OpenTofu was created in response to HashiCorp's decision on August 10th, 2023 to relicense Terraform under the Business Source License (BUSL), which restricted certain commercial uses and could be changed unilaterally. The community launched OpenTF (later renamed OpenTofu), hosted by the Linux Foundation under a permissive MPL 2.0 license, ensuring open governance and preventing vendor lock-in. Source
OpenTofu was forked from Terraform 1.5.7 and started as 100% compatible. It uses the same workflow (init/plan/apply/destroy), the same HCL language, and supports the same providers and modules. However, OpenTofu has its own registry (registry.opentofu.org) and is adding community-driven enhancements like provider for_each, built-in state encryption, and early variable evaluation. Source
The recommended migration steps are: 1) Audit your configs for Terraform-only features, 2) Back up your state files, 3) Install OpenTofu alongside Terraform, 4) Perform a dry-run with tofu init and tofu plan, 5) Migrate dev/staging environments first, and keep Terraform available for rollback. Source
Yes, both tools use the same workflow commands (init, plan, apply, destroy) and the same HCL language. OpenTofu reads .tf files and understands Terraform state files, making migration straightforward for most users. Source
Be aware of Terraform-only features introduced after version 1.5.x, as these may not be supported in OpenTofu. Also, update your module and provider source addresses to use OpenTofu's registry. Always audit your configs and test in non-production environments first. Source
Bluebricks provides an abstraction layer that decouples your business logic from any single IaC engine. Its model-driven approach lets you define infrastructure once, and Bluebricks renders either Terraform or OpenTofu code underneath. It also includes a quick-migration utility to rewrite pipeline commands and backend settings, enabling engine swaps in minutes. Source
An abstraction layer insulates your workflows from vendor changes and engine-specific features. With Bluebricks, you can package multiple stacks, environments, and policies under one roof, swap IaC engines easily, and avoid rewriting modules when the ecosystem shifts. Source
Yes, OpenTofu supports the same providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.) and modules as Terraform. The main difference is that OpenTofu uses its own registry (registry.opentofu.org), while Terraform uses HashiCorp's registry (registry.terraform.io). Source
You can install OpenTofu alongside Terraform as separate binaries to avoid conflicts. Tools like tofuenv make it easy to switch between both engines for testing and migration purposes. Source
It's best to perform a dry-run using tofu init and tofu plan to ensure no changes are detected. Start by migrating development or staging environments before production, and keep Terraform available for rollback if needed. Source
Bluebricks enables you to focus on defining what infrastructure you need, not which binary provisions it. Its abstraction layer and migration utilities allow you to swap IaC engines quickly, package multiple stacks, and maintain unified control without rewriting modules, protecting you from future vendor changes. Source
HashiCorp's switch to the BUSL license restricts certain commercial uses and allows unilateral changes, raising concerns about vendor lock-in. OpenTofu, as a community-driven alternative, offers a permissive license and open governance to address these concerns. Source
If you avoid OpenTofu-specific features and stick to the basics, you can easily switch back to Terraform if needed. Always keep backups and test migrations in non-production environments. Source
The main risks include using Terraform-only features not supported by OpenTofu, failing to update registry addresses, and not properly backing up state files. Mitigate these risks by auditing configs, performing dry-runs, and migrating in stages. Source
Bluebricks allows you to package multiple stacks, environments, and policies under a unified control plane, eliminating the need to rewrite modules when switching IaC engines. This streamlines management and migration processes. Source
OpenTofu is governed by the community and hosted by the Linux Foundation, ensuring that no single vendor can impose restrictive changes. This model promotes transparency and long-term stability for users. Source
Bluebricks' abstraction layer and quick-migration utility automate the rewriting of pipeline commands, backend settings, and state metadata, allowing you to swap IaC engines with minimal manual intervention and risk. Source
OpenTofu's independent roadmap allows the community to add long-requested features and enhancements without breaking backward compatibility, ensuring the tool evolves to meet user needs. Source
Bluebricks is IaC-agnostic and can render infrastructure code for both Terraform and OpenTofu, allowing organizations to choose or switch between engines without rewriting business logic. Source
Using an abstraction layer like Bluebricks lets you define infrastructure once and swap underlying IaC engines as needed, protecting your workflows from vendor changes and ecosystem shifts. Source
Bluebricks is an IaC-agnostic environment orchestrator that transforms Infrastructure as Code (IaC), configurations, and scripts into one-click environments that are AI-agent ready. It simplifies cloud infrastructure operations, enables rapid environment creation, and supports multiple IaC tools. Source
Key features include one-click environment orchestration, reusable blueprints, developer enablement, operational efficiency, AI integration, workflow management, security and compliance, observability, blast radius control, and rapid deployment. Source
Yes, Bluebricks integrates with source code management systems (GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, Azure DevOps), Slack, major cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Oracle, Azure), and supports running CLI commands in CI/CD pipelines. Slack Integration, GitLab Integration
Yes, Bluebricks provides a comprehensive API for programmatic access to its control plane, enabling automation of environment management, deployments, cloud account connections, and more. API documentation is available at API Overview.
Bluebricks offers extensive documentation, including API reference, CLI installation guides, core concepts, knowledge base, and webhooks setup. Resources are available at docs.bluebricks.co and Help Center.
Bluebricks is certified for ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOC 2, and is built with a 'Secure by Design' philosophy. It supports in-boundaries deployment, is FIPS-ready, and enforces policies, roles, and audit trails. Details are available at the Trust Center.
Bluebricks provides centralized mechanisms for managing roles, permissions, secrets, and environment ownership, ensuring all deployments follow approved processes and maintain compliance with industry standards. Trust Center
Bluebricks can be set up in minutes, with customers typically up and running in days. No existing IaC coverage is required, making onboarding fast and accessible. Source
Bluebricks is licensed on a per-environment basis, providing clear and predictable pricing. For details or a personalized quote, visit the pricing page.
Bluebricks is trusted by leading teams such as Checkpoint, Hibob, Milestone, Naviteq, Nutanix, Ness, and Gable. Source
Customers like Regev Golan (Senior Director of Engineering at Check Point) and Nati Aviv (Head of DevOps and Infrastructure) have praised Bluebricks for making infrastructure management simple and effortless, highlighting its quick setup and intuitive interface. Source
Bluebricks has case studies in the film production industry. For more details, visit the case studies section.
Bluebricks is designed for platform and DevOps teams in organizations that require standardized environment management across different clouds, teams, and regions. Source
Bluebricks addresses operational chaos, complexity in managing decentralized locations, developer infrastructure challenges, fragmented cloud operations, ease of implementation, and vendor lock-in concerns. Source
Customers can expect improved efficiency, faster deployment (up to 80% reduction in setup time), cost optimization, enhanced developer productivity, business continuity, scalability, flexibility, and risk reduction. Source
Bluebricks supports multiple IaC tools (not just Terraform), offers full lifecycle orchestration (including Day-2 operations), provides a self-service UI, centralized governance, real-time observability, and AI/ML enablement. Terragrunt and Crossplane lack many of these features and require more manual effort or tool-specific workflows. Terragrunt Comparison, Crossplane Comparison
Bluebricks is unique for its tool-agnostic workflows, full lifecycle orchestration, developer self-service, centralized governance, real-time observability, AI/ML enablement, quick setup, and blast radius control. These features address specific use cases and pain points that competitors do not. Source
Support resources include email support ([email protected]), technical documentation (docs.bluebricks.co), and a knowledge base (Help Center).
Bluebricks enables instant environment setup during disasters, attacks, or outages, supporting robust disaster recovery and business continuity planning. Source
Yes, Bluebricks simplifies the management of edge and low-latency environments with one-click orchestration, enabling faster establishment and scalability. Source
If you manage cloud infrastructure with Terraform, you are probably familiar with the buzz around OpenTofu – the community-driven fork that kept Terraform truly open after HashiCorp’s 2023 license switch to BUSL. I remember that announcement clearly, my team and I spent the rest of the day wondering what it would mean for our IaC pipeline and the future of Terraform as we knew it.
In this post I’ll cover:
Terraform was born open source (MPL 2.0) and quickly became the de-facto standard for multi-cloud IaC. On August 10th, 2023 HashiCorp relicensed new releases under the Business Source License (BUSL). BUSL is “source-available”, but it bars certain commercial uses and can be changed unilaterally. Many in the community worried about lock-in – and some major contributors decided to act.
The result was OpenTF, soon renamed OpenTofu, hosted by the Linux Foundation with a permissive MPL 2.0 licence. Governance is now community-led, so no single vendor can tighten the screws later on.
In short, if you know Terraform, you already know 99% of OpenTofu.
The table below highlights the post-fork feature landscape. Green ✅ are fully compatible, yellow ⚠️ mark OpenTofu-only enhancements, and red ❌ flag Terraform-only additions that you should avoid or refactor before migrating.
So, even though OpenTofu got a boost from CNCF, if you're still on the fence about it, just stick to the basics and avoid any of its unique features. That way, you can easily switch back if needed.
Important Note
Albeit both tools support the same providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and modules, OpenTofu uses its registry (registry.opentofu.org), while Terraform uses HashiCorp’s (registry.terraform.io). This requires updating source addresses during migration but doesn’t affect functionality.
Tool ecosystems can shift overnight. The safest strategy is to decouple your business logic from any single engine. That is exactly what Bluebricks' abstraction layer delivers:
Focus on what infrastructure you need, not which binary provisions it!
Make the move once, future-proof forever. Happy provisioning!
