The OpenTofu project, a community-driven fork of Terraform, has found a new home under the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). This move comes after HashiCorp, the original creator of Terraform, shifted its licensing model from open source to a more restrictive business license, prompting the creation of OpenTofu as an alternative. The CNCF’s acceptance marks a significant milestone for the project, ensuring its future as an open-source Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool.
OpenTofu’s journey began when HashiCorp transitioned Terraform from the Mozilla Public License (MPL) to the Business Source License (BSL), a change that raised concerns among open-source advocates. In response, the OpenTofu community formed, quickly gaining traction and support from major industry players. The Linux Foundation initially adopted the project, but joining CNCF provides additional stability and governance, despite initial licensing hurdles.
The CNCF typically requires projects to adopt the Apache License 2.0, but it made an exception for OpenTofu, allowing it to retain the MPL 2.0. This flexibility underscores the foundation’s commitment to fostering open-source innovation. OpenTofu’s rapid development—releasing its first stable version within months—demonstrates its potential to compete with Terraform, which still dominates the IaC market. Industry experts predict OpenTofu’s growth could accelerate in the coming years.
With backing from companies like env0, Spacelift, and Harness, OpenTofu is positioned as a vendor-neutral alternative for developers seeking open-source IaC solutions. However, its success may hinge on broader industry trends, including IBM’s integration of Terraform into its cloud services. For now, OpenTofu’s community-driven approach and CNCF support provide a strong foundation for its future.