What is Spacelift?

Spacelift is a cloud-based platform that automates the building, testing, and deployment of infrastructure-as-code (IaC) files. It works with tools like Terraform and Pulumi to help teams manage cloud resources safely and efficiently.

Let's break it down

  • Spacelift - the name of the service, a tool you use through a web UI or API.
  • Cloud-based platform - you don’t install it on your own server; it runs on the internet.
  • Automates - it runs tasks for you automatically, without you having to click “run” each time.
  • Building, testing, and deployment - the three steps of creating code, checking it works, and then applying it to real cloud resources.
  • Infrastructure-as-code (IaC) - writing the description of servers, networks, databases, etc., in code files instead of manual clicks.
  • Terraform, Pulumi - popular IaC tools that Spacelift understands and can control.

Why does it matter?

Because managing cloud resources by hand is slow, error-prone, and hard to audit. Spacelift speeds up the process, catches mistakes early, enforces security rules, and gives teams a clear history of what changed and why.

Where is it used?

  • A fintech company uses Spacelift to automatically apply Terraform changes for its payment processing infrastructure while ensuring compliance rules are met.
  • A SaaS startup runs Spacelift pipelines to spin up and tear down Kubernetes clusters for each development branch, keeping environments isolated.
  • A managed-services provider delivers IaC for multiple clients, using Spacelift to centralize approvals and audit logs.
  • An e-commerce platform integrates Spacelift with its CI system to test infrastructure changes before a big holiday traffic rollout.

Good things about it

  • Native support for major IaC tools (Terraform, Pulumi, CloudFormation).
  • Built-in policy-as-code engine (OPA, Sentinel) for automated compliance checks.
  • Visual UI plus CLI, making monitoring and debugging easy for both developers and ops.
  • Scales with cloud providers and includes secret management, so credentials stay safe.
  • Detailed audit logs and traceability for every change, helping with security reviews.

Not-so-good things

  • Pricing can be steep for small teams or hobby projects.
  • Learning curve for writing and maintaining policy-as-code rules.
  • No on-premise or fully offline deployment option, which some regulated industries require.
  • Some advanced features (e.g., custom runners, deep integrations) are locked behind higher-tier plans.