HashiCorp’s August 2023 license change sent shockwaves through the infrastructure-as-code community. Terraform moved from MPL to BSL, and within weeks, OpenTofu emerged as an open-source fork. We had decisions to make.
The Problem
The Business Source License isn’t open source. Competitors can’t use Terraform in their products. For most users, this changes nothing immediately. But licence changes signal direction, and direction matters.
Our Terraform usage was straightforward—we weren’t building competing products. The BSL didn’t technically restrict us. But vendor lock-in concerns intensified. Today’s friendly licence could become tomorrow’s monetisation opportunity.
The community response was swift and substantial. OpenTofu, backed by the Linux Foundation and major cloud players, promised to maintain compatibility and truly open governance. But forks often wither. Was this one sustainable?
Our Solution
Evaluation rather than reaction. We didn’t immediately switch or commit to staying. Instead, we assessed both options systematically.
Compatibility testing revealed OpenTofu as a drop-in replacement. terraform commands became tofu commands. State files migrated without modification. Existing modules worked unchanged. The fork was genuinely compatible.
Governance review showed robust backing. Linux Foundation stewardship, multiple corporate sponsors, active community contributions. This wasn’t a protest project but a serious long-term effort.
Risk assessment for both paths. Staying with Terraform: future licence changes, potential commercial pressure. Moving to OpenTofu: fork sustainability, feature parity concerns.
Gradual migration for new projects. Existing Terraform continues running. New infrastructure uses OpenTofu. If problems emerge, we haven’t committed everything.
The Benefits
Open-source alignment matches our values. Using OpenTofu supports the ecosystem we depend on. The infrastructure-as-code community benefits from competition and choice.
Reduced lock-in risk. OpenTofu’s open governance means the community controls direction. No single vendor can change the licence or force migration to commercial offerings.
Feature compatibility has remained strong. OpenTofu tracks Terraform features while adding community-requested improvements. We haven’t sacrificed capability.
Insurance policy regardless of which project thrives. Skills transfer between them. State files are compatible. We’re not betting everything on one horse.
Licence changes force evaluation of dependencies we take for granted. OpenTofu’s emergence reminded us that open source isn’t just about price—it’s about control, sustainability, and community.