{"data":{"slug":"terraform","name":"Terraform","tagline":"HashiCorp's infrastructure-as-code CLI; BUSL-1.1 source-available, free to self-host","category":"devops","categoryName":"DevOps","url":"https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform","github":"https://github.com/hashicorp/terraform","pricing":"source-available","hook":"Terraform is the infrastructure as code CLI most cloud teams already know: you describe resources in HCL, run plan to see the diff, and apply it through thousands of providers.","whatsGood":"Release v1.16.6 (2026-10-14), commit on 2026-10-20. ★~50k over twelve years (~76 a week). Useful when you manage cloud resources across providers and want reviewed, versioned changes instead of console clicks. The provider and module ecosystem is the main reason to pick it.","theCatch":"Terraform is under BUSL-1.1 (Business Source License): free to use and self-host, including in production, but you can't offer it as a competing paid hosted or embedded service. Each version becomes MPL-2.0 four years after release. OpenTofu is the MPL-2.0 fork. GitHub shows the license as NOASSERTION because BUSL is not an OSI license; the LICENSE file is the one to read.","verdict":"The default IaC tool; fine to self-host, and OpenTofu is there if you need open source.","addedAt":"2026-10-21","featured":false,"domain":"DevOps","subSpecialty":"Infrastructure","subcategory":"IaC","tags":["cli","self-host","source-available","active"],"capabilities":["cli"],"surfaces":["CLI","Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Multi-platform"],"licenseModel":"Source-available (BUSL-1.1)","githubStars":49993,"starsPerWeek":76,"access":"free","archived":false,"repo":{"createdAt":"2014-03-13","pushedAt":"2026-10-20","license":"NOASSERTION","archived":false,"checkedAt":"2026-10-21"}},"related":[{"slug":"github-actions","name":"GitHub Actions","tagline":"CI/CD that lives where your code does"},{"slug":"docker","name":"Docker","tagline":"Container runtime that changed deployment"},{"slug":"kubernetes","name":"Kubernetes","tagline":"Container orchestration at scale"},{"slug":"pulumi","name":"Pulumi","tagline":"Infrastructure as code in real languages"},{"slug":"fly-io","name":"Fly.io","tagline":"Deploy apps to VMs close to your users"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/terraform","html":"/gems/terraform","markdown":"/gems/terraform.md","category":"/api/gems?category=devops","categoryPage":"/stacks/devops"}}