Terraform
HashiCorp's infrastructure-as-code CLI; BUSL-1.1 source-available, free to self-host
DevOps / Infrastructure · Source-available (BUSL-1.1) · 50k
Reviewed 2026-10-21 · last push 2026-10-20 · repo checked 2026-10-21
What's Good
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.
The Catch
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.
See also: OpenTofu, Terraform MCP Server
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