A way to detect AWS/Terraform drift
The article introduces a tool called InfraViewer that helps detect drift between AWS infrastructure and Terraform configuration files, alerting users when the actual cloud environment differs from the declared state.
Background
- **AWS/Terraform "drift"** refers to the difference between the infrastructure you *think* you have (declared in your Terraform code) and what actually exists in AWS. Over time, manual changes via the AWS console, automatic updates, or team members editing resources outside Terraform cause the real state to diverge from the code — leading to failed deployments, security holes, or unexpected bills.
- **Terraform** is an open-source "Infrastructure as Code" (IaC) tool from HashiCorp. Teams write `.tf` files to define cloud resources (servers, databases, networking), then Terraform creates/updates them in AWS. Drift detection is a standard Terraform command (`terraform plan`), but it can be slow and hard to integrate into automated workflows.
- This article presents a lightweight, standalone tool (hosted at infraviewer.site) that independently scans your AWS account and compares its resources to your Terraform state file — flagging drift without needing to run Terraform itself. It's aimed at DevOps engineers who want a faster, separate check (e.g., as a CI pipeline step or a dashboard) rather than relying solely on Terraform's built-in detection.