OpenTofu: A Beginners Guide to a Terraform Fork Including Migration From Terraform
OpenTofu Beyond Basics
Terraform Licensing Change
HashiCorp announced on August 10, 2023, that Terraform and several related projects will transition from the Mozilla Public License (MPL) to the Business Source License (BSL). This strategic shift aims to balance open-source collaboration with the commercial sustainability of these tools.
Note
Core Terraform features remain free to use, while ongoing development is supported by commercial subscriptions.
Why the License Change?
HashiCorp’s move to the BSL is driven by three key goals:
- Protecting innovation: Prevent large cloud providers from repackaging Terraform as a managed service without contributing back.
- Sustaining investment: Secure funding for ongoing feature development, bug fixes, and performance improvements.
- Fair compensation: Ensure that creators and contributors are rewarded through a license model that supports both community use and enterprise adoption.
Comparing MPL vs BSL
| Aspect | MPL | BSL |
|---|---|---|
| License Type | Permissive, file-level copyleft | Source-available, time-limited |
| Commercial Use | Allowed, but minimal copyleft impact | Allowed, with commercial safeguards |
| Contribution Back | Requires changes to be open-sourced | Encourages contributions, protects IP |
| Competitive Hosting | Can be rehosted by anyone | Restricts unapproved managed services |
| Sustainability | Relies on community & donations | Balances open source with revenue |
References
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