Pulumi lets you define cloud infrastructure using real programming languages, with TypeScript, Python, Go, and more. Understanding Output and Input types, Stack references for cross-stack composition, the Automation API for embedding deployments, and Policy Packs for guardrails is essential for professional Pulumi development.
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What fundamentally distinguishes a Pulumi program from a Terraform HCL configuration?
Pulumi uses real programming languages, giving you native loops, conditionals, abstractions, and the full ecosystem of language packages. Terraform's HCL is declarative with limited meta-programming. Both produce an infrastructure graph that the engine reconciles with the cloud provider.
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In Pulumi, bucket.arn returns an Output<string>, not a plain string. Why?
Output<T> represents a value that will be known after the resource is created. This is Pulumi's way of tracking implicit dependencies: when you pass an Output as an Input to another resource, Pulumi knows that resource must be created after the one providing the Output.
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What is a Stack Reference in Pulumi, and when would you use it?
A StackReference lets one Pulumi program consume the exported outputs of another deployed Stack. For example, a shared NetworkStack exports VPC IDs, and an AppStack in a separate program reads them via a StackReference, keeping infrastructure concerns separated.
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What does the Pulumi Automation API enable that the CLI alone cannot?
The Automation API embeds the Pulumi engine as a library. You can programmatically create stacks, set config, run updates, and read outputs from within your own applications, enabling use cases like self-service infrastructure portals, dynamic environment provisioning, and testing infrastructure changes in CI.
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What is the purpose of Pulumi Policy Packs (CrossGuard)?
Policy Packs (CrossGuard) let platform teams codify compliance rules in TypeScript or Python. Policies run as a gate on every pulumi up or preview, examining resource configurations and either warning or hard-failing the deployment when violations are detected — enforcing guardrails across all teams using Pulumi.