---
title: How to manage exist.io with Terraform and Helm
description: Automate enterprise Git infrastructure with the official Terraform / OpenTofu provider and Kubernetes Helm chart.
---

exist.io provides official Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tooling, including a dedicated **Terraform / OpenTofu Provider** and a production-ready **Kubernetes Helm Chart**.

## Step 1: Manage resources with Terraform / OpenTofu

The provider lives in `deploy/terraform-provider-exist` and communicates directly with the exist.io REST API.

### Provider Configuration

```hcl
terraform {
  required_providers {
    exist = {
      source  = "exist.io/enterprise/exist"
      version = ">= 0.1.0"
    }
  }
}

provider "exist" {
  endpoint = var.exist_endpoint # e.g. "https://git.corp.exist.io"
  token    = var.exist_token    # Bearer token or PAT
}
```

### Manage Namespaces, Repositories, and Security Policies

```hcl
# 1. Create an engineering organization namespace
resource "exist_namespace" "core_eng" {
  slug         = "core-eng"
  display_name = "Core Engineering"
  description  = "Mission-critical enterprise services and microservices."
  type         = "organization"
}

# 2. Inbound IP Allowlist perimeter
resource "exist_ip_allowlist" "vpc_perimeter" {
  namespace_slug = exist_namespace.core_eng.slug
  enabled        = true
  entries = [
    { cidr = "10.0.0.0/8", description = "Internal Kubernetes Service Mesh" },
    { cidr = "192.168.1.0/24", description = "Office VPN Gateway" },
  ]
}

# 3. Create a Git repository
resource "exist_repository" "payment_service" {
  namespace_slug = exist_namespace.core_eng.slug
  name           = "payment-service"
  description    = "PCI-DSS compliant payment processing engine."
  default_branch = "main"
  private        = true
}

# 4. Enforce branch protection ruleset
resource "exist_ruleset" "mainline_protection" {
  namespace_slug = exist_namespace.core_eng.slug
  repo_name      = exist_repository.payment_service.name
  name           = "PCI-DSS Mainline Merge Gate"
  enforcement    = "active"
  kind           = "branch"
  included_refs  = ["refs/heads/main"]

  # Enforce at least 2 approvals and block force pushes
  rules = [
    {
      type = "pull_request"
      parameters = {
        required_approving_review_count = 2
        dismiss_stale_reviews_on_push   = true
      }
    },
    {
      type = "required_status_checks"
      parameters = {
        checks = ["Security Audit", "Go Unit Tests"]
      }
    },
    {
      type       = "required_signatures"
      parameters = {}
    },
    {
      type       = "non_fast_forward"
      parameters = {}
    }
  ]
}
```

---

## Step 2: Deploy to Kubernetes with Helm

The Helm chart in `deploy/helm/exist-enterprise` packages all Kubernetes manifests required for high availability.

### Installation

```bash
# Add or package the local Helm chart
cd deploy/helm/exist-enterprise

# Install release into 'forge' namespace
helm upgrade --install exist-enterprise . \
  --namespace forge \
  --create-namespace \
  -f values.yaml
```

### Production `values.yaml` Highlights

```yaml
replicaCount: 1

image:
  repository: existio/existd
  tag: "v0.2.0-enterprise"
  pullPolicy: IfNotPresent

# Dual-port network service
service:
  type: ClusterIP
  ports:
    http: 8080
    ssh: 2222

# Persistent bare repository & SQLite WAL storage
persistence:
  enabled: true
  size: 100Gi
  storageClass: "gp3-csi"

# Ingress with cert-manager TLS
ingress:
  enabled: true
  className: "nginx"
  hosts:
    - host: git.corp.exist.io
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix
  tls:
    - secretName: exist-tls-cert
      hosts:
        - git.corp.exist.io

# Prometheus Operator ServiceMonitor
monitoring:
  serviceMonitor:
    enabled: true
    interval: 15s
    scrapeTimeout: 10s

# Strict pod security context
podSecurityContext:
  fsGroup: 10001
  runAsUser: 10001
  runAsNonRoot: true
```