Solar Boat CLI 🚀

Solar Boat is a command-line interface tool designed for Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and GitOps workflows. It provides intelligent Terraform operations management with automatic dependency detection and stateful/stateless module handling.

Why "Solar Boat"? Inspired by the Ancient Egyptian Solar Boats that carried Pharaohs through their celestial journey, this CLI tool serves as a modern vessel that carries developers through the complexities of operations and infrastructure management. Just as the ancient boats handled the journey through the afterlife so the Pharaoh didn't have to worry about it, Solar Boat CLI handles the operational journey so developers can focus on what they do best - writing code.

Features ✨

Current Features

• Intelligent Terraform Operations
  • Automatic detection of changed modules
  • Smart handling of stateful and stateless modules
  • Automatic dependency propagation
  • Parallel execution of independent modules
  • Detailed operation reporting

Coming Soon

• Self-service ephemeral environments on Kubernetes
• Infrastructure management and deployment
• Custom workflow automation

Installation 📦

Using Cargo (Recommended)

# Install the latest version
cargo install solarboat

# Install a specific version
cargo install solarboat --version 0.3.0

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/devqik/solarboat.git
cd solarboat
cargo build

Usage 🛠️

Basic Commands

# Scan for changed Terraform modules
solarboat scan

# Scan modules in a specific directory
solarboat scan --path ./terraform-modules

# Plan Terraform changes
solarboat plan

# Plan and save outputs to a specific directory
solarboat plan --output-dir ./terraform-plans

# Plan changes while ignoring specific workspaces
solarboat plan --ignore-workspaces dev,staging

# Apply Terraform changes (dry-run mode by default)
solarboat apply

# Apply actual Terraform changes
solarboat apply --dry-run=false

# Apply changes while ignoring specific workspaces
solarboat apply --ignore-workspaces prod,staging

Command Details

Scan

The scan command analyzes your repository for changed Terraform modules and their dependencies. It:

• Detects modified .tf files
• Builds a dependency graph
• Identifies affected modules
• Does not generate any plans or make changes

Plan

The plan command generates Terraform plans for changed modules. It:

• Runs terraform init for each module
• Detects and handles multiple workspaces
• Generates detailed plans for each workspace
• Optionally skips specified workspaces
• Optionally saves plans to a specified directory
• Shows what changes would be made

Apply

The apply command implements the changes to your infrastructure. It:

• Runs terraform init for each module
• Detects and handles multiple workspaces
• Supports dry-run mode for safety
• Optionally skips specified workspaces
• Automatically approves changes in CI/CD
• Shows real-time progress

Module Types

Solar Boat CLI recognizes two types of Terraform modules:

• Stateful Modules: Modules that manage actual infrastructure state (contain backend configuration)
• Stateless Modules: Reusable modules without state (no backend configuration)

When changes are detected in stateless modules, the CLI automatically identifies and processes any stateful modules that depend on them.

Workspace Handling

Solar Boat CLI provides intelligent workspace management for Terraform modules:

• Automatic Detection: Automatically detects if a module has multiple workspaces
• Individual Processing: Processes each workspace separately for both plan and apply operations
• Workspace Filtering: Allows skipping specific workspaces using the --ignore-workspaces flag
• Default Workspace: Handles modules with only the default workspace appropriately

GitHub Actions Integration

Solar Boat provides a GitHub Action for seamless integration with your CI/CD pipeline. The action can scan for changes, generate Terraform plans, and automatically comment on pull requests with the results.

Basic Usage

name: Infrastructure Management

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [ main ]
  push:
    branches: [ main ]

jobs:
  infrastructure:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0  # Important for detecting changes

      - name: Scan for Changes
        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
        uses: devqik/solarboat-action@latest
        with:
          command: scan
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

      - name: Plan Infrastructure Changes
        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
        uses: devqik/solarboat-action@latest
        with:
          command: plan
          output_dir: terraform-plans
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          
      - name: Apply Infrastructure Changes
        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
        uses: devqik/solarboat-action@latest
        with:
          command: apply
          apply_dry_run: false  # Set to true for dry-run mode
          github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

This workflow will:

1. Scan for changes
2. Plan infrastructure changes
3. Comment on the PR with results
4. Apply changes when merged to main

Action Inputs

Workflow Examples

Basic Scan and Plan:

- name: Scan Changes
  uses: devqik/solarboat@v0.3.0
  with:
    command: scan

- name: Plan Changes
  uses: devqik/solarboat@v0.3.0
  with:
    command: plan
    plan_output_dir: my-plans

Apply with Workspace Filtering:

- name: Apply Changes
  uses: devqik/solarboat@v0.3.0
  with:
    command: apply
    ignore_workspaces: dev,staging,test
    apply_dry_run: true

Complete Workflow with Conditions:

jobs:
  terraform:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      # Run on all branches
      - name: Plan Changes
        uses: devqik/solarboat@v0.3.0
        with:
          command: plan
          plan_output_dir: terraform-plans
          ignore_workspaces: dev,staging
      
      # Run only on main branch
      - name: Apply Changes
        if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
        uses: devqik/solarboat@v0.3.0
        with:
          command: apply
          ignore_workspaces: dev,staging

      # Access plan artifacts
      - name: Download Plans
        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: terraform-plans
          path: terraform-plans

The action automatically uploads Terraform plans as artifacts when using the plan command, making them available for review or use in subsequent workflow steps.

PR Comment Example

When a plan is generated, the action will automatically comment on the pull request with:

• Summary of changes detected
• Links to plan artifacts
• Next steps for review
• Retention period information

Security Note

The action requires GITHUB_TOKEN for commenting on PRs and managing artifacts. This token is automatically provided by GitHub Actions, but you need to pass it explicitly to the action.

Contributing ��

Contributions are welcome! Please read our Contributing Guide for details on our code of conduct and the process for submitting pull requests.

License 📄

This project is licensed under the BSD-3-Clause License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support 💬

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Documentation: Wiki

Acknowledgments 🙏

Special thanks to all contributors who help make this project better! Whether you're fixing bugs, improving documentation, or suggesting features, your contributions are greatly appreciated.

~ @devqik (Creator)