Terragrunt vs. Atlantis

Terragrunt serves as a convenient wrapper that improves your capability to maintain dry configurations, simplifies the utilization of various Terraform modules, and assists in managing remote state effectively. To handle your Terraform state efficiently, it is important to configure it in a root directory so that it can be automatically inherited by all child modules. Additionally, you can define CLI arguments within the Terragrunt configuration, ensuring that your Terraform commands are executed in a consistent and repeatable manner. This methodology permits the execution of a single command applicable to all modules at once, eliminating the need to run commands separately for each module. Furthermore, Terragrunt can fetch remote Terraform configurations, which enhances the efficiency of your workflow. Consequently, this means that you only need to write the Terraform code for your infrastructure one time, leading to more organized and efficient management. By incorporating Terragrunt into your workflow, you can significantly minimize redundancy and foster better collaboration across all your infrastructure projects. This improved collaborative environment not only streamlines processes but also encourages best practices among team members.

Atlantis is designed as a self-hosted solution, allowing you to keep your credentials secured within your own infrastructure. It can be deployed as a binary built in Golang or as a Docker image, making it versatile for various environments such as virtual machines, Kubernetes, and Fargate. The application efficiently tracks webhooks from services like GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps, executing Terraform commands remotely and delivering feedback as comments containing the output. This tool is currently leveraged by a prominent global enterprise to manage over 600 Terraform repositories, involving collaboration from 300 developers. With a successful track record of over two years in production, every pull request automatically creates a detailed log that captures infrastructure changes, complete with timestamps, the contributors responsible for the changes, and their approvers. Atlantis also offers the capability to enforce mandatory approvals for any alterations made in production environments, facilitating compliance with audits without disrupting existing workflows. Developers can submit Terraform pull requests without needing their own credentials, while operators can implement approval workflows that must be satisfied before any application modifications are executed. This approach ensures that all changes occur prior to merging into the master branch, protecting the integrity of your infrastructure while fostering secure teamwork. Moreover, the tool significantly boosts accountability and transparency among team members by meticulously documenting every phase of the change process, ensuring that everyone is informed and aligned on the modifications being made. Overall, Atlantis not only streamlines the management of infrastructure but also enhances collaboration within teams.