Crossplane: the future of Kubernetes-native Infrastructure as Code?

As cloud-native architectures evolve, infrastructure management is shifting towards declarative, Kubernetes-native solutions. Tools like Terraform have dominated Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for years, however, Crossplane is emerging as a powerful alternative. It extends Kubernetes beyond container orchestration, allowing teams to manage cloud resources directly using Kubernetes APIs.

But is Crossplane the future of IaC? How does it compare to Terraform, and how can it integrate with GitOps workflows? Let’s take a look.

What is Crossplane?

Crossplane is an open-source Kubernetes add-on that enables teams to manage infrastructure declaratively, just like they would manage applications. Unlike Terraform, which operates externally, Crossplane runs inside a Kubernetes cluster, leveraging Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs) to provision and manage cloud resources.

Key Features:

• Kubernetes-native API for infrastructure management.
• Supports multiple cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc.).
• Composable and reusable infrastructure definitions.
• Full lifecycle management, including updates and deletions.

Crossplane essentially transforms Kubernetes into a universal control plane for infrastructure.

How it works

Crossplane introduces a few key concepts that differentiate it from traditional IaC tools:

1. Providers

Providers enable external cloud resource management, similar to Terraform providers. AWS, Azure and GCP all have their own Crossplane providers, allowing users to provision cloud services using Kubernetes manifests.

2. Compositions

Compositions allows teams to define reusable infrastructure blueprints. For example, instead of exposing raw AWS RDS resources, you can create a standardized "Database" abstraction that enforces security and cost policies.

3. Claims

Claims allows application teams to request resources without needing to understand the underlying infrastructure. This aligns with the "Self-Service Platform Engineering" model, where developers request resources, and Crossplane provisions them automatically.

Crossplane vs. Terraform: best applications

While both tools manage infrastructure declaratively, they have different advantages:

When to use Crossplane:

• You want to manage infrastructure through Kubernetes.
• You need continuous reconciliation to ensure desired state.
• You’re implementing GitOps and want infrastructure managed declaratively via Kubernetes manifests.

When to use Terraform:

• You need a mature ecosystem with extensive provider support.
• You prefer standalone infrastructure management, independent of Kubernetes.
• You want granular control over execution plans and apply workflows.

GitOps + Crossplane

One of Crossplane’s biggest advantages is its seamless integration with GitOps. By combining it with ArgoCD or FluxCD, teams can declaratively manage both applications and infrastructure from a single Git repository.

The integration works as follows:

1. Define infrastructure as Kubernetes manifests.
2. Push changes to a Git repository.
3. ArgoCD/FluxCD syncs the manifests, triggering Crossplane to provision resources.
4. Crossplane continuously reconciles the infrastructure to match the declared state.

This eliminates the need for manual Terraform runs and ensures that infrastructure always aligns with the desired state.

Future of Kubernetes-native IaC

Crossplane is rapidly gaining adoption, especially among teams adopting GitOps and Kubernetes-first workflows. While Terraform remains the de facto standard for IaC, Crossplane’s Kubernetes-native approach makes it a compelling alternative for modern cloud-native environments.

However, some challenges still remain, to name a few:

• Increased learning curve for Kubernetes newcomers.
• Lack of maturity compared to Terraform’s established ecosystem.
• Provider limitations, as not all cloud services are fully supported yet.

Despite these hindrances, Crossplane is pushing the boundaries of Kubernetes-native infrastructure management. As the industry moves toward full-stack declarative automation, it could become the standard for infrastructure as code in Kubernetes environments.

Crossplane is redefining how we think about infrastructure management, shifting from external tools like Terraform to a fully Kubernetes-native approach. With it, teams can unify application and infrastructure management, integrate with GitOps workflows, and enable self-service platforms.

As organizations embrace Kubernetes as their central control plane, Crossplane’s adoption is most likely to grow up. Is it the future of IaC? Only time will tell—but it’s certainly a right step in that direction.