑level configuration syntax
Predictive execution plans that preview changes before apply
Resource graph that parallelizes independent operations
Automated change workflows minimizing manual intervention
Pros
- Declarative syntax enables version control and reuse
- Execution plans provide clear visibility and safety
- Parallel resource handling speeds up deployments
- Active community with Slack, meetings, and contribution guide
Considerations
- Learning curve for HCL and state management
- Requires compatible provider plugins for some services
- State file handling adds operational overhead
- Release cadence depends on community contributions
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider OpenTofu, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Fit guide
Great for
- Teams adopting Infrastructure as Code practices
- Organizations managing multi‑cloud or hybrid environments
- Developers needing repeatable, versioned infrastructure definitions
- Operations teams seeking automated change management
Not ideal when
- Ad‑hoc scripts for one‑off resource creation
- Users preferring purely graphical infrastructure tools
- Environments lacking supported provider plugins
- Projects that need built‑in secret vault integration
How teams use it
Provision a production Kubernetes cluster
Consistent, repeatable cluster deployment across cloud providers with automated scaling
Automate multi‑region database replication
Coordinated changes applied with minimal downtime and clear rollback paths
Migrate legacy on‑prem servers to the cloud
Declarative plan highlights differences, ensuring safe migration steps
Integrate infrastructure changes into CI/CD pipelines
Automated `plan` and `apply` steps triggered by code commits for continuous delivery
Tech snapshot
Go91%
MDX9%
HCL1%
Shell1%
Makefile1%
Python1%
Frequently asked questions
What language does OpenTofu use for configurations?
OpenTofu uses HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) for defining resources.
How does OpenTofu differ from Terraform?
OpenTofu is a community‑driven fork of Terraform, licensed under MPL‑2.0, with a focus on open governance.
Can I use custom or in‑house providers?
Yes, OpenTofu supports custom providers alongside popular cloud services.
How are execution plans generated?
Running `opentofu plan` analyzes the current state and desired configuration, outputting a detailed change preview.
Where can I get help or contribute?
Join the OpenTofu Slack, participate in GitHub Discussions, or attend community meetings listed on the website.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 27,600
- Watchers
- 27,600
- Forks
- 1,144
LicenseMPL-2.0
Repo age2 years old
Last commit2 days ago
Primary languageGo
Last synced 2 days ago