InSpec
A fast, readable, open source language for infrastructure testing and compliance.
Overview
InSpec is an open-source framework for testing and auditing your applications and infrastructure. It works by comparing the actual state of your system with the desired state that you express in easy-to-read and -write InSpec code. InSpec detects violations and displays findings as a report. It is often used for compliance as code and security testing.
✨ Key Features
- Human-readable, domain-specific language (DSL)
- Test and audit infrastructure against compliance and security requirements
- Platform-agnostic: works on Windows, Linux, and macOS
- Can run tests locally, remotely via SSH or WinRM, or against cloud provider APIs
- Extensible with custom resources
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Human-readable DSL
- Strong focus on compliance and security
- Cloud provider integrations for API-level testing
Unique Value: Enables teams to express security and compliance requirements as code, making it possible to automate testing and auditing of infrastructure.
🎯 Use Cases (4)
✅ Best For
- Auditing systems against CIS benchmarks
- Verifying the configuration of servers managed by configuration management tools
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Provisioning infrastructure (use Terraform or CloudFormation)
- End-to-end orchestration of complex tests (Terratest may be a better fit)
🏆 Alternatives
Offers a more abstract and readable language compared to Serverspec, and provides broader platform support, including direct cloud API integration.
💻 Platforms
✅ Offline Mode Available
🔌 Integrations
🔒 Compliance & Security
💰 Pricing
Free tier: Open source and free to use.
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