Overview
Terraform by HashiCorp has become the industry standard for infrastructure as code, supporting hundreds of cloud providers and services.
Key Features
Declarative Configuration
Define desired infrastructure state in HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language):
resource "aws_instance" "web" {
ami = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0"
instance_type = "t3.micro"
}
State Management
Terraform tracks infrastructure state, enabling change detection and drift identification.
Plan and Apply Workflow
Preview changes before applying them, reducing risk of unintended modifications.
Module System
Reusable, composable infrastructure modules for consistency and efficiency.
Best For
- Multi-cloud infrastructure
- Teams needing clear infrastructure documentation
- Organizations requiring approval workflows
- Environments with compliance requirements
Limitations
- HCL has limited programming constructs
- State management complexity at scale
- Provider availability varies
- Learning curve for advanced features
Our Take
Terraform is the safe choice for infrastructure as code. Its mature ecosystem, extensive provider support, and clear execution model make it suitable for most enterprise environments.