CDKTF Has Free Terraform in TypeScript — Here's How to Ditch HCL Forever

Love Terraform but hate HCL? CDKTF lets you write Terraform configs in TypeScript, Python, Java, C#, or Go.

What is CDKTF?

CDK for Terraform (CDKTF) is an open-source project by HashiCorp that lets you define Terraform infrastructure using programming languages instead of HCL.

Quick Start

npm install -g cdktf-cli
cdktf init --template=typescript --providers=aws

Your First CDKTF Stack

import { Construct } from "constructs";
import { App, TerraformStack, TerraformOutput } from "cdktf";
import { AwsProvider } from "@cdktf/provider-aws/lib/provider";
import { S3Bucket } from "@cdktf/provider-aws/lib/s3-bucket";
import { Instance } from "@cdktf/provider-aws/lib/instance";

class MyStack extends TerraformStack {
  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string) {
    super(scope, id);

    new AwsProvider(this, "aws", { region: "us-east-1" });

    // S3 Bucket
    const bucket = new S3Bucket(this, "app-bucket", {
      bucket: "my-app-assets-2026",
      tags: { Environment: "production" },
    });

    // EC2 Instance
    const server = new Instance(this, "web-server", {
      ami: "ami-0c02fb55956c7d316",
      instanceType: "t3.micro",
      tags: { Name: "WebServer" },
    });

    new TerraformOutput(this, "bucket-name", { value: bucket.bucket });
    new TerraformOutput(this, "server-ip", { value: server.publicIp });
  }
}

const app = new App();
new MyStack(app, "my-infra");
app.synth();

cdktf deploy

Loops and Conditions (Why CDKTF Wins)

// Create 3 identical servers with a loop
const serverNames = ["web-1", "web-2", "web-3"];
serverNames.forEach(name => {
  new Instance(this, name, {
    ami: "ami-0c02fb55956c7d316",
    instanceType: "t3.micro",
    tags: { Name: name },
  });
});

// Conditional resources
if (isProduction) {
  new Instance(this, "monitoring", {
    instanceType: "t3.large",
    // ...
  });
}

In HCL you would need count, for_each, and conditional expressions. In CDKTF — just use TypeScript.

Reusable Constructs

class WebApp extends Construct {
  public readonly url: string;

  constructor(scope: Construct, id: string, props: { domain: string; size: string }) {
    super(scope, id);

    const bucket = new S3Bucket(this, "assets", {
      bucket: `${props.domain}-assets`,
    });

    const server = new Instance(this, "server", {
      instanceType: props.size,
      ami: "ami-0c02fb55956c7d316",
    });

    this.url = server.publicDns;
  }
}

// Use it
const app1 = new WebApp(this, "app1", { domain: "example.com", size: "t3.micro" });
const app2 = new WebApp(this, "app2", { domain: "staging.example.com", size: "t3.small" });

CDKTF vs Pulumi vs HCL Terraform

Feature	CDKTF	Pulumi	HCL Terraform
Languages	TS, Python, Go, Java, C#	TS, Python, Go, C#	HCL
State Backend	Terraform (S3, Cloud)	Pulumi Cloud, S3	S3, Cloud
Provider Ecosystem	All Terraform providers	Most TF providers	All native
Existing TF Code	Import directly	Convert needed	Native
Testing	Jest/Vitest	Built-in	Terratest

Key Advantage: Full Terraform Ecosystem

CDKTF generates standard Terraform JSON. This means every Terraform provider, every module, every backend — it all works. You get TypeScript DX with Terraform reliability.

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