Evolving Beyond Terraform: Modernizing Infrastructure-as-Code with Kratix and Crossplane

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Terraform has long been the standard for Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), enabling teams to provision and manage infrastructure efficiently. However, as development workflows evolve, Terraform’s infrastructure-centric approach can create bottlenecks, limiting developer self-service and slowing innovation.

The article explores how Kratix and Crossplane offer a modern alternative by introducing a platform-oriented IaC strategy. Kratix enables the creation of reusable infrastructure templates called Promises, ensuring consistency and security without requiring manual configuration updates. Crossplane extends Kubernetes to manage cloud resources declaratively, bridging the gap between infrastructure and application teams.

🔗 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/di5V7KAA

You Should Know: Key Commands and Practices

1. Terraform Basics (For Comparison)

 Initialize Terraform in a directory 
terraform init

Plan infrastructure changes 
terraform plan

Apply changes 
terraform apply

Destroy infrastructure 
terraform destroy 

2. Crossplane Setup (Kubernetes-Based IaC)

 Install Crossplane CLI 
curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/crossplane/crossplane/master/install.sh | sh

Add Crossplane Helm repo 
helm repo add crossplane-stable https://charts.crossplane.io/stable

Install Crossplane on Kubernetes 
helm install crossplane crossplane-stable/crossplane --namespace crossplane-system --create-namespace 

3. Kratix Installation (Platform Engineering Tool)

 Clone Kratix repository 
git clone https://github.com/syntasso/kratix.git

Deploy Kratix on a Kubernetes cluster 
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/syntasso/kratix/main/distribution/single-cluster/install-all-in-one.yaml 

4. Creating a Kratix Promise (Reusable Template)

apiVersion: platform.kratix.io/v1alpha1 
kind: Promise 
metadata: 
name: postgresql-promise 
spec: 
workflows: 
- apiVersion: batch/v1 
kind: Job 
metadata: 
name: provision-postgres 
spec: 
template: 
spec: 
containers: 
- name: postgres-provisioner 
image: postgres:latest 
command: ["/bin/sh", "-c", "echo 'Provisioning PostgreSQL'"] 

5. Crossplane Resource Claim (Declarative Cloud Resource)

apiVersion: database.example.org/v1alpha1 
kind: PostgreSQLInstance 
metadata: 
name: my-db 
spec: 
parameters: 
storageGB: 20 
compositionSelector: 
matchLabels: 
provider: aws 
writeConnectionSecretToRef: 
name: db-conn-secret 

What Undercode Say

The shift from Terraform to platform-native IaC (Kratix + Crossplane) represents the next evolution in cloud infrastructure management. By leveraging Kubernetes-native tools, teams can:
– Reduce manual toil with reusable templates (Promises).
– Improve security through centralized policy enforcement.
– Accelerate deployments with self-service infrastructure.

Key Linux/IT Commands for IaC Practitioners

 Check Kubernetes cluster status 
kubectl get nodes

List Crossplane managed resources 
kubectl get managed

Debug Kratix workflows 
kubectl logs -l app=kratix-controller -n kratix-system

Export Terraform state for migration 
terraform state pull > terraform.tfstate 

For Windows-based IaC workflows:

 Install Crossplane on Windows (WSL2) 
wsl --install -d Ubuntu 
wsl kubectl get pods --all-namespaces 

Prediction

As platform engineering gains traction, expect more organizations to adopt Kubernetes-native IaC over traditional tools like Terraform. Crossplane and Kratix will likely dominate multi-cloud orchestration, reducing reliance on proprietary solutions.

Expected Output:

A fully automated, self-service IaC platform where developers request infrastructure via Kubernetes CRDs, and the platform provisions it securely without manual intervention.

🔗 Further Reading:

References:

Reported By: Everythingdevops Terraform – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅

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