--- title: "Oracle World" description: "OpenTofu modules for Oracle Cloud's Always Free tier. One `apply` gives you a 4-core ARM box with 24 GB RAM, 200 GB storage, and optional MySQL, S3, monitoring, and budget alerts." url: "https://briansunter.com/projects/oracle-world" --- Feb 17, 2026 # Oracle World OpenTofu modules for Oracle Cloud's Always Free tier. One \`apply\` gives you a 4-core ARM box with 24 GB RAM, 200 GB storage, and optional MySQL, S3, monitoring, and budget alerts. [View Source](https://github.com/briansunter/oracle-world) project OpenTofu Terraform Oracle Cloud Infrastructure DevOps  ## Overview Oracle Cloud has the most generous always-free tier of any of the big providers, most notably a 4-core ARM box with 24 GB of RAM that doesn’t time out. The catch is that wiring it up in OCI’s console is unpleasant. Oracle World is the OpenTofu/Terraform code I wrote so I could `tofu apply` myself a working ARM server in one shot, with optional MySQL HeatWave, S3-compatible object storage, idle-detection monitoring, and budget alerts on top. ## Resources | Resource | Spec | | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | Compute | VM.Standard.A1.Flex (4 OCPUs, 24 GB RAM) | | Boot Storage | 50 GB + weekly backups | | Block Storage | 150 GB at `/data` | | MySQL HeatWave | 50 GB, private subnet (optional) | | Object Storage | 30 GB S3-compatible (optional) | | Monitoring | Idle-detection alarms, so OCI doesn’t reclaim the box (optional) | | Budget Alerts | Email on any spend + at 50% / 80% / 100% (optional) | ## Architecture  Oracle World cloud infrastructure diagram The compute instance sits in a public subnet because OCI NAT gateways aren’t free. MySQL HeatWave, when enabled, lives in a private subnet with no internet route (you reach it via SSH tunnel). SSH is closed by default; whitelist your IP with `just ssh-allow` and revoke with `just ssh-revoke`. ## Features - One-command deploy: `just init && just plan && just apply` - Open and close SSH access by IP from the command line - A Claude Code `/setup` walks you through the variables interactively - Stays inside Oracle’s Always Free limits by default ## Technology Stack - HCL (OpenTofu / Terraform) - Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) - Just task runner ### Share this article