OpenTofu vs Terraform: Understanding the Fork and What It Means for Infrastructure as Code

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by Kapstan il y a 1 semaine 5 Views comments

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has transformed how teams manage cloud resources, enabling automation, repeatability, and version control. Among IaC tools, Terraform became a cornerstone, embraced by teams worldwide for its declarative approach and provider ecosystem. However, the introduction of OpenTofu—a community-driven fork of Terraform—has stirred debate and curiosity alike.

This post breaks down the key differences, origins, and implications of opentofu vs terraform, helping DevOps teams and infrastructure engineers make informed decisions about their tooling stack.

A Brief History: Why OpenTofu Was Born

Terraform was originally developed by HashiCorp and released as open source under the Mozilla Public License (MPL). It rapidly grew in popularity, powering infrastructure provisioning across AWS, Azure, GCP, and dozens of other providers.

In August 2023, HashiCorp announced it would change the licensing of Terraform (and other tools) from MPL to the Business Source License (BSL). This shift limits how Terraform can be used by commercial competitors, sparking concerns in the open source and cloud-native communities.

In response, a group of maintainers, contributors, and organizations—including those aligned with the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)—created OpenTofu, a community fork of Terraform that remains under the MPL 2.0 license. The name "OpenTofu" was chosen to emphasize openness and community governance.

Similarities Between OpenTofu and Terraform

Since OpenTofu is a fork of Terraform, it inherits the core principles and syntax. For many users, especially those on earlier Terraform versions, migrating to OpenTofu can be relatively seamless.

Key similarities include:

  • HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language): Both tools use the same language for defining infrastructure.
  • State management: OpenTofu continues to support .tfstate files and remote state backends.
  • Provider ecosystem compatibility: OpenTofu supports the same provider structure, although long-term divergence is possible.
  • CLI commands: Commands like init, plan, apply, and destroy behave the same.
  • Modules and workspaces: Module reusability and workspace support function similarly in both tools.

Pros and Cons of Each

✅ Terraform Pros:

  • Battle-tested and mature
  • Large ecosystem of providers and modules
  • Supported by HashiCorp enterprise offerings

⚠️ Terraform Cons:

  • License change limits commercial use
  • Less transparency in development
  • Community concerns over long-term openness

✅ OpenTofu Pros:

  • True open-source license
  • Transparent governance
  • Growing community involvement
  • Ideal for vendors building infrastructure products

⚠️ OpenTofu Cons:

  • Newer, with evolving support
  • Limited enterprise integrations (for now)
  • Future divergence may require additional tooling adaptation

Migration Considerations

If you’re considering a switch from Terraform to OpenTofu, the process is relatively straightforward—especially if you’re using Terraform v1.5 or earlier.

  • State Files: OpenTofu is compatible with existing Terraform state.
  • Modules: Most existing modules will work without modification.
  • Tooling: Many popular Terraform tools (e.g., Terragrunt, Atlantis) are starting to support OpenTofu.

A migration makes the most sense if your team prioritizes open source compliance or plans to build products that depend on IaC tooling.

The Bigger Picture: Community vs Commercial Interests

The OpenTofu vs Terraform debate is a microcosm of a broader issue in open source: how to balance sustainability, governance, and business models. HashiCorp’s decision to adopt BSL is not without merit—it protects its business interests—but it comes at the cost of community goodwill.

OpenTofu represents a reinvigoration of open collaboration in IaC. Whether it becomes the dominant tool or exists alongside Terraform will depend on community momentum and adoption over the next few years.

Final Thoughts

If you’re a solo developer or enterprise team using Terraform, there's no urgent need to switch—Terraform remains a powerful tool. But if you value openness, contribution rights, or plan to integrate IaC into commercial offerings, OpenTofu offers a compelling, future-proof alternative.

As always, the best tool is the one that aligns with your team’s principles, risk tolerance, and infrastructure roadmap.

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