When would you choose Hermetic builds over Pulumi?

When considering infrastructure as code (IaC) solutions, it's essential to evaluate the unique advantages of Hermetic builds over Pulumi. Hermetic builds prioritize reproducibility and isolation, ensuring that all components of the project are self-contained and versioned precisely. This is particularly valuable in scenarios where consistency across environments is critical, such as production deployments where any discrepancies could lead to unexpected results.

On the other hand, Pulumi excels in its flexibility and integration with existing programming languages, allowing developers to use familiar coding practices. However, when the focus is on creating a controlled, immutable build environment that reduces the risk of dependency conflicts or environment drift, Hermetic builds become the preferred choice.