Policy as Code: OPA's Rego vs. Cedar

Policy as code (PAC) is a development approach that treats authorization policies as code, using languages like Rego and Cedar, which are stored in version control systems. Rego, associated with the Open Policy Engine (OPA), and Cedar, used by Amazon Verified Permissions, both focus on decoupling policy from code, enhancing performance, and supporting scalability and auditability. While both languages share common traits such as being open-source and supporting WebAssembly compilation, they differ in focus, language design, and ecosystem. Rego is more flexible and infrastructure-oriented, with a mature ecosystem, but it can be complex and less readable. In contrast, Cedar is more application-oriented, readable, and structured, backed by AWS, but has a smaller ecosystem. Tools like Permit.io can assist in adopting these languages by providing a low-code UI to generate code, facilitating easier adoption and flexibility in using or switching between Rego and Cedar. The choice between them depends on specific use cases and requirements, but tools can help simplify the learning curve and initial adoption.

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