Shaping Configuration as Code

Octopus Deploy has introduced a new feature called Configuration as Code (Config as Code), which allows Octopus project configurations to be stored in a Git repository instead of a relational database, enhancing version control, branching, and collaboration. This feature aims to provide a solution to the highly requested ability for version-controlling Octopus configurations, offering benefits like viewing historical changes, enabling multiple deployment process versions through Git branches, and maintaining a single source of truth by having application code and deployment configuration together. The development team avoided certain anti-patterns found in similar integrations, such as treating Git as just another database or abstracting Git concepts too heavily. Instead, they designed the feature to leverage Git's capabilities, such as branches and commit messages, while maintaining Octopus's usability. The configuration language chosen is based on Hashicorp's HCL, referred to as Octopus Configuration Language (OCL), for its readability and suitability for complex deployment processes. After an early access preview in 2021, Config as Code is set to be available for production use, with webinars offered to guide users in adopting and scaling this feature.