devtools.fm: Developer Tools, Open Source, Software Development Sam Goodwin - Alchemy and the Next Generation of Infra as Code
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Apr 14, 2025 Join Sam Goodwin, creator of Alchemy and former Amazon engineer, as he dives into the world of infrastructure as code. He critiques current tools like Terraform, advocating for a simpler, TypeScript-based solution. Sam discusses leveraging AI for resource management and introduces innovative concepts like Cloudflare's durable objects, emphasizing efficiency and data isolation. He also highlights the significance of community engagement and envisioning the future of infrastructure management, making this conversation a must-listen for tech enthusiasts.
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IaC Complexity
- Current infrastructure as code (IaC) is built on 10 years of technical debt, making it overly complex.
- IaC boils down to calling create, update, or delete in the right order, which can be achieved simply with fetch calls.
Cloudflare & Terraform
- Sam Goodwin chose Cloudflare as Alchemy's starting point due to its poor Terraform support.
- He criticizes SST's reliance on Terraform, hindering their Cloudflare integration and forcing them to build workarounds.
AI & IaC
- AI empowers personal autonomy in IaC by generating resources and tests from API documentation.
- This solves the coverage problem of traditional IaC tools, as developers can generate what they need without relying on others.