<p>Infrastructure as Code (IaC) has become a standard practice for managing cloud resources. While tools like Terraform use domain-specific languages (HCL), Pulumi takes a different approach by allowing you to define infrastructure using familiar general-purpose programming languages like TypeScript, Python, Go, and C#.</p>

<p>In this guide, we will walk through the core concepts of Pulumi and deploy a real AWS resource using TypeScript.</p>

<h2 id="what-is-pulumi">What is Pulumi?</h2>
<p>Pulumi is an open-source infrastructure as code tool that allows you to create, deploy, and manage cloud infrastructure. Unlike other tools that require you to learn a new syntax, Pulumi leverages existing ecosystems.</p>
<ul>
    <li><strong>Languages:</strong> Use loops, functions, classes, and package managers (npm, pip).</li>
    <li><strong>State Management:</strong> Pulumi manages the state of your infrastructure, storing it in the Pulumi Cloud by default, or in an S3 bucket/local file system if preferred.</li>
    <li><strong>Multi-Cloud:</strong> Supports AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Kubernetes.</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="prerequisites">Prerequisites</h2>
<p>Before we begin, ensure you have the following installed:</p>
<ul>
    <li><strong>Node.js:</strong> Required for the TypeScript runtime.</li>
    <li><strong>AWS CLI:</strong> Configured with your AWS credentials (<code>aws configure</code>).</li>
    <li><strong>Pulumi CLI:</strong> Install via Homebrew (macOS), curl (Linux), or Chocolatey (Windows).</li>
</ul>
<pre><code class="language-bash"># macOS

brew install pulumi

Linux

curl -fsSL https://get.pulumi.com | sh

Windows

choco install pulumi</code></pre>

<h2 id="setting-up-the-project">Setting Up the Project</h2>
<p>Let's create a new Pulumi project using the AWS TypeScript template.</p>

<h3 id="1-initialize-project">1. Initialize Project</h3>
<pre><code class="language-bash">mkdir pulumi-aws-demo && cd pulumi-aws-demo

pulumi new aws-typescript</code></pre>

<p>The CLI will prompt you for:</p>
<ul>
    <li><strong>Project name:</strong> (default: pulumi-aws-demo)</li>
    <li><strong>Description:</strong> A brief description.</li>
    <li><strong>Stack name:</strong> (default: dev) - This represents an isolated environment (e.g., dev, prod).</li>
    <li><strong>AWS Region:</strong> (e.g., us-east-1).</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="writing-infrastructure-code">Writing Infrastructure Code</h2>
<p>Open the <code>index.ts</code> file. This is where we define our resources. We will create a simple S3 bucket.</p>

<pre><code class="language-typescript">import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";

import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

// Create an AWS resource (S3 Bucket) const bucket = new aws.s3.Bucket("my-bucket", { tags: { Environment: "Dev", Name: "MyPulumiBucket" } });

// Export the name of the bucket export const bucketName = bucket.id;</code></pre>

<p><strong>Key Concepts:</strong></p>
<ul>
    <li><strong>Resources:</strong> <code>aws.s3.Bucket</code> is a Pulumi resource class mapped to the AWS S3 service.</li>
    <li><strong>Outputs:</strong> <code>bucket.id</code> is an output property. Pulumi resolves this value strictly after the resource is created.</li>
    <li><strong>Exports:</strong> <code>export const bucketName</code> allows us to see this value in the CLI after deployment.</li>
</ul>

<h2 id="deploying-infrastructure">Deploying Infrastructure</h2>
<p>To provision the resources, run:</p>
<pre><code class="language-bash">pulumi up</code></pre>

<p>Pulumi will show a preview of the changes (the "plan"). Review it and select <strong>yes</strong> to confirm.</p>
<pre><code class="language-bash">Updating (dev)

 Type                 Name             Status

pulumi:pulumi:Stack pulumi-aws-demo created
└─ aws:s3:Bucket my-bucket created

Outputs: bucketName: "my-bucket-12345abcdef"

Resources: + 2 created

Duration: 4s</code></pre>

<h2 id="verifying-deployment">Verifying Deployment</h2>
<p>You can verify the bucket exists using the AWS CLI:</p>
<pre><code class="language-bash">aws s3 ls | grep my-bucket</code></pre>

<h2 id="cleaning-up">Cleaning Up</h2>
<p>To avoid incurring costs, destroy the resources when you are done:</p>
<pre><code class="language-bash">pulumi destroy</code></pre>
<p>Confirm with <strong>yes</strong> to remove all resources managed by this stack.</p>

<h2 id="faq">FAQ</h2>
<h3>Is Pulumi free?</h3>
<p>Pulumi is open-source and free to use for individual developers. They offer paid plans for teams needing advanced policy and state management features.</p>

<h3>Does Pulumi store my state?</h3>
<p>By default, Pulumi stores state in the Pulumi Cloud (managed service). However, you can configure it to store state locally or in an S3 bucket/Azure Blob/GCS.</p>

<h3>Can I use existing AWS resources?</h3>
<p>Yes, Pulumi supports importing existing resources into your stack so you can manage them via code.</p>

Getting Started with Pulumi on AWS: A Complete Guide

Linux

Windows