Recipe Editor
More than IaC! Author your infrastructure recipes with markdown, host files, embed videos, and powerful Mail Merge™️ document transformation. Manage your entire technology lifecycle with the elegance of a French brigade kitchen system.
Overview
Understanding the core capabilities and value proposition
What It Does
The Recipe Editor is Demostar's comprehensive infrastructure authoring environment built on decades of enterprise experience since the '80s. Like a chef's mise en place, it helps you organize, prepare, and orchestrate your entire technology stack. Author Terraform modules, embed documentation, create interactive demos with Image Maps, and manage the complete lifecycle from build to destroy. Access your recipes via browser, S3, and SSHFS - with Git integration and organizational cookbook sharing.
Why It Matters
Traditional IaC tools focus only on deployment. Demostar's Recipe Editor handles the entire technology lifecycle: 🚀 Build, Deploy 🔄 ➟ Sale/Train/Operate/Support/Upgrade 🔄 ➟ Migrate/Retire 🏁. Like the French brigade kitchen system that solved preparing food "en masse", we've solved managing technology at scale. You don't need another abstraction, you need a BETTER one!
How It Works
Step-by-step breakdown of the process
Author Your Recipe
Create Terraform/OpenTofu modules with integrated markdown editor, host files, and embed videos. Use browser-based editing, S3 upload, or SSHFS access. Author HTML/CSS/JavaScript with powerful Mail Merge™️ features. Organize recipes in cookbooks, share/fork within your organization and beyond with ACL controls.
Plan & Validate
Run init/plan/estimate with integrated security and policy scanning. View resources, access help, manage state/resource/locks all stored in Demostar backend. Access via UI/CLI or external S3/HTTP backends with unique URLs. SSH access available by request for advanced users.
Deploy & Serve
Apply/Replace/Refresh/Destroy with one click. Create custom Image Maps with integrated generator/editor for beautiful cloud resource interfaces. Transform documents (.DOCX/.PDF/.SVG/.PPT/.RTF) with variable interpolation and password protection. Schedule orders with start/stop times.
Key Benefits
The measurable impact on your business operations
Easy as Ordering Pizza
Need a quick POV for a customer? Pull up Demostar, fork a Recipe from your Org's CookBook Library, order off public menus or your "secret menu". Fill in blanks, select your cloud accounts (AWS/Azure/GCP), and deliver by link, email, or text.
Read More...Interactive Image Maps
Create stunning visual interfaces with integrated Image Map generator/editor. Click hotspots take guests to web links (new tab), consoles (SSH/RDP/VNC/Serial), and more. Use any SVG editor or upload via browser/S3 with organizational sharing and public ad-hoc links.
Mail Merge™️ Documents
Transform .DOCX/.PDF/.SVG/.PPT/.RTF files with "placeholder" values synced to Recipe/Order variables. User inputs, cloud resource outputs (IP addresses, Instance IDs, VPC IDs) auto-populate. Password protection supported for document types. Author outside Demostar or use built-in Collaboration Suite.
Read more about Dynamic Documents →Party Mode for Scale
Handle very large events deploying hundreds of terraform environments 'en masse'. Did you bring enough for everyone? Integrated quota management prevents cloud limit surprises. Spread guest orders across pools of AWS/Azure/GCP accounts with estimation tools for straightforward planning.
Read More...Why the Restaurant Metaphor?
The French brigade kitchen system solved preparing food "en masse" - we've solved technology at scale
The Problem We Solved
Way back, nobody had figured out how to manage preparing food "en masse" or "all together". Sound familiar? Ever tried to get everything served at the right time - eggs are done but hashbrowns aren't, or "I forgot all about the appetizers"? The problem scales when you're trying to prepare large meals, cooked-to-order and self-service.
The French Brigade Solution
The "restaurant kitchen" you know is derived from the "french brigade kitchen system" - a well understood metaphor for managing complex operations. Focus on the process: planning your venue, curating a menu, selecting reliable suppliers, preparation, cooking, presentation and most of all, impeccable service. It's called mise en place.
Better Communication
Describing technology lifecycle with cooking metaphors is so much more fun than terms like "IaC, CI/CD, Pipelines/Pull Requests/Etc". If you're a Sales/Marketing engineer, this unlocks doors of communication with business teams and customers. You can explain it to just about anyone!
From Git to Gourmet
How Demostar transforms your Terraform directories into fully-featured recipes
Start with Your Terraform
Every Demostar recipe begins with a Git URL pointing to your Terraform directory. Whether it's your existing infrastructure code or a new module, Demostar ingests your Terraform configuration and transforms it into something much more powerful - a complete recipe for infrastructure delivery.
Enhanced with Demostar Magic
Once imported, your recipe gains Demostar-specific settings that turn basic infrastructure code into a complete customer experience. Set defaults for Terraform input variables, configure what data to collect when orders are placed, and define presentation settings for a polished delivery.
Import from Git
Provide a Git URL to your Terraform directory. Demostar pulls your infrastructure code and begins the transformation process, maintaining connection to your source repository for updates and version control.
Configure Recipe Settings
Set intelligent defaults for Terraform input variables, configure data collection settings for orders and events (collections of orders), and define which input/output variables are displayed to customers during the ordering process.
Add Presentation Layer
Enhance your recipe with interactive image maps, custom links, documents and files, and rich media content. Transform technical infrastructure into beautiful, customer-ready presentations that tell your story.
Variable Management
- Set intelligent defaults for Terraform input variables
- Configure which variables customers can modify
- Define display settings for input/output variables in orders
- Automatic variable validation and type checking
Data Collection
- Configure what information to collect during order creation
- Set collection rules for events (batch order processing)
- Custom forms and data validation for customer inputs
- Integration with CRM and analytics systems
Content & Media
- Interactive image maps with clickable hotspots
- Custom links to documentation, videos, and resources
- File attachments and downloadable content
- Rich media embedding (videos, presentations, demos)
Order Experience
- Customizable order flow and customer journey
- Real-time variable interpolation and preview
- Branded presentation with custom styling
- Self-service ordering with guided workflows
About the Chef de Cuisine
Meet the culinary mastermind behind Demostar's revolutionary approach
From Dial-Tone to Gigabit
Meet Ryan Malloy (@rsp2k, KG7QCC), founder of Demostar and Chef de Cuisine since '22. Ryan's been in the 'biz since the '80s, saving Christmas money in '87 for his first 2400 baud modem (ATDT6642983). From MSBASIC.BAT to Python, .BAT files to Terraform/Ansible - it's been a wild journey of creating countless scripts, tools, integrations, and 4 full-blown platforms for delivering IT resources.
Real-World Applications
How different industries leverage this feature
Sales & Marketing Engineering
Create stunning POCs for customers faster than ordering pizza. Fire up a video call, share your screen with the Demo Order you just created. Send guests links to start their "meal" without you. If you're a Sales/Marketing engineer, this unlocks doors of communication with business teams and customers using familiar metaphors.
- Fork recipes from organizational cookbooks instantly
- Custom "secret menu" items for special prospects
- Optional intro video/walkthrough for guest greeting
Training & Large Events
Party Mode handles very large events, deploying hundreds of terraform environments simultaneously while keeping an eye on the whole party, including the guests. The last thing you want is for everyone to show up and "the food and drinks didn't show up" - avoid cloud quota limits with intelligent planning.
Read More...- Mass deployment across multiple cloud accounts
- Quota management to ensure everyone gets served
- Scheduled start/stop times for training sessions
DevOps & Platform Teams
From running a single API command to deploying a global, multi-provider cloud environment. Standardize infrastructure with organizational cookbook sharing, centralized state management, and consistent deployment processes across all your cloud accounts (put it on the company's tab).
- Browser, S3, and SSHFS access to recipe directories
- Shared accounts across users and organizations
- Pipeline integration with security/policy scanning
Technical Specifications
Under the hood implementation details
Terraform/OpenTofu Features
- Init / Plan / Estimate / Security/Policy Scanning / Pipeline integration
- Apply / Replace / Refresh / Plan / Destroy workflows
- View Resources / Access Help with comprehensive documentation
- State / Resource / Locks management with Demostar Backend
Access & Storage
- Browser-based editing with real-time collaboration
- S3 and SSHFS access to Recipe Terraform directories
- External access via S3 or HTTP backed with unique URLs
- SSH access available by request for power users
Document Transformation
- Mail Merge™️ with .DOCX/.PDF/.SVG/.PPT/.RTF support
- Variable interpolation synced with Recipe/Order variables
- Password protection for supported document types
- Built-in Collaboration Suite for authoring
Interactive Presentation
- Image Map generator/editor with SVG support
- Console access (SSH/RDP/VNC/Serial) via hotspots
- Customizable guest greeting with intro videos
- Files, videos, HTML/CSS/JS hosting from "Docs" tab
Experience Recipe Editor in Action
Take a deep dive, order yourself a plate, take a bite, or dive in. See how Chef Ryan and the Demostar kitchen can transform your infrastructure operations.
Thanks for reading all the way here! That's just a "taste" of the technical features.
