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BOSH

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What BOSH is

BOSH is a free, open-source system for packaging, releasing, deploying, and managing cloud software over its full lifecycle. Teams can version software and its operating system dependencies, create reproducible releases, and use commands to automate release creation and updates to deployed systems. BOSH can provision and deploy software across hundreds of virtual machines, monitor those systems, recover from failures, and apply updates with zero to minimal downtime.

It is suited to large distributed systems and can deploy Cloud Foundry, Hadoop, and other software. Supported infrastructure includes VMware vSphere, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services EC2, Microsoft Azure, OpenStack, and Alibaba Cloud. Its Cloud Provider Interface can extend support to additional IaaS providers, including Apache CloudStack and VirtualBox. The BOSH CLI provides deployment operations and release management. Users can install it from release binaries or with Homebrew on macOS and Linux; the documentation recommends Windows Subsystem for Linux for the CLI's create-env and delete-env commands, which are not supported on native Windows. BOSH documentation covers user and UAA-based permissions, SSL certificates, credential rotation, and CredHub integration. Community discussion is available through Cloud Foundry Slack and the cf-bosh mailing list.

Who it suits

BOSH suits teams managing large distributed systems that need reproducible software releases and automated deployment and updates. It can also suit teams deploying software beyond Cloud Foundry, including Hadoop, across supported cloud providers or extended IaaS environments.

What it does well

  • Free and open source.
  • Deploys across hundreds of virtual machines.
  • Monitors systems and recovers from failures.
  • Supports reproducible releases with dependency tracking.
  • Cloud Provider Interface can add IaaS providers.
  • Documentation covers permissions, certificates, and credential rotation.

What to know first

  • Native Windows does not support create-env or delete-env.
  • The CLI is not published through apt or yum repositories.

Getting started

  1. Visit the BOSH website.
  2. Install the BOSH CLI from release binaries or with Homebrew on macOS or Linux.
  3. On Windows, use Windows Subsystem for Linux for create-env or delete-env.
  4. Use the CLI for deployment operations and software release management.
  5. Use Cloud Foundry Slack or the cf-bosh mailing list for community discussion.

Verdict

Choose BOSH if your team needs to package and manage releases across a large distributed system, with deployment, monitoring, and recovery in one workflow. Native Windows users who need create-env or delete-env must use Windows Subsystem for Linux for those commands.

Questions

Is BOSH free?

Yes. BOSH is free and open source.

Which cloud providers does BOSH support?

It supports VMware vSphere, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services EC2, Microsoft Azure, OpenStack, and Alibaba Cloud. Its Cloud Provider Interface can add providers including Apache CloudStack and VirtualBox.

Which platforms are listed for BOSH?

The listed platforms are API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, and Windows.

How can I install the BOSH CLI?

The CLI is available as release binaries or through Homebrew on macOS and Linux. It is not published through apt or yum repositories.

Does the BOSH CLI work on native Windows?

The create-env and delete-env commands are not supported on native Windows. Windows Subsystem for Linux is recommended for those commands.

Where can users get community help?

BOSH points users to Cloud Foundry Slack and the cf-bosh mailing list for questions and discussion.

Facts from BOSH's own pages

Automation
BOSH supports automated software release creation and updating complex deployed systems with simple commands. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
CLI
The BOSH CLI is a command-line tool for deployment operations and software release management. · bosh.io, 4 Oct 2026
CLI availability
The BOSH CLI is available as a binary for the user’s operating system and through Homebrew on macOS or Linux; the documentation says it is not published through apt or yum repositories. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Cloud providers
BOSH supports VMware vSphere, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services EC2, Microsoft Azure, OpenStack, and Alibaba Cloud. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Community support
The BOSH community directs users to Cloud Foundry Slack and a mailing list for questions and discussion. · bosh.io, 4 Oct 2026
Extensibility
Its Cloud Provider Interface lets users extend BOSH to support additional IaaS providers, including Apache CloudStack and VirtualBox. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Intended use
BOSH is particularly well-suited for large distributed systems and can deploy software beyond Cloud Foundry, including Hadoop. · bosh.io, 4 Oct 2026
Open source
BOSH describes itself as part of the open-source community and points users to its code in the cloudfoundry GitHub organizations. · bosh.io, 4 Oct 2026
Open source and support
BOSH is open source, with community help available through Cloud Foundry Slack and the cf-bosh mailing list. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Purpose
BOSH unifies release engineering, deployment, and lifecycle management for small and large scale cloud software. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Release engineering
BOSH lets developers and teams version, package, and deploy software reproducibly, and automates software releases and updates to complex deployed systems. · bosh.io, 4 Oct 2026
Reproducible releases
BOSH lets developers and teams version, package, and deploy software reproducibly, and its release workflow tracks software components and operating system dependencies. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Scale and operations
BOSH can provision and deploy software across hundreds of VMs and provides monitoring, failure recovery, and software updates with zero to minimal downtime. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Security controls
BOSH documentation covers user and UAA-based permissions, SSL certificates, credential rotation, and integration with CredHub. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Target systems
BOSH is particularly well suited for large distributed systems and can deploy Cloud Foundry or other software. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026
Windows limitation
The CLI documentation says create-env and delete-env are not yet supported on native Windows and recommends Windows Subsystem for Linux for those commands. · bosh.io, 8 Oct 2026

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