# chef/chef

Chef Infra, a powerful automation platform that transforms infrastructure into code automating how infrastructure is configured, deployed and managed across any environment, at any scale

Repository: https://github.com/chef/chef
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/chef
Homepage: http://www.chef.io/chef/
Language: Ruby
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: chef, devops, cfgmgt, infrastructure, automation, deployment, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-08-26T22:24:47+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 67/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6439, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 8231, forks 2522 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:19.731085+00:00)

## What it is
Chef Infra is a configuration management platform that turns infrastructure into code, automating how systems are configured, deployed, and managed at any scale. It uses declarative recipes and cookbooks to enforce desired state and correct configuration drift across heterogeneous environments.

## Use cases
- automate server configuration across hundreds of nodes
- manage infrastructure as code with declarative recipes
- detect and correct configuration drift on linux and windows servers
- deploy consistent environments across cloud and on-prem infrastructure
- manage mac and windows desktop fleets centrally
- enforce repeatable infrastructure policies in ci/cd pipelines

## When to choose
- you need mature, battle-tested configuration management at large scale
- you manage heterogeneous fleets of linux, windows, and macos machines
- you want policy-based, testable infrastructure code with drift correction
- your team prefers a Ruby-based DSL and a large cookbook ecosystem

## When to avoid
- you only need immutable infrastructure or container orchestration rather than node configuration
- you prefer agentless tools like Ansible for simpler ad-hoc automation
- you want a lightweight tool without a client-server architecture
- your team has no Ruby experience and wants a simpler YAML-based workflow

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: configuration-management, infrastructure-as-code, deployment, workflow-automation, developer-tools
- domain: infrastructure-as-code, cloud-computing, self-hosted
- platform: windows, cross-platform, ruby, cli
- tags: chef-infra, infrastructure-automation, cookbooks, policy-as-code, devops, configuration-drift, ruby, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- chef/chef (main) score 67

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:19.731085+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:29:30.657777+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/chef/chef (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:19.731085+00:00, sha f93b2b951357)
  - homepage: http://www.chef.io/chef/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:06.156356+00:00, sha 9530df8ca1d4)
  - site_page: https://docs.chef.io (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:06.165935+00:00, sha c045f99ebfe1)
  - site_page: https://docs.chef.io/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:06.169316+00:00, sha c045f99ebfe1)
  - site_page: https://www.chef.io/how-to-buy (fetched 2026-08-29T08:28:06.167649+00:00, sha 1b60fb194ced)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.