I Have No Idea What Terraform Is - Infrastructure as Code for Mac Admins episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 19, 2025 · 41 MIN

I Have No Idea What Terraform Is - Infrastructure as Code for Mac Admins

from Jamf After Dark · host Jamf

If you're clicking through Jamf Pro configs manually, you're about to learn why that's becoming a problem. Security teams are starting to ban console access. MSPs are wasting hours rebuilding the same configs for each client. And organizations scaling to hundreds of Macs are drowning in manual changes with zero audit trail. Ryan Legg, Jamf's Solutions Engineer for Infrastructure as Code, breaks down how Terraform lets you manage your entire Jamf environment through code instead of clicking. Whether you're managing 50 Macs or 5,000, here's why this matters NOW. CHAPTERS 4:45 What is Infrastructure as Code - Explained for Non-Coders 8:15 What is Terraform and Why It Exists 11:30 How Terraform Talks to the Jamf API (Without You Writing Scripts) 14:45 Jamf Terraform Provider - 2+ Years in Development 18:20 Version Control for Configs - Git, Testing, Rollback 21:40 Why This Matters - Audit Trails, No Manual Errors, Scalability 24:30 MSP Use Case - Deploy to Multiple Clients in Minutes 27:15 Enterprise Use Case - Manage Hundreds of Configs with Code 30:10 Small Team Use Case - Document Everything as You Build 34:00 Why Every Admin Should Learn This NOW - The Future is Code 37:13 Getting Started - Resources and Documentation 39:09 Wrap-Up - Where to Get Help What You Learn: 4:45 "Treating your Jamf config like a software project" - what that actually means 18:20 Multiple admins can submit changes through pull requests - no more stepping on each other 24:30 MSPs: Stop rebuilding configs manually - use one Terraform module across all clients 30:10 - Small teams: Codify early so the next person doesn't start from zero 34:00 - "Organizations are requiring admins OUT of consoles" - security trend you need to know   RESOURCES: Jamf Concepts (Start Here): https://concepts.jamf.com Trusted by Jamf (Tutorials): https://trusted.jamf.com  Jamf Developer Portal: https://developer.jamf.com MacAdmins Slack: https://macadmins.org   WHO NEEDS TO WATCH: Mac Admins who manually configure Jamf Pro (you're wasting time) MSPs managing multiple Jamf instances (you're rebuilding the same thing repeatedly) IT teams scaling past 500+ devices (manual configs won't scale)   Jamf After Dark: A podcast about managing Apple devices, hosted by Kat Garbis and Josh Thornton. Guest: Ryan Legg, Solutions Engineer III at Jamf #JamfAfterDark #Terraform #JamfPro

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I Have No Idea What Terraform Is - Infrastructure as Code for Mac Admins

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