terraform-compliance
BDD test framework for terraform
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. terraform-compliance is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and fills a genuine gap in open-source infrastructure policy testing. It is worth installing if you need to enforce compliance or security standards on Terraform code before deployment, especially in teams where policy ownership should be separated from development.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires a Terraform plan in JSON format (terraform plan -out=tfplan && terraform show -json tfplan > tfplan.json); Gherkin feature files must follow radish syntax conventions.
- Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel and 13 runtime dependencies.
- Actively maintained with recent commits and a stable release cadence; last release 98 days ago.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and commercial infrastructure projects.
last release 2026-05-08 (98 days) · last repo commit 2026-05-08 · 1,459 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 173,248 downloads/mo, #10,315 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install terraform-compliance
Create a .feature file with Gherkin syntax:
Given I have AWS S3 Bucket defined
Then it must contain server_side_encryption_configuration
Run against a Terraform plan:
terraform-compliance -p tfplan.json -f features/- Whether the optional faster_parsing pip install flag is available and what performance improvement it provides.
- Specific Terraform versions supported or tested against.
- Whether custom policy libraries or pre-built policy packs are available beyond the core framework.
What it is and what it does
terraform-compliance is a test framework that applies Behaviour Driven Development principles to infrastructure-as-code validation. Instead of traditional functional testing, it focuses on negative testing—ensuring your Terraform code adheres to security and compliance policies before deployment. You write policies in plain Gherkin syntax (the same language used in radish-bdd), which makes them readable to both developers and security teams. The framework parses your Terraform plan and validates it against these policies, catching violations early in your CI/CD pipeline.
The package depends on radish-bdd for feature file parsing, gitpython for repository operations, and several utilities for parsing, formatting, and caching results. It runs on multiple Python versions and operating systems, integrating easily into existing deployment pipelines or git hooks. The framework is particularly useful when you need to enforce organizational standards—such as requiring S3 bucket encryption or preventing public security group rules—without relying on enterprise Sentinel licensing.
Use it for
- Enforce encryption requirements on cloud storage resources before they are deployed to production.
- Validate that security groups and network ACLs follow your organization's least-privilege policies.
- Ensure all database instances have backup and high-availability configurations defined in code.
- Prevent creation of publicly accessible resources that should remain private.
- Run compliance checks in CI/CD pipelines to gate infrastructure deployments.
- Segregate policy ownership by storing feature files in a separate repository managed by a security team.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
terraform-compliance is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and fills a genuine gap in open-source infrastructure policy testing. It is worth installing if you need to enforce compliance or security standards on Terraform code before deployment, especially in teams where policy ownership should be separated from development.
Install
terraform-compliance on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel and 13 runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with recent commits and a stable release cadence; last release 98 days ago.
Requires a Terraform plan in JSON format (terraform plan -out=tfplan && terraform show -json tfplan > tfplan.json); Gherkin feature files must follow radish syntax conventions.
License in practice
MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and commercial infrastructure projects.
Quickstart
pip install terraform-compliance
Create a .feature file with Gherkin syntax:
Given I have AWS S3 Bucket defined
Then it must contain server_side_encryption_configuration
Run against a Terraform plan:
terraform-compliance -p tfplan.json -f features/Verify before relying
- Whether the optional faster_parsing pip install flag is available and what performance improvement it provides.
- Specific Terraform versions supported or tested against.
- Whether custom policy libraries or pre-built policy packs are available beyond the core framework.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 13 packagesradish-bddgitpythonnetaddrcolorfulfiletypejunit-xmllxmlemojimocksemverIPythondiskcacheorjson |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 98 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 173,248 / month, #10,315 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: MacOSOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: POSIXOperating System :: UnixProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: terraform_compliance-1.15.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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