🌱 Terraform has competition. OpenTofu enters the game

👋 New to Infrastructure as Code? Heard of Terraform and OpenTofu but not sure which one to use? Don’t worry — this post is for you!

Let’s break it down with a real-world example and explain why both exist, how they differ, and which one to pick.

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🔍 What Are These Tools?

Both Terraform and OpenTofu help you define your cloud infrastructure as code.

Instead of clicking around the AWS console, you can write code like this:

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "my_bucket" {
  bucket = "my-dev-bucket"
  acl    = "private"
}

And BOOM 💥 — your bucket is created!

✅ Terraform and OpenTofu use the same syntax
✅ Both work with AWS, Azure, GCP, and more
✅ Both manage your infrastructure automatically

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📖 Why OpenTofu Exists?

Terraform was 100% open-source — until 2023, when HashiCorp changed its license.

That new license (BSL) added restrictions on how Terraform could be used — especially for companies building tools on top of it.

So, the open-source community said:

"Let’s keep the freedom alive!" 🚀

They forked Terraform v1.5, kept it open-source, and created 👉 OpenTofu, now backed by the Linux Foundation.

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🧑‍💻 Beginner-Friendly Example

Let’s say you want to create a virtual server (EC2 instance) on AWS.

Here’s the code

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-east-1"
}

resource "aws_instance" "example" {
  ami           = "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0" # Amazon Linux 2
  instance_type = "t2.micro"
}

You can run this code with:

• terraform apply (if using Terraform)
• tofu apply (if using OpenTofu)

💡 The exact same code works in both tools!

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⚙️ Key Differences (Simple Table)

Feature	Terraform	OpenTofu
License	BSL (some restrictions)	MPL (fully open-source)
Maintained By	HashiCorp (a private company)	Linux Foundation (community-led)
Code Syntax	HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language)	HCL
Use Case	Enterprise support, stable releases	Open, community-driven, freedom

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🤔 So Which One Should You Use?

✅ Use Terraform if:

• You're in a company already using it
• You rely on official support from HashiCorp
• You don’t need to build tools on top of Terraform

✅ Use OpenTofu if:

• You want a fully open-source IaC tool
• You’re concerned about vendor lock-in
• You support community-first projects

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🧘 Summary

Terraform and OpenTofu are twins — they speak the same language, but are raised in different homes.
Choose the one that aligns with your values:

Freedom & Openness? OpenTofu.
Stability & Support? Terraform.

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💬 Are you using OpenTofu or Terraform in your projects?

Would you switch? Let’s chat in the comments below 👇