A New Terraform Alternative Has Arrived - Platform Engineering Labs Launches Formae

Image source: https://blog.platform.enginee…

TL;DR

Platform Engineering Labs introduces formae, an open-source IaC platform, to streamline cloud resource management and replace traditional systems like Terraform.

Key Points

Highlight key points with color coding based on sentiment (positive, neutral, negative).

Formae is an open-source Infrastructure as Code platform designed to replace traditional state-driven systems like Terraform by automatically discovering and codifying cloud resources.

It uses the PKL language for configuration, offering schema safety and extensibility, and eliminates infrastructure and state drift through automatic codification and synchronization.

The platform features patch-based changes with minimal risk, allowing for precise, incremental updates that improve reliability during infrastructure modifications.

Formae operates without explicit state management, treating state as reality itself, versioned in code and always up-to-date, which reduces operational burdens.

The Metastructure concept in formae's architecture combines infrastructure configuration with operational logic, enabling real-time monitoring, asynchronous change application, and continuous synchronization of infrastructure with code.

Stakeholder Relationships

An interactive diagram mapping entities directly or indirectly involved in this news. Drag nodes to rearrange them and see relationship details.

Organizations

Key entities and stakeholders, categorized for clarity: people, organizations, tools, events, regulatory bodies, and industries.

Platform Engineering Labs Technology Company

Developed and launched formae, an open-source Infrastructure as Code platform.

Apple Technology Company

Originally developed the PKL language used in formae before it was open-sourced.

Tools

Key entities and stakeholders, categorized for clarity: people, organizations, tools, events, regulatory bodies, and industries.

formae Infrastructure as Code Platform

An open-source platform designed to replace traditional state-driven systems like Terraform by automatically discovering and codifying cloud resources.

PKL Programming Language

The language used in formae, originally developed by Apple and open-sourced under the Apache 2.0 license.

Timeline of Events

Timeline of key events and milestones.

2025-10-27 Platform Engineering Labs announced the official launch of formae.

Formae is a new platform engineering tool designed to streamline and enhance development processes.

Future Planned support for multi-agent distribution in formae.

Future updates to formae will include support for multi-agent distribution, expanding its capabilities.

Future Planned additional datastore implementations for formae.

Formae will see new datastore implementations, broadening its integration options.

Future Planned development of formae to support other public clouds and deeper management of infrastructure technologies like Kubernetes.

Future developments aim to extend formae's compatibility with various public clouds and enhance its infrastructure management features.

Future Platform Engineering Labs plans to address other fundamental problems in the space of platform engineering.

The company intends to tackle additional challenges within the platform engineering domain, beyond the current scope of formae.

Platform Engineering Labs has officially launched formae, a new tool designed to streamline and enhance development processes. Announced on October 27, 2025, formae aims to address some of the fundamental challenges in platform engineering. This tool is set to provide developers with a more efficient way to manage their workflows, though the specifics of its functionality are still unfolding. The launch marks a significant step for the company as it seeks to expand its influence in the platform engineering space.

Looking ahead, formae is poised for further development. The company plans to introduce support for multi-agent distribution, which could significantly broaden the tool's capabilities. Additionally, there are plans to implement new datastore options, enhancing formae's integration potential. These updates are expected to make formae more adaptable to various development environments. The roadmap also includes extending compatibility with other public clouds and improving infrastructure management, particularly with technologies like Kubernetes.

Platform Engineering Labs is not stopping there. They have expressed intentions to tackle other core issues within platform engineering, beyond the current scope of formae. While the specifics of these future endeavors remain under wraps, the company's proactive stance indicates a promising trajectory for both formae and its broader platform engineering initiatives.