Automate Incident Response: Rootly Terraform vs IaC 2025

The practice of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has transformed how we build and manage technology, moving from manual server configuration to automated, repeatable processes. But its benefits don't stop at provisioning. Today, modern engineering teams are applying IaC principles to incident response to bring consistency, speed, and reliability to how they handle outages.

Rootly is at the forefront of this shift, enabling you to build powerful, IaC-driven incident response workflows. By integrating with tools like Terraform, Rootly allows you to define your entire incident management process as code, turning a traditionally chaotic process into a predictable and automated one.

Understanding IaC-Driven Incident Response with Rootly

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the practice of managing your infrastructure—like servers, networks, and databases—through code and definition files rather than clicking around in a web console. Think of it as creating a blueprint for your entire system.

Rootly takes this powerful concept and applies it directly to the incident management lifecycle. Instead of manually configuring settings for incident severities, team roles, or response playbooks in a UI, you can define them all as code. This means every part of your incident process can be versioned, reviewed, and automated. You can explore the full incident lifecycle that can be codified with Rootly, from initial detection and creation to resolution and retrospectives.

The Rootly Terraform Provider: Your IaC Gateway

The official Rootly Terraform Provider is your gateway to managing your Rootly environment with code. Terraform is a popular IaC tool that lets you define resources in human-readable configuration files. With the Rootly provider, you can now extend Terraform's reach to your incident management setup.

This allows your team to codify your Rootly configuration, store it securely in a version control system like Git, and apply changes through an automated CI/CD pipeline. This approach treats your incident process with the same rigor as your application code. You can find the provider and get started on its official GitHub repository [1].

Key Resources You Can Manage with the Rootly Terraform Module

With the Rootly Terraform provider, you can define and manage all the core components of your incident response program as code. Here are a few examples:

• Services & Functionalities: Define the critical services and business functionalities that can be impacted by incidents, such as "API Gateway" or "Customer Checkout."
• Severities: Standardize incident severity levels across your organization (e.g., SEV0, SEV1) with predefined names, descriptions, and even colors for clear visual communication.
• Teams & Roles: Codify which teams are responsible for which services and what roles they play during an incident, ensuring the right people are always notified.
• Workflows: Create automated, trigger-based workflows that execute critical tasks. This is where you can build a true iac-driven incident response workflow by automating actions like creating a Jira ticket, notifying stakeholders in a specific Slack channel, or updating a status page.
• Custom Fields: Define and require specific pieces of information for every incident, ensuring you always collect the data needed for effective post-mortems.

Rootly Terraform Module Examples for 2025

Getting started is easier than you think. Below is a practical example of what a simple Rootly Terraform module configuration for 2025 might look like.

This code does three things:

1. Defines two severity levels, SEV0 and SEV1.
2. Defines a service named elasticsearch-prod.
3. Creates a workflow that automatically opens a Jira ticket whenever an incident is started.

# main.tf - Example Rootly Configuration

# 1. Define your incident severities as code
resource "rootly_severity" "sev0" {
 name  = "SEV0 - Critical"
 color = "#ff0000"
}

resource "rootly_severity" "sev1" {
 name  = "SEV1 - Major"
 color = "#ff4d00"
}

# 2. Define the services in your environment
resource "rootly_service" "elasticsearch" {
 name = "elasticsearch-prod"
}

# 3. Create an IaC-driven incident response workflow
resource "rootly_workflow_incident" "create_jira_ticket" {
 name        = "Create Jira Ticket on Incident Start"
 description = "Automatically creates a Jira issue for tracking."
 trigger_params = {
   triggers = ["incident_started"]
 }

 task_params = {
   tasks = [
     {
       task_type = "create_jira_issue"
       # Further configuration for the Jira task goes here
     }
   ]
 }
}

This simple file establishes a repeatable and automated process. For more detailed examples and guidance, check out the official Terraform documentation.

Comparing IaC Tools for Rootly: Terraform vs. Pulumi

While Terraform is an incredibly popular choice for IaC, it's not the only tool that works seamlessly with Rootly. Another powerful option is Pulumi. Let's briefly compare them.

Using Terraform with Rootly

Terraform uses a declarative, domain-specific language called HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language). Its syntax is designed to be easy to read and write, focusing on what you want to create rather than how to create it. Its benefits include a massive community, comprehensive documentation, and its status as an industry standard for infrastructure management. As you scale your incident response processes, you can apply the same best practices used for scalable infrastructure [2]. Rootly's dedicated and officially supported Terraform provider makes it a reliable choice for any organization already using HashiCorp tools.

Using Pulumi with Rootly

Pulumi takes a different approach. It allows you to define your infrastructure using general-purpose programming languages like Python, TypeScript, Go, or C#. This is a huge advantage for development teams who prefer to use familiar languages, tools, and testing frameworks. If your team is more comfortable writing application code than configuration files, Pulumi might be a better fit. Rootly also offers a first-class Pulumi package, giving you the flexibility to choose the IaC tool that best fits your team's skillset [3].

Migrating Existing Setups: From Manual to IaC

What if you already have a Rootly setup configured manually through the web UI? You don't have to start from scratch. You can migrate your existing configuration to an IaC model.

Previously, teams could use a tool called Terraformer to generate Terraform code from existing resources. However, the Rootly Terraformer tool is now deprecated. While you can still find old documentation about it for historical context, the recommended approach today is to use the native terraform import block. This modern feature in Terraform allows you to bring existing resources under IaC management without having to delete and recreate them. You can check out the context on the old tool in the Terraformer documentation.

Key Benefits of an IaC Approach to Incident Management

Adopting an iac-driven incident response workflow with Rootly provides several powerful advantages that lead to more resilient and efficient operations.

• Consistency & Standardization: By defining processes in code, you ensure every incident response is consistent and repeatable. This eliminates guesswork and ensures everyone follows company best practices, every time.
• Version Control & Auditability: Storing your incident configuration in Git gives you a complete audit trail. You can see who changed what and when, and you can use pull requests to review and approve changes before they go live.
• Scalability & Speed: Onboarding a new service or team is as simple as copying a Terraform or Pulumi module. This drastically reduces manual setup time and allows your incident management process to scale alongside your organization.
• Reduced Human Error: During a high-stress incident, it's easy to make mistakes or forget steps. Automating the creation and configuration of response processes eliminates the risk of manual errors when it matters most.

Conclusion: Build a More Resilient Future with Coded Incident Response

Managing your incident response process as code is the natural next step in the evolution of reliability engineering. It brings the same benefits of automation, versioning, and collaboration that we already rely on for our application and infrastructure code.

With first-class support for both Terraform and Pulumi, Rootly provides the powerful and flexible tools you need to adopt an IaC-driven approach. You don't have to boil the ocean overnight. Start your journey by codifying a small part of your process, like standardizing your severity levels, and expand from there.

Ready to build a faster, more reliable incident management process? Dive into Rootly's Terraform integration documentation to get started today.

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