Getting Started with OpenTofu: An Open-Source Alternative to Terraform

Introduction

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is key in modern DevOps, helping teams manage infrastructure through code. While Terraform has been a leading tool, OpenTofu is a new open-source alternative that offers similar features with a focus on community development.

In this post, we’ll cover how to get started with OpenTofu, including how to manage resources, and show how to integrate it with GitHub Actions.

What is OpenTofu?
OpenTofu is an open-source tool for managing infrastructure with code. It works similarly to Terraform, allowing you to define and manage resources across different cloud providers.

Benefits of OpenTofu
Open-Source: Transparent and community-driven.
Familiar Syntax: Similar to Terraform, so it's easy to pick up.
Community Focused: Evolving with input from its users.

Steps to Use OpenTofu

Install OpenTofu on Ubuntu

wget https://github.com/opentofu/opentofu/releases/download/v1.6.0/tofu_1.6.0_amd64.deb

sudo dpkg --install tofu_1.6.0_amd64.deb

mv /usr/bin/tofu /usr/local/bin/opentofu

opentofu version

Create a Configuration

Create a directory and a file named main.tf with:

provider "aws" {
  region = "us-west-2"
}

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
  bucket = "opentofu-example-pradeep"
  acl           = "private"
}

Initialize OpenTofu
opentofu init

Plan Configuration
opentofu plan

Validate Configuration
opentofu validate

Apply Configuration
opentofu apply

Destroy Resources
opentofu destroy

Integrating OpenTofu with GitHub Actions

To automate OpenTofu with GitHub Actions, create a workflow file .github/workflows/opentofu.yml with:

name: OpenTofu CI

on: [workflow_dispatch]

jobs:
  opentofu:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v3

    - name: Set up OpenTofu
      run: |
           wget https://github.com/opentofu/opentofu/releases/download/v1.6.0/tofu_1.6.0_amd64.deb
           sudo dpkg --install tofu_1.6.0_amd64.deb
           sudo mv /usr/bin/tofu /usr/local/bin/opentofu
           opentofu version

    - name: Set up AWS CLI
      uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v2
      with:
        aws-access-key-id: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
        aws-secret-access-key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
        aws-region: us-west-2

    - name: Run AWS Command
      run: aws sts get-caller-identity

    - name: Initialize OpenTofu
      run: opentofu init

    - name: Validate OpenTofu configuration
      run: opentofu validate

    - name: Apply OpenTofu configuration
      run: opentofu apply -auto-approve

Set Up AWS Credentials
Add AWS credentials to GitHub Secrets under Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions with AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY.

Conclusion

OpenTofu is a great open-source alternative to Terraform, with a familiar syntax and strong community support. Integrating it with GitHub Actions simplifies managing your infrastructure. Give OpenTofu a try and streamline your IaC processes!