DNSimple faced significant challenges as its number of GitHub repositories grew from a few dozen to hundreds. Inconsistent settings across repositories created issues with issue triage, permission management, and security features. The company's first solution, a tool called Repocop, attempted to standardize configurations through Ruby scripts. However, it fell short because it wasn’t automated, lacked visibility, and was difficult to maintain. Developers found it tedious to use, leading to poor adoption. In 2022, DNSimple shifted its approach by experimenting with Terraform to manage external resources. This change allowed them to track repository ownership and state more effectively. They defined repositories declaratively using a map variable in Terraform, making it easy to add new entries. By early 2023, this system provided a single source of truth, but it still required manual execution of plans and applies. The project gained momentum in 2024 when DNSimple integrated CI/CD automation via GitHub Actions and Terraform Cloud. They created workflows for automated Terraform plans with each pull request, transforming their repository management process. This move not only streamlined operations but also provided a clearer understanding of repository states and ownership, marking a significant improvement over previous methods.