Standard Terraform, Zero Lock-In

The fastest way to kill adoption of a new infrastructure tool is to require proprietary workflows.

PatternedDesigns modules are standard Terraform. No custom CLI. No platform dependencies. No vendor lock-in. Just production-ready modules you reference like any other.

How It Works

Reference modules from our registry. Deploy with Terraform. That’s it.

module "vpc" {
  source = "git::https://registry.patterneddesigns.ca/vpc?ref=v0.1.0"

  name = "production"
  cidr = "10.0.0.0/16"
}

This is normal Terraform. It works with:

• Your existing CI/CD pipelines
• Terraform Cloud, Spacelift, Atlantis
• Manual terraform apply from your laptop
• Any tool that speaks Terraform

No Magic, No Abstractions

Some infrastructure platforms wrap Terraform in custom DSLs or code generators. This creates lock-in:

• Custom CLI - You must use their tool to deploy
• Generated Terraform - You can’t edit the generated code
• Platform-specific state - Your state is trapped in their system
• Proprietary workflows - Your team learns their patterns, not Terraform

PatternedDesigns has none of this.

Our modules are normal Terraform modules. You can:

• Read the source code
• Fork and modify if needed
• Use standard Terraform tooling
• Keep your state wherever you want
• Stop using our modules at any time

What Happens If You Stop Paying?

Your infrastructure keeps running.

Our modules don’t phone home. There are no license checks. No runtime dependencies on our services.

If you cancel your subscription:

• ✅ Your infrastructure continues working
• ✅ Your Terraform state is unchanged
• ✅ You can keep using the modules you have
• ❌ You lose access to new versions
• ❌ You lose security patches and updates
• ❌ You lose support from maintainers

This is intentional. You own your infrastructure, not us.

Why This Matters

Vendor lock-in is expensive:

• Migration cost - Switching tools requires rewriting infrastructure
• Pricing power - Locked-in customers can’t negotiate
• Feature hostage - You’re dependent on vendor priorities

Zero lock-in means:

• Migration is trivial - Stop using our modules, use something else
• Transparent pricing - We charge for value, not switching costs
• You control priorities - Fork and modify if we don’t meet your needs

The Trade-Off

Zero lock-in has a cost: no platform magic.

Other tools offer:

• Visualizations and dashboards
• Policy enforcement engines
• Custom workflows and approval gates
• Integrated secret management

PatternedDesigns offers none of this. We’re just Terraform modules.

If you need platform features, use Terraform Cloud or Spacelift alongside our modules. They’re complementary, not competitive.

Who This Is For

PatternedDesigns is for teams that:

• Trust Terraform as the abstraction layer
• Don’t want platform lock-in
• Value simplicity over integrated dashboards
• Want ownership of their infrastructure code

If you need an integrated platform, we’re not the right choice.

What We Believe

Infrastructure-as-code should be code you can read, modify, and own.

Abstractions are useful when they reduce complexity. They’re harmful when they create dependency.

PatternedDesigns modules are an infrastructure library, not a platform. Use them like you’d use any other library: adopt what’s useful, ignore the rest, fork when needed.

No lock-in. No magic. Just production-ready Terraform.

Read the source code: registry.patterneddesigns.ca