Chef Infra configuration management tool for automating infrastructure configuration, deployment, and management across any environment, at any scale, for DevOps engineers and infrastructure teams.
What it is
Chef Infra configuration management tool. Tagline: automation platform that transforms infrastructure into code, automating how infrastructure configured, deployed, managed across any environment, at any scale. Brings automation to entire infrastructure. Lives in Chef ecosystem. Related Chef projects: Chef Automate, Chef Habitat, Chef InSpec. Language Ruby. License Apache-2.0. Category: Infrastructure & Operations / Cloud Infrastructure Management. GitHub repo chef/chef. Homepage http://www.chef.io/chef/. Umbrella Project: Chef Infra. Project State: Active.
Solves manual infrastructure configuration problem. Replaces ad-hoc manual configuration and deployment work with code. Topics: automation, cfgmgt, chef, deployment, devops, infrastructure, hacktoberfest. Stars 8238. Forks 2519. Open issues 411. Last push 2026-09-17T22:24:05Z. Issues response time maximum 14 days. Pull request response time maximum 14 days. Repo has Buildkite badge and GitHub Actions badges: lint, kitchen, unit_specs, func_spec. Dependabot updates. Gem version badge. Release policy: Cadence Release. Other resources for Chef Infra users: Documentation, Source, Tickets/Issues, Chef Community Slack, Mailing list/Forum. Full copyright see COPYRIGHT.md.
Key capabilities
- Configuration management: turns infrastructure into code. Topic cfgmgt.
- Automates configuration, deployment, management across any environment, at any scale.
- chef-client: repo primarily for reporting issues in chef-client itself.
- Monthly feature releases and yearly major releases. See Chef Infra Release and Support Schedule.
- Free self-paced learning platform Learn Chef. Module-based training for Chef Infra, Chef Automate, Chef Habitat, Chef InSpec.
- Apache-2.0 license. Ruby language. Active project state. 14-day max issue and PR response times.
- Community support: GitHub Issues, Chef Community Slack, #chef-dev channel, mailing list/forum. Hacktoberfest topic. Community PR reviews.
Who uses it and how
- DevOps teams automating infrastructure configuration across environments.
- Infrastructure engineers managing deployments at any scale.
- Contributors: community PR reviews with community and engineering staff, Hacktoberfest, issue reporting in chef-client repo, contributing via CONTRIBUTING.md.
- Users learning via Learn Chef modules for Chef Infra and related Chef tools.
- Organizations using Chef ecosystem: Chef Automate, Chef Habitat, Chef InSpec. Teams reporting issues via GitHub Issues or #chef-dev Slack channel.
Getting started
README directs users to Learn Chef, free self-paced learning platform, for Chef Infra usage. No install command, package name, Docker image, or compose file in README excerpt. See How Chef Infra Is Built for PR to release process.
How it compares
No paid products this project replaces listed in facts. No similar tools named in facts. Chef Infra stands alone in this registry entry.
When to use it — and when not to
Repo README sparse: no install command, no Docker image, no compose file. Getting started depends on external Learn Chef platform. Self-hosting requirements not detailed in README: no database, storage, SMTP mentioned. Users wanting self-contained repo docs should not pick this repo as sole source. Open issues 411. Last push 2026-09-17.
project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline
Chef Infra
Umbrella Project: Chef Infra
Project State: Active
Issues Response Time Maximum: 14 days
Pull Request Response Time Maximum: 14 days
Getting Started
Chef Infra is a configuration management tool designed to bring automation to your entire infrastructure.
Want to try Chef Infra?
For Chef Infra usage, please refer to Learn Chef, our self-paced, entirely free learning platform. Learn Chef also includes module-based training for Chef Infra, as well as Chef Automate, Chef Habitat, and Chef InSpec.
Other useful resources for Chef Infra users:
Reporting Issues
Issues can be reported by using GitHub Issues.
Note that this repository is primarily for reporting issues in the chef-client itself. For reporting issues against other Chef projects, please look up the appropriate repository. If you're unsure where to submit an issue, please ask in the #chef-dev channel in Chef Community Slack.
How We Build & Release Chef
For information on how a contribution goes from PR to released package, see How Chef Infra Is Built
To learn more about our monthly feature releases and yearly major releases, see Chef Infra Release and Support Schedule.
Getting Involved
We'd love to have your help developing Chef Infra. See our Contributing Document for more information on getting started.
Community PR Reviews
Want to raise, review, and help merge a PR with the community and the engineering staff? Please see: Community Pr Review
License
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
Copyright
See COPYRIGHT.md.