ClickOps: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How to Move Beyond It

July 3, 2025

ClickOps is a term that’s gained traction in the DevOps and cloud engineering world. It refers to managing infrastructure or services by clicking through a graphical user interface (GUI), rather than defining resources using code (Infrastructure as Code, or IaC). While ClickOps can be useful in certain situations, it often comes with risks that teams should understand — and plan to mitigate.

In this article, we’ll break down what ClickOps means, why it happens, and how to evolve toward more maintainable, scalable practices.

What is ClickOps?

ClickOps is the practice of configuring cloud infrastructure, applications, or services manually through a web-based console or UI. This typically involves:

• Clicking through menus, forms, or wizards
• Setting parameters in dialog boxes
• Applying configurations manually without automation
• Creating resources (like VMs, databases, storage) through point-and-click actions

While cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud make this easy via their management consoles, the result is often undocumented, non-reproducible, and error-prone infrastructure.

When Do Teams Rely on ClickOps?

ClickOps often arises in these scenarios:

✅ Prototyping or experimenting – Quickly spinning up resources to test ideas.
✅ Learning new platforms – Engineers use the UI to explore features.
✅ Time pressure – When delivery speed is prioritized over process.
✅ Lack of IaC skills or tooling – Teams aren’t yet equipped for Infrastructure as Code.
✅ One-off fixes or changes – Quick adjustments without updating code.

The Risks of ClickOps

Although convenient, ClickOps can introduce significant challenges:

❌ Lack of version control – Changes made via the UI aren’t tracked in Git.
❌ No reproducibility – Manual steps are hard to repeat consistently.
❌ Drift from source of truth – The actual infrastructure may no longer match code definitions.
❌ Human error – Manual processes increase the chance of mistakes.
❌ Difficulty scaling – ClickOps doesn’t scale well in large or complex environments.

ClickOps vs Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

ClickOps might serve as a starting point, but IaC enables better practices like CI/CD, automated testing, and peer reviews.

How to Move Beyond ClickOps

If your team has relied on ClickOps, here’s how to transition:

1️⃣ Identify manually created resources – Tools like Terraformer or AWS Config can help map current infrastructure into code.
2️⃣ Codify your infrastructure – Use tools like Terraform, Pulumi, or AWS CloudFormation.
3️⃣ Establish version control – Store IaC definitions in Git and enforce code review.
4️⃣ Automate deployments – Integrate IaC into CI/CD pipelines for consistency.
5️⃣ Train your team – Build skills and practices that prioritize automation and reproducibility.

Is ClickOps Always Bad?

No — ClickOps has its place. For quick experiments, learning, or troubleshooting, using the UI can make sense. The key is to ensure that manual changes are documented, and that critical infrastructure ultimately gets defined and maintained through code.

Final Thoughts

ClickOps can be tempting for its speed and simplicity, but it often leads to technical debt that slows teams down in the long run. By recognizing when you’re in ClickOps mode — and having a plan to shift to Infrastructure as Code — you can improve reliability, security, and scalability.

👉 At Stack83, we help teams bridge the gap between ClickOps and Infrastructure as Code. Contact us if you’d like guidance on making the transition.