Release Notes: Chef Client 12.0 - 14.5

[edit on GitHub]

Chef Client is released on a monthly schedule with new releases the first Wednesday of every month. Below are the major changes for each release. For a detailed list of changes see the Chef changelog

What’s New in 14.5

  • New Preview Resources

    • locale

      Use the locale resource to set the system’s locale.

      Thank you @vincentaubert for contributing this resource.

    • windows_workgroup

      Use the windows_workgroup resource to join or change the workgroup of a Windows host.

      Thank you @derekgroh for contributing this resource.

  • Improved Resources

    • windows_package

      The windows_package resource will no longer log sensitive information in the event of an installation failure if the sensitive property is set.

    • windows_service

      The windows_service resource will no longer log potentially sensitive information when the service is setup.

    • windows_ad_join

      Use the windows_ad_join resource now includes a new_hostname property for setting the hostname for the node upon joining the domain.

      Thank you @derekgroh for contributing this resource.

Ohai 14.5

  • Windows Improvements

    Detection for the root_group attribute on Windows has been simplified and improved to properly support non-English systems. With this change, we’ve also deprecated the Ohai::Util::Win32::GroupHelper helper, which is no longer necessary. Thanks to @jugatsu for putting this together.

    We’ve also added a new encryption_status attribute to volumes on Windows. Thanks to @kmf for suggesting this new feature.

  • Configuration Improvements

    The timeout period for communicating with OpenStack metadata servers can now be configured with the openstack_metadata_timeout config option. Thanks to @sawanoboly for this improvement.

    Ohai now properly handles relative paths to config files when running on the command line. This means commands like ohai -c ../client.rb will now properly use your config values.

InSpec Updated to 2.2.102

  • Support for using ERB templating within the .yml files
  • HTTP basic auth support for fetching dependent profiles
  • A new global attributes concept
  • Better error handling with Automate reporting
  • Vendor command now vendors profiles when using path://

New Deprecations

  • The unused ohai_name property in the ohai resource has been deprecated. This property will be removed in Chef 15 (April 2019)

Security Updates

What’s New in 14.4

  • Knife configuration profile management commands

    We’ve added new commands to the knife config to help you manage multiple profiles in your credentials file.

    `knife config get-profile` displays the active profile.

    `knife config use-profile PROFILE` sets the workstation-level default profile. You can still override this setting with the --profile command line option or the $CHEF_PROFILE environment variable.

    `knife config list-profiles` displays all your available profiles along with summary information on each.

    $ knife config get-profile
staging
$ knife config use-profile prod
Set default profile to prod
$ knife config list-profiles
 Profile  Client  Key               Server
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 staging  myuser  ~/.chef/user.pem  https://example.com/organizations/staging
 *prod    myuser  ~/.chef/user.pem  https://example.com/organizations/prod

    Thank you @coderanger for this contribution.

  • New Preview Resources

    • cron_d

      Use the cron_d resource to manage cron definitions in /etc/cron.d. This is similar to the cron resource, but it does not use the monolithic /etc/crontab file.

    • cron_access

      Use the cron_access resource to manage the /etc/cron.allow and /etc/cron.deny files. This resource previously shipped in the cron community cookbook and has fully backwards compatibility with the previous cron_manage definition in that cookbook.

    • openssl_x509_certificate

      Use the openssl_x509_certificate resource to generate signed or self-signed, PEM-formatted x509 certificates. If no existing key is specified, the resource automatically generates a passwordless key with the certificate. If a CA private key and certificate are provided, the certificate will be signed with them. This resource previously shipped in the openssl cookbook as openssl_x509 and is fully backwards compatible with the legacy resource name.

      Thank you @juju482 for updating this resource!

    • openssl_x509_request

      Use the openssl_x509_request resource to generate PEM-formatted x509 certificates requests. If no existing key is specified, the resource automatically generates a passwordless key with the certificate.

      Thank you @juju482 for contributing this resource.

    • openssl_x509_crl

      Use the openssl_x509_crl resource to generate PEM-formatted x509 certificate revocation list (CRL) files.

      Thank you @juju482 for contributing this resource.

    • openssl_ec_private_key

      Use the openssl_ec_private_key resource to generate ec private key files. If a valid ec key file can be opened at the specified location, no new file will be created.

      Thank you @juju482 for contributing this resource.

    • openssl_ec_public_key

      Use the openssl_ec_public_key resource to generate ec public key files given a private key.

      Thank you @juju482 for contributing this resource.

  • Improved Resources

    • windows_package

      The windows_package resource now supports setting the sensitive property to avoid showing errors if a package install fails.

    • sysctl

      The sysctl resource now updates the on-disk sysctl.d file even if the current sysctl value matches the desired value.

    • windows_task

      The windows_task resource now supports setting the task priority of the scheduled task with a new priority property. Additionally windows_task now supports managing the behavior of task execution when a system is on battery using new disallow_start_if_on_batteries and stop_if_going_on_batteries properties.

    • ifconfig

      The ifconfig resource now supports setting the interface’s VLAN via a new vlan property on RHEL platform_family and setting the interface’s gateway via a new gateway property on RHEL/Debian platform_family.

      Thank you @tomdoherty for this contribution.

    • route

      The route resource now supports additional RHEL platform_family systems as well as Amazon Linux.

    • systemd_unit

      The systemd_unit resource now supports specifying options multiple times in the content hash. Instead of setting the value to a string you can now set it to an array of strings.

      Thank you @dbresson for this contribution.

Ohai 14.4

  • The default shell out timeout period of 30 seconds can now be configured by setting `shellout_timeout` in your `client.rb` config.
  • System enclosure information is now collected on Windows with a new `system_enclosure` plugin.

Security Updates

What’s New in 14.3

  • New Preview Resources Concept

    This release of Chef introduces the concept of Preview Resources. Preview resources behave the same as a standard resource built into Chef, except Chef will load a resource with the same name from a cookbook instead of the built-in preview resource.

    What does this mean for you? It means we can introduce new resources in Chef without breaking existing behavior in your infrastructure. For instance if you have a cookbook with a resource named manage_everything and a future version of Chef introduced a preview resource named manage_everything you will continue to receive the resource from your cookbook. That way outside of a major release your won’t experience a potentially breaking behavior change from the newly included resource.

    Then when we perform our yearly major release we’ll remove the preview designation from all resources, and the built in resources will take precedence over resources with the same names in cookbooks.

  • New Preview Resources

    • chocolatey_config
      Use the chocolatey_config resource to add or remove Chocolatey configuration keys.”
    • chocolatey_source
      Use the chocolatey_source resource to add or remove Chocolatey sources.
    • powershell_package_source
      Use the powershell_package_source resource to register a PowerShell package repository.
    • kernel_module
      Use the kernel_module resource to manage kernel modules on Linux systems. This resource can load,“unload“, blacklist, install, and uninstall modules.
    • ssh_known_hosts_entry
      Use the ssh_known_hosts_entry resource to add an entry for the specified host in /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts or a user’s known hosts file if specified.
  • New `knife config get` command

    The knife config get command has been added to help with debugging configuration issues with knife and other tools that use the knife.rb file.

  • Silencing deprecation warnings

    Two new options are provided for silencing deprecation warnings: silence_deprecation_warnings and inline chef:silence_deprecation comments.

  • Windows Improvements

    • A new skip_publisher_check property has been added to the powershell_package resource
    • windows_feature_powershell now supports Windows 2008 R2
    • The mount resource now supports the mount_point property on Windows
    • windows_feature_dism no longer errors when specifying the source
    • Resolved idempotency issues in the windows_task resource and prevented setting up a task with bad credentials
    • windows_service no longer throws Ruby deprecation warnings

Ohai 14.3

  • Ohai now properly detects the platform_version of the final release of Amazon Linux 2.0 in addition to the previous detection of the RC platform_version.

New Deprecations

  • CHEF-26: Deprecation of old shell_out APIs As noted above, this release of Chef unifies our shell_out helpers into just shell_out and shell_out!. Previous helpers are now deprecated and will be removed in Chef 15. See CHEF-26 Deprecation Page for details.
  • Legacy FreeBSD pkg provider Chef 15 will remove support for the legacy FreeBSD pkg format. We will continue to support the pkgng format introduced in FreeBSD 10.

What’s New in 14.2.0

  • ssh-agent support for user keys

    You can now use ssh-agent to hold your user key when using knife. This allows storing your user key in an encrypted form as well as using ssh -A agent forwarding for running knife commands from remote devices.

    You can enable this by adding ssh_agent_signing true to your knife.rb or ssh_agent_signing = true in your credentials file.

    To encrypt your existing user key, you can use OpenSSL:

    ( openssl rsa -in user.pem -pubout && openssl rsa -in user.pem -aes256 ) > user_enc.pem

chmod 600 user_enc.pem

    This will prompt you for a passphrase for to use to encrypt the key. You can then load the key into your ssh-agent by running ssh-add user_enc.pem. Make sure you add the ssh_agent_signing to your configuration, and update your client_key to point at the new, encrypted key (and once you’ve verified things are working, remember to delete your unencrypted key file).

  • default_env Property in Execute Resource

    The shell_out helper has been extended with a new option default_env to allow disabling Chef from modifying PATH and LOCALE environmental variables as it shells out. This new option defaults to true (modify the environment), preserving the previous behavior of the helper.

    The execute resource has also been updated with a new property default_env that allows utilizing this the ENV sanity functionality in shell_out. The new property defaults to false, but it can be set to true in order to ensure a sane PATH and LOCALE when shelling out. If you find that binaries cannot be found when using the execute resource, default_env set to true may resolve those issues.

  • Small Size on Disk

    Chef now bundles the inspec-core and train-core gems, which omit many cloud dependencies not needed within the Chef Client. This change reduces the install size of a typical system by ~22% and the number of files within that installation by ~20% compared to Chef 14.1. Enjoy the extra disk space.

  • Virtualization detection on AWS

    Ohai now detects the virtualization hypervisor amazonec2 when running on Amazon’s new C5/M5 instances.

Ohai 14.2

  • Ohai now detects the virtualization hypervisor amazonec2 when running on Amazon’s new C5/M5 instances.

What’s New in 14.1.12

  • Resource Changes & Notes
    • git resource: we don’t recommend using --prune-tags yet, because it is really new.
    • rhsm_repo resource: now works
    • apt_repository resource: use the repo_name property to name files
    • windows_task resource: properly handle commands with arguments
    • windows_task resource: handle creating tasks as the SYSTEM user
    • remote_directory resource: restore the default for the overwrite property

Ohai 14.1.3

  • Properly detect FIPS environments
  • shard plugin: work in FIPS compliant environments
  • filesystem plugin: Handle BSD platforms

What’s New in 14.1.1

  • windows_task
    The windows_task resource has been entirely rewritten. This resolves a large number of bugs by allowing Chef to correctly set the start time of tasks, adding proper creation and deletion of tasks, and improving Chef’s validation of tasks. The rewrite will also solve the idempotency problems that users have reported.
  • Ubuntu 18.04
    We’re testing Chef on Ubuntu 18.04, which means it’s now available on the downloads page.
  • build_essential
    The build_essential resource no longer requires a name, similar to the apt_update resource.
  • ignore_failure
    The ignore_failure property now accept the :quiet argument to suppress the error output when a resource fails.

This release of Chef Client 14 resolves a number of regressions in 14.0:

  • On Windows, the installer now correctly re-extracts files during repair mode
  • Fixes a number of issues related to Red Hat Satellite
  • git fetch now prunes remotes before running
  • Fixes locking and unlocking packages with APT and Zypper
  • Chef no longer requests every remote file when running with lazy loading enabled
  • The sysctl resource correctly handles missing keys when used with ignore_error
  • –recipe-url works with Windows with local files.

Ohai 14.1

  • Configurable DMI Whitelist
    The whitelist of DMI IDs is now user-configurable via the additional_dmi_ids configuration setting, which accepts an array.
  • Shard plugin
    The Shard plugin has been restored as a default plugin, rather than an optional one. The plugin will use SHA256 instead of MD5 in FIPS environments.
  • SCSI plugin
    An optional plugin to enumerate SCSI devices.

What’s New in 14.0.202

This release fixes a handful of regressions that were present in the 14.0 release:

  • Resources contained in cookbooks would be used instead of built-in Chef Client resources, which resulted in older resources running
  • Resources failed due to missing property_is_set? and resources methods
  • yum_package changed the order of disablerepo and enablerepo options
  • Depsolving large numbers of cookbooks with Chef zero/local took a long time

What’s New in 14.0

New Resources

Chef 14 includes a large number of resources ported from community cookbooks. These resources have been tested, improved, and had their functionality expanded. With these new resources in the Chef Client itself, the need for external cookbook dependencies and dependency management has been greatly reduced.

  • build_essential

    Use the build_essential resource to install packages required for compiling C software from source. This resource was ported from the build-essential community cookbook.

    Note

    This resource no longer configures msys2 on Windows systems.

  • chef_handler

    Use the chef_handler resource to install or uninstall Chef reporting/exception handlers. This resource was ported from the chef_handler community cookbook.

  • dmg_package

    Use the dmg_package resource to install a dmg ‘package’. The resource will retrieve the dmg file from a remote URL, mount it using hdiutil, copy the application (.app directory) to the specified destination (/Applications), and detach the image using hdiutil. The dmg file will be stored in the Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]. This resource was ported from the dmg community cookbook.

  • homebrew_cask

    Use the homebrew_cask resource to install binaries distributed via the Homebrew package manager. This resource was ported from the homebrew community cookbook.

  • homebrew_tap

    Use the homebrew_tap resource to add formula repositories to the Homebrew package manager. This resource was ported from the homebrew community cookbook.

  • hostname

    Use the hostname resource to set the system’s hostname, configure the hostname and hosts configuration file, and re-run the Ohai hostname plugin so the hostname will be available in subsequent cookbooks. This resource was ported from the chef_hostname community cookbook.

  • macos_userdefaults

    Use the macos_userdefaults resource to manage the macOS user defaults system. The properties of this resource are passed to the defaults command, and the parameters follow the convention of that command. See the defaults man page for details on how the tool works. This resource was ported from the mac_os_x community cookbook.

  • ohai_hint

    Use the ohai_hint resource to pass hint data to Ohai to aid in configuration detection. This resource was ported from the ohai community cookbook.

  • openssl_dhparam

    Use the openssl_dhparam resource to generate dhparam.pem files. If a valid dhparam.pem file is found at the specified location, no new file will be created. If a file is found at the specified location but it is not a valid dhparam file, it will be overwritten. This resource was ported from the openssl community cookbook.

  • openssl_rsa_private_key

    Use the openssl_rsa_private_key resource to generate RSA private key files. If a valid RSA key file can be opened at the specified location, no new file will be created. If the RSA key file cannot be opened, either because it does not exist or because the password to the RSA key file does not match the password in the recipe, it will be overwritten. This resource was ported from the openssl community cookbook.

  • openssl_rsa_public_key

    Use the openssl_rsa_public_key resource to generate RSA public key files given an RSA private key. This resource was ported from the openssl community cookbook.

  • rhsm_errata

    Use the rhsm_errata resource to install packages associated with a given Red Hat Subscription Manager Errata ID. This is helpful if packages to mitigate a single vulnerability must be installed on your hosts. This resource was ported from the redhat_subscription_manager community cookbook.

  • rhsm_errata_level

    Use the rhsm_errata_level resource to install all packages of a specified errata level from the Red Hat Subscription Manager. For example, you can ensure that all packages associated with errata marked at a ‘Critical’ security level are installed. This resource was ported from the redhat_subscription_manager community cookbook.

  • rhsm_register

    Use the rhsm_register resource to register a node with the Red Hat Subscription Manager, or a local Red Hat Satellite server. This resource was ported from the redhat_subscription_manager community cookbook.

  • rhsm_repo

    Use the rhsm_repo resource to enable or disable Red Hat Subscription Manager repositories that are made available via attached subscriptions. This resource was ported from the redhat_subscription_manager community cookbook.

  • rhsm_subscription

    Use the rhsm_subscription resource to add or remove Red Hat Subscription Manager subscriptions for your host. This can be used when a host’s activation_key does not attach all necessary subscriptions to your host. This resource was ported from the redhat_subscription_manager community cookbook.

  • sudo

    Use the sudo resource to add or remove individual sudo entries using sudoers.d files. Sudo version 1.7.2 or newer is required to use the sudo resource, as it relies on the #includedir directive introduced in version 1.7.2. This resource does not enforce installation of the required sudo version. Supported releases of Ubuntu, Debian, SuSE, and RHEL (6+) all support this feature. This resource was ported from the sudo community cookbook.

  • swap_file

    Use the swap_file resource to create or delete swap files on Linux systems, and optionally to manage the swappiness configuration for a host. This resource was ported from the swap community cookbook.

  • sysctl

    Use the sysctl resource to set kernel parameters using the sysctl command line tool and configuration files in the system’s sysctl.d directory. Configuration files managed by this resource are named 99-chef-KEYNAME.conf. If an existing value was already set for the value it will be backed up to the node, and restored if the :remove action is used later. This resource was ported from the sysctl community cookbook.

    Note

    This resource no longer backs up existing key values to the node when changing values as we have done in the sysctl cookbook previously. The resource has also been renamed from sysctl_param to sysctl with backwards compatibility for the previous name.

  • windows_ad_join

    Use the windows_ad_join resource to join a Windows Active Directory domain and reboot the node. This resource is based on the win_ad_client resource in the win_ad community cookbook, but is not backwards compatible with that resource.

  • windows_auto_run

    Use the windows_auto_run resource to set applications to run at logon. This resource was ported from the windows community cookbook.

  • windows_feature

    Use the windows_feature resource to add, remove or entirely delete Windows features and roles. This resource calls the windows_feature_dism or windows_feature_powershell resources depending on the specified installation method, and defaults to DISM, which is available on both Workstation and Server editions of Windows. This resource was ported from the windows community cookbook.

    Note

    These resources received significant refactoring in the 4.0 version of the windows cookbook (March 2018). windows_feature resources will now fail if the installation of invalid features is requested, and support for installation via server servermanagercmd.exe has been removed. If you are using a windows_cookbook version less than 4.0, you may need to update cookbooks for Chef 14.

  • windows_font

    Use the windows_font resource to install or remove font files on Windows. By default, the font is sourced from the cookbook using the resource, but a URI source can be specified as well. This resource was ported from the windows community cookbook.

  • windows_pagefile
    Use the windows_pagefile resource to configure pagefile settings on Windows.
  • windows_printer
    Use the windows_printer resource to set up Windows printers. Note that currently this resource does not install a printer driver; you must already have the driver installed on the system. This resource was ported from the windows community cookbook.
  • windows_printer_port
    Use the windows_printer_port resource to create and delete TCP/IPv4 printer ports on Windows. This resource was ported from the windows community cookbook.
  • windows_shortcut
    Use the windows_shortcut resource to create shortcut files on Windows. This resource was ported from the windows community cookbook.

Custom Resource Improvements

We’ve expanded the DSL for custom resources with new functionality to better document your resources and help users with errors and upgrades. Many resources in Chef itself are now using this new functionality, and you’ll see more updated to take advantage of this it in the future.

Deprecations in Cookbook Resources

Chef 14 provides new primitives that allow you to deprecate resources or properties with the same functionality used for deprecations in Chef Client resources. This allows you make breaking changes to enterprise or community cookbooks with friendly notifications to downstream cookbook consumers directly in the Chef run.

Deprecate the foo_bar resource in a cookbook:

deprecated "The foo_bar resource has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major release of this cookbook scheduled for 12/25/2018!"

property :thing, String, name_property: true

action :create do
 # you'd probably have some actual chef code here
end

Deprecate the thing2 property in a resource:

property :thing2, String, deprecated: 'The thing2 property has been deprecated and will be removed in the next major release of this cookbook scheduled for 12/25/2018!'

Rename a property with a deprecation warning for users of the old property name:

deprecated_property_alias 'thing2', 'the_second_thing', 'The thing2 property was renamed the_second_thing in the 2.0 release of this cookbook. Please update your cookbooks to use the new property name.'

validation_message

Validation messages allow you give the user a friendly error message when any validation on a property fails.

Provide a friendly message when a regex fails:

property :repo_name, String, regex: [/^[^\/]+$/], validation_message: "The repo_name property cannot contain a forward slash '/'",

Resource Documentation

You can now include documentation that describes how a resource is to be used. Expect this data to be consumed by Chef and other tooling in future releases.

A resource which includes description and introduced values in the resource, actions, and properties:

description 'The apparmor_policy resource is used to add or remove policy files from a cookbook file'
introduced '14.1'

property :source_cookbook, String,
         description: 'The cookbook to source the policy file from'
property :source_filename, String,
         description: 'The name of the source file if it differs from the apparmor.d file being created'

action :add do
  description 'Adds an apparmor policy'

  # you'd probably have some actual chef code here
end

Improved Resources

Many existing resources now include new actions and properties that expand their functionality.

  • apt_package

    apt_package includes a new overwrite_config_files property. Setting this new property to true is equivalent to passing -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-confnew" to apt, and allows you to install packages that prompt the user to overwrite config files. Thanks @ccope for this new property.

  • env

    The env resource has been renamed to windows_env as it only supports the Windows platform. Existing cookbooks using env will continue to function, but should be updated to use the new name.

  • ifconfig

    The ifconfig resource includes a new family property for setting the network family on Debian systems. Thanks @martinisoft for this new property.

  • registry_key

    The sensitive property can now be used in registry_key to suppress the output of the key’s data from logs and error messages. Thanks @shoekstra for implementing this.

  • powershell_package

    powershell_package includes a new source property to allow specifying the source of the package. Thanks @Happycoil for this new property.

  • systemd_unit

    systemd_unit includes the following new actions:

    • preset - Restore the preset enable/disable configuration for a unit
    • revert - Revert to a vendor’s version of a unit file
    • reenable - Reenable a unit file

    Thanks @nathwill for these new actions.

  • windows_service

    windows_service now includes actions for fully managing services on Windows, in addition to the previous actions for starting/stopping/enabling services:

    • create - Create a new service
    • delete - Delete an existing service
    • configure - Reconfigure an existing service

    Thanks @jasonwbarnett for these new actions

  • route

    route includes a new comment property.

    Thanks Thomas Doherty for adding this new property.

Expanded Configuration Detection

Ohai has been expanded to collect more information than ever. This should make writing cross-platform and cross-cloud cookbooks simpler.

Windows Kernel information

The kernel plugin now reports the following information on Windows:

  • node['kernel']['product_type'] - Workstation vs. Server editions of Windows
  • node['kernel']['system_type'] - What kind of hardware are we installed on (Desktop, Mobile, Workstation, Enterprise Server, etc.)
  • node['kernel']['server_core'] - Are we on Windows Server Core edition?

Cloud Detection

Ohai now detects the Scaleway cloud and provides additional configuration information for systems running on Azure.

Virtualization / Container Detection

In addition to detecting if a system is a Docker host, we now provide a large amount of Docker configuration information available at node['docker']. This includes the release of Docker, installed plugins, network configuration, and the number of running containers.

Ohai also now properly detects LXD containers and macOS guests running on VirtualBox / VMware. This data is available in node['virtualization']['systems'].

Optional Ohai Plugins

Ohai now includes the ability to mark plugins as optional, which skips those plugins by default. This allows us to ship additional plugins which some users may find useful, that not all users want collected in the node object on a Chef server. The change introduces two new configuration options: run_all_plugins, which runs everything including optional plugins, and optional_plugins, which allows you to run plugins marked as optional.

By default we will now be marking the lspci, sessions shard and passwd plugins as optional. Passwd has been particularly problematic for nodes attached to LDAP or AD where it attempts to write the entire directory’s contents to the node. If you previously disabled this plugin via Ohai config, you no longer need to. Hurray!

Other Changes

  • Ruby 2.5

    Ruby has been updated to version 2.5 bringing a 10% performance improvement and improved functionality.

  • InSpec 2.0

    InSpec has been updated to the 2.0 release. InSpec 2.0 brings compliance automation to the cloud, with new resource types specifically built for AWS and Azure clouds. Along with these changes are major speed improvements and quality of life updates. Please visit https://www.inspec.io/ for more information.

  • Policyfile Hoisting

    Many users of Policyfiles rely on “hoisting” to provide group specific attributes. This approach was formalized in the poise-hoist extension, and is now included in Chef 14.

    To hoist an attribute, the user provides a default attribute structure in their Policyfile similar to:

    default['staging']['myapp']['title'] = "My Staging App" default['production']['myapp']['title'] = "My App"

    and then accesses the node attribute in their cookbook as:

    node['myapp']['title']

    The correct attribute is then provided based on the policy_group of the node, so with a policy_group of staging the attribute would contain “My Staging App”.

  • yum_package rewrite

    yum_package received a ground up rewrite that greatly improves both the performance and functionality while also resolving a dozen existing issues. It introduces a new caching method that runs for the duration of the chef-client process. This caching method speeds up each package install and takes 1/2 the memory of the previous yum-dump.py process.

    yum_package should now take any argument that yum install does and operate the same way, including version constraints ,(foo < 1.2.3), globs (foo-1.2*), and arches (foo.i386), in combinations.

    Package with a version constraint:

    yum_package "foo < 1.2.3"

    Installing a package via what it provides:

    yum_package "perl(Git)"
  • powershell_exec Mixin

    Since our supported Windows platforms can all run .NET Framework 4.0 and PowerShell 4.0, we have taken time to add a new helper that will allow for faster and safer interactions with the system PowerShell. You will be able to use the powershell_exe``c mixin in most places where you would have previously used ``powershell_out. For comparison, a basic benchmark test to return the $PSVersionTable 100 times completed 7.3X faster compared to the powershell_out method. The majority of the time difference is because of less time spent in invocation. We believe it has great potential where multiple calls to PowerShell are required inside (for example) a custom resource. Many core Chef resources will be updated to use this new mixin in future releases.

  • Logging Improvements

    Chef now includes a new log level of :trace in addition to the existing :info, :warn, and :debug levels. With the introduction of trace-level logging we’ve moved a large amount of logging that is more useful for Chef developers from debug to trace. This makes it easier for Chef Cookbook developers to use debug level to get useful information.

Security Updates

Breaking Changes

This release completes the deprecation process for many of the deprecations that were warnings throughout the Chef 12 and Chef 13 releases.

  • erl_call Resource

    The erl_call resource was deprecated in Chef 13.7 and has been removed.

  • deploy Resource

    The deploy resource was deprecated in Chef 13.6 and been removed. If you still require this resource, it is available in the new deploy_resource cookbook at https://supermarket.chef.io/cookbooks/deploy_resource

  • Windows 2003 Support

    Support for Windows 2003 has been removed from both Chef and Ohai, improving the performance of Chef on Windows hosts.

  • knife bootstrap options –distro and –template_file

    The –distro and –template_file knife bootstrap flags were deprecated in Chef 12.0 and have now been removed.

  • knife help

    The knife help functionality that read legacy Chef manpages has been removed. These manpages had not been updated in many years and were often wrong. Running knife help will now simply show the help menu.

  • knife index rebuild

    The knife index rebuild command has been removed, as reindexing Chef Server was only necessary on releases prior to Chef Server 11.

  • knife ssh –identity-file

    The --identity-file option for knife ssh was deprecated, and has been removed. Users should use the --ssh_identity_file flag instead.

  • knife ssh csshx

    knife ssh csshx was deprecated in Chef 10, and has been removed. Users should use knife ssh cssh instead.

  • Chef Solo -r flag

    The -r flag for Chef Solo was deprecated, and has been removed. Users should instead use the --recipe-url flag, which was introduced in Chef 12.

  • node.set and node.set_unless

    The node.set and node.set_unless attribute levels were deprecated in Chef 12, and have been removed in Chef 14. To replicate this functionality, users should use node.normal and node.normal_unless; however we highly recommend reading our attribute documentation to ensure that normal is in fact your desired attribute level.

  • chocolatey_package :uninstall Action

    The chocolatey_package resource in the chocolatey cookbook supported an :uninstall action. When this resource was moved into the Chef Client we allowed this action with a deprecation warning. This action is now removed.

  • Property names not using new_resource.NAME

    Previously if a user wrote a custom resource with a property named foo they could reference it throughout the resource using the name foo. This caused multiple edge cases where the property name could conflict with resources or methods in Chef. Properties now must be referenced as new_resource.foo. This was already the case when writing LWRPs.

  • epic_fail

    The original name for the ignore_failure property in resource was epic_fail. The legacy name has been removed.

  • Legacy Mixins

    Several legacy mixins mostly used in older HWRPs have been removed. Usage of these mixins has resulted in deprecation warnings for several years and they are rarely used in cookbooks available on the Supermarket.

    • Chef::Mixin::LanguageIncludeAttribute
    • Chef::Mixin::RecipeDefinitionDSLCore
    • Chef::Mixin::LanguageIncludeRecipe
    • Chef::Mixin::Language
    • Chef::DSL::Recipe::FullDSL
  • cloud_v2 and filesystem2 Ohai Plugins

    In Chef 13 the cloud_v2 plugin replaced data at node['cloud'] and filesystem2 replaced data at node['filesystem']. For compatibility with cookbooks that were previously using the “v2” data we continued to write data to both locations (ie: both node['filesystem'] and node['filesystem2']). We now no longer write data to the “v2” locations which greatly reduces the amount of data we need to store on the Chef server.

  • Ipscopes Ohai Plugin Removed

    The ipscopes plugin has been removed as it duplicated data already present in the network plugins and required the user to install an additional gem into the Chef installation.

  • Ohai libvirt attributes moved

    The libvirt Ohai plugin now writes data to node['libvirt'] instead of writing to various locations in node['virtualization']. This plugin required installing an additional gem into the Chef installation and thus was infrequently used.

  • Ohai Plugin V6 Support Removed

    In 2014 we introduced Ohai v7 with a greatly improved plugin format. With Chef 14 we no longer support loading of the legacy “v6” plugin format.

  • Newly-disabled Ohai Plugins

    As mentioned above we now support an optional flag for Ohai plugins and have marked the sessions, lspci, and passwd plugins as optional, which disables them by default. If you need one of these plugins you can include them using optional_plugins.

    optional_plugins in the client.rb file:

    optional_plugins [ "lspci", "passwd" ]

What’s New in 13.11

  • Sensitive Properties on Windows
    • windows_service no longer logs potentially sensitive information when a service is setup
    • windows_package now respects the sensitive property to avoid logging sensitive data in the event of a package installation failure
  • Bugfixes
    • remote_directory now properly loads files in the root of a cookbook’s files directory
    • osx_profile now uses the full path the profiles CLI tool to avoid running other binaries of the same name in a users path
    • package resources that don’t support the allow_downgrade property will no longer fail
    • knife bootstrap windows error messages have been improved
  • Security Updates

CVE-2018-0732: Fixes handshake violation in OpenSSL CVE-2018-0737: OpenSSL RSA Key generation algorithm has been shown to be vulnerable to a cache timing side channel attack CVE-2018-1000544: rubyzip gem rubyzip version 1.2.1 and earlier contains a Directory Traversal vulnerability

What’s New in 13.10

  • Bugfixes
    • Resolves a duplicate logging getting created when redirecting stdout
    • Using --recipe-url with a local file on Windows no longer fails
    • Service resource no longer throws Ruby deprecation warnings on Windows
  • Ohai 13.10 Improvements
    • Correctly identifies the platform_version on the final release of Amazon Linux 2.0
    • Detects nodes with the DMI data of “OpenStack Compute” as OpenStack nodes
  • Security Updates
    • ffi Gem
    • CVE-2018-1000201: DLL loading issue which can be hijacked on Windows OS

What’s New in 13.9.4

Security Updates Ruby has been updated to 2.4.4

CVE-2017-17742: HTTP response splitting in WEBrick CVE-2018-6914: Unintentional file and directory creation with directory traversal in tempfile and tmpdir CVE-2018-8777: DoS by large request in WEBrick CVE-2018-8778: Buffer under-read in String#unpack CVE-2018-8779: Unintentional socket creation by poisoned NUL byte in UNIXServer and UNIXSocket CVE-2018-8780: Unintentional directory traversal by poisoned NUL byte in Dir Multiple vulnerabilities in RubyGems Nokogiri has been updated to 1.8.2

[MRI] Behavior in libxml2 has been reverted which caused CVE-2018-8048 (loofah gem), CVE-2018-3740 (sanitize gem), and CVE-2018-3741 (rails-html-sanitizer gem). OpenSSL has been updated to 1.0.2o

CVE-2018-0739: Constructed ASN.1 types with a recursive definition could exceed the stack. Platform Updates As Debian 7 is now end of life we will no longer produce Debian 7 chef-client packages.

Ifconfig on Ubuntu 18.04 Incompatibilities with Ubuntu 18.04 in the ifconfig resource have been resolved.

Ohai Updated to 13.9.2 Virtualization detection on AWS Ohai now detects the virtualization hypervisor amazonec2 when running on Amazon’s new C5/M5 instances.

Configurable DMI Whitelist The whitelist of DMI IDs is now user configurable using the additional_dmi_ids configuration setting, which takes an Array.

Filesystem2 on BSD The Filesystem2 functionality has been backported to BSD systems to provide a consistent filesystem format.

What’s New in 13.9.1

  • On Windows, the installer now correctly re-extracts files during repair mode
  • The mount resource will not create duplicate entries when the device type differs
  • Chef no longer requests every remote file when running with lazy loading enabled
  • Fixes a bug that caused Chef to crash when retrieving access rights for Windows system accounts

This release also includes the custom resource improvements that were introduced in Chef 14.

Ohai 13.9

  • Fixes uptime parsing on AIX
  • Fixes Softlayer cloud detection
  • Uses the current Azure metadata endpoint
  • Correctly detects macOS guests on VMware and VirtualBox

What’s New in 13.9

  • On Windows, the installer now correctly re-extracts files during repair mode
  • The mount resource will now not create duplicate entries when the device type differs
  • Ensure we don’t request every remote file when running with lazy loading enabled
  • Don’t crash when getting the access rights for Windows system accounts

Custom Resource Improvements

We’ve expanded the DSL for custom resources with new functionality to better document your resources and help users with errors and upgrades. Many resources in Chef itself are now using this new functionality, and you’ll see more updated to take advantage of this it in the future.

Deprecations in Cookbook Resources

  • Chef 13 provides new primitives that allow you to deprecate resources or properties with the same functionality used for deprecations in Chef Client resources. This allows you make breaking changes to enterprise or community cookbooks with friendly notifications to downstream cookbook consumers directly in the Chef run.
  • Provide a friendly message when a regex fails:

Resource Documentation

You can now include documentation that describes how a resource is to be used. Expect this data to be consumed by Chef and other tooling in future releases.

A resource which includes description and introduced values in the resource, actions, and properties:

description 'The apparmor_policy resource is used to add or remove policy files from a cookbook file'
 introduced '14.1'

 property :source_cookbook, String,
         description: 'The cookbook to source the policy file from'
 property :source_filename, String,
         description: 'The name of the source file if it differs from the apparmor.d file being created'

 action :add do
   description 'Adds an apparmor policy'

   # you'd probably have some actual chef code here
 end

Ohai Release Notes 13.9

  • Fix uptime parsing on AIX
  • Fix Softlayer cloud detection
  • Use the current Azure metadata endpoint
  • Correctly detect macOS guests on VMware and VirtualBox
  • Please see the CHANGELOG for the complete list of changes.

What’s New in 13.8.5

This is a small bug fix release to resolve two issues we found in the 13.8 release:

  • chef-client run failures due to a failure in a newer version of the FFI gem on RHEL 6.x and 7.x
  • knife failures when running knife cookbook site install to install a deprecated cookbook that has no replacement

What’s New in 13.8.3

This is a small bug fix release that updates Ohai to properly detect and poll SoftLayer metadata now that SoftLayer no longer supports TLS 1.0/1.1. This update is only necessary if you’re running on Softlayer.

What’s New in 13.8

  • Fixes regression from 13.7.16

    This release fixes the regression in how arrays and hashes were handled in Chef 13.7. Version 13.8 has reverted to the same code that was used in Chef 13.6.

  • Continued windows_task Improvements

    Chef 13.8 has better validation for the idle_time property when using the on_idle frequency option.

  • Security Updates

    Libxml2 has been updated to version 2.9.7 as a fix for CVE-2017-15412.

See the detailed change log for more information.

What’s New in 13.7.16

  • The windows_task Resource should be better behaved

    We’ve spent a considerable amount of time testing and fixing the windows_task resource to ensure that it is properly idempotent and correct in more situations.

  • Credentials Handling

    Previously, ChefDK workstations used knife.rb or config.rb to handle credentials. This didn’t do a great job of interacting with multiple Chef servers, which lead to the need for tools like knife_block. We’ve added support for a credentials file that contains configuration information for many Chef servers / organizations, and we’ve made it easy to indicate which account you mean to use.

  • Bug Fixes

    • Resolved a bug where knife commands that resulted in a prompt on Windows would never display the prompt
    • Fixed a bug that affected the hiding of sensitive resources when converge_if_changed was used
    • Fixes to certain scenarios that would result in services failing to start on Solaris

  • Security Updates

Deprecations

  • erl_call Resource

    We introduced erl_call to help us to manage CouchDB servers back in the olden times of Chef. Since then we’ve noticed that no one uses it, and so erl_call will be removed in Chef 14. Foodcritic rule FC105 has been introduced to detect usage of erl_call.

  • epic_fail

    The original name for the ignore_failure property in resources was epic_fail. Our documentation hasn’t referred to epic_fail for years and out of the 3500 cookbooks on the Supermarket only one uses epic_fail. In Chef 14 we will remove the epic_fail property entirely. Foodcritic rule FC107 has been introduced to detect usage of epic_fail.

  • Legacy Mixins

    In Chef 14 several legacy mixins will be removed. Usage of these mixins has resulted in deprecation warnings for several years. They were traditionally used in some HWRPs, but are rarely found in code available on the Supermarket. Foodcritic rules FC097, FC098, FC099, FC100, and FC102 have been introduced to detect these mixins:

    • Chef::Mixin::LanguageIncludeAttribute
    • Chef::Mixin::RecipeDefinitionDSLCore
    • Chef::Mixin::LanguageIncludeRecipe
    • Chef::Mixin::Language
    • Chef::DSL::Recipe::FullDSL

  • :uninstall Action in chocolatey_package

    The chocolatey cookbook’s chocolatey_package resource originally contained an :uninstall action. When chocolatey_package was moved into core Chef we made :uninstall an alias for :remove. In Chef 14, :uninstall will no longer be a valid action. Foodcritic rule FC103 has been introduced to detect usage of the :uninstall action.

Ohai 13.7

  • Network Tunnel Information

    The Network plugin on Linux hosts now gathers additional information on tunnels.

  • LsPci Plugin

    The new LsPci plugin provides a node[:pci] hash with information about the PCI bus based on lspci. Only runs on Linux.

  • EC2 C5 Detection

    The EC2 plugin has been updated to properly detect the new AWS hypervisor used in the C5 instance types.

  • mdadm

    The mdadm plugin has been updated to properly handle arrays with more than 10 disks, and to properly handle journal and spare drives in the disk counts.

What’s New in 13.6.4

  • Resolved Debian / Ubuntu regression

    This release resolves a regression in 13.6.0 that prevented the upgrading of packages on Debian or Ubuntu when the package name contained a tilde (~).

  • Security Updates

See the full change log for additional details.

What’s New in 13.6.0

  • The “deploy“ resource is deprecated

    The deploy and deploy_revision resources have been deprecated, to be removed in Chef 14. This is being done because this resource is considered overcomplicated and error-prone in the modern Chef ecosystem. A compatibility cookbook will be available to help users migrate during the Chef 14 release cycle. See the deprecation documentation for more information.

  • zypper_package supports package downgrades

    zypper_package now supports downgrading installed packages with the allow_downgrade property.

  • InSpec has been updated to 1.42.3

  • Reserve certain Data Bag names

    It’s no longer possible to create data bags named node, role, client, or environment. Existing data bags will continue to work as they did previously.

  • Properly use YUM on RHEL and CentOS 7

    On systems with both DNF and YUM installed, there were instances where the yum provider would choose to run dnf instead. It now only runs yum.

Ohai 13.6

  • Critical Plugins

    Users can now specify a list of plugins which are critical. Critical plugins will cause Ohai to fail if they do not run successfully, and thus cause a Chef run using Ohai to fail. The syntax for this is:

    ohai.critical_plugins << :Filesystem

  • Filesystem now has an `allow_partial_data` configuration option

    The Filesystem plugin now has an allow_partial_data configuration option. When set, the filesystem will return whatever data it can, even if some of its attempted commands fail to execute.

  • Rackspace detection on Windows

    Windows nodes running on Rackspace will now properly detect themselves as running on Rackspace, without a hint file.

  • Package data on Amazon Linux

    The Packages plugin now supports gathering package data on Amazon Linux

Deprecation Updates

In Ohai 13 we replaced the filesystem and cloud plugins with the filesystem2 and cloud_v2 plugins. In order to maintain compatibility with users of the previous V2 plugins, we write data to both locations. We had originally planned to continue writing data to both locations until Chef 15. Instead, due to the large amount of duplicate node data this introduces, we are updating the OHAI-11 and OHAI-12 deprecations to remove node['cloud_v2'] and node['filesystem2'] with the release of Chef 14 in April 2018.

What’s New in 13.5.3

  • The mount resource’s password property is now marked as sensitive Passwords passed to mount won’t show up in logs.
  • The windows_task resource now correctly handles start_day Previously, the resource would accept any date that was formatted correctly in the local locale, unlike the Windows cookbook and Windows itself. We now support only the MM/DD/YYYY format, in keeping with the Windows cookbook.
  • InSpec updated to 1.39.1

See the detailed change log for additonal information.

Ohai 13.5

  • Correctly detect IPv6 routes ending in :: Previously, Ohai would ignore routes that ended with ::, but now they can be detected properly.
  • Plugin run time is now measured Debug logs will show the length of time each plugin takes to run, which makes it easier to debug long Ohai runs.

What’s New in 13.4.24

This release includes Ruby 2.4.2 to fix the following CVEs:

It contains no other changes from version 13.4.19.

Note

Due to issues beyond our control, this release is only built for Linux (on x86, x86_64 and s390x), FreeBSD, and Windows. We’ll release a new build with support for our other platforms (AIX, Solaris, and macOS) as soon as possible.

What’s New in 13.4.19

  • Security release of RubyGems RubyGems has been upgraded to 2.6.13 to address the following:
  • Additional ifconfig options on RHEL and CentOS The ethtool_opts, bonding_opts, master, and slave properties have been added. See the ifconfig resource documentation for additional details.
  • Chef vault now included by default Chef client 13.4 includes the chef-vault gem, so users can more easily work with encrypted items.
  • Windows remote_file resource now supports alternative credentials The remote_user, remote_domain, and remote_password options have been added to allow access to a file even if the Chef client process identity does not have permission to access it. This is mainly intended to be used for accessing files between two nodes on different domains. See the remote_file documentation for more information.
  • New windows_path resource windows_path has been moved from the Windows cookbook to core Chef. The windows_path resource is used to manage the path environment variable on Windows. See the windows_path documentation for additional details.

Ohai 13.4

  • Windows EC2 Detection Detection of nodes running in EC2 has been greatly improved, and Ohai should now detect nodes 100% of the time, including nodes that have been migrated to EC2 or were built with custom AMIs.

  • Package plugin supports Arch Linux The Package plugin has been updated to include package information on Arch Linux systems.

  • Azure Metadata Endpoint Detection Ohai now polls the new Azure metadata endpoint, providing additional configuration details on nodes running in Azure. Sample data now available under Azure:

    {
  "metadata": {
    "compute": {
      "location": "westus",
      "name": "timtest",
      "offer": "UbuntuServer",
      "osType": "Linux",
      "platformFaultDomain": "0",
      "platformUpdateDomain": "0",
      "publisher": "Canonical",
      "sku": "17.04",
      "version": "17.04.201706191",
      "vmId": "8d523242-71cf-4dff-94c3-1bf660878743",
      "vmSize": "Standard_DS1_v2"
    },
    "network": {
      "interfaces": {
        "000D3A33AF03": {
          "mac": "000D3A33AF03",
          "public_ipv6": [

          ],
          "public_ipv4": [
            "52.160.95.99",
            "23.99.10.211"
          ],
          "local_ipv6": [

          ],
          "local_ipv4": [
            "10.0.1.5",
            "10.0.1.4",
            "10.0.1.7"
          ]
        }
      },
      "public_ipv4": [
        "52.160.95.99",
        "23.99.10.211"
      ],
      "local_ipv4": [
        "10.0.1.5",
        "10.0.1.4",
        "10.0.1.7"
      ],
      "public_ipv6": [

      ],
      "local_ipv6": [

      ]
    }
  }
}

What’s New in 13.3

  • Unprivileged symlink creation on Windows Chef can now create symlinks without privilege escalation, which allows for the creation of symlinks on Windows 10 Creator Update.

  • nokogiri Gem The nokogiri gem is once again bundled with the omnibus install of Chef.

  • New resources This release introduces the apt_preference and zypper_repository resources.

  • windows_task Improvements The windows_task resource now allows updating the configuration of a scheduled task when using the :create action. The :change action from the windows cookbook has been aliased to :create to provide backward compatibility.

  • zypper_package Options It is now possible to pass additional options to Zypper in the zypper_package resource. For example:

    zypper_package 'foo' do
  options '--user-provided'
end

  • Ohai support for F5 Big-IP Ohai now detects the F5 Big-IP platform and platform_version:

    • platform: bigip
    • platform_family: rhel

What’s New in 13.2

  • Properly send PolicyFile data When sending events back to the Chef Server, Chef client now correctly expands the run_list for nodes that use PolicyFiles. This allows Automate to correctly report the node.

  • Reconfigure between runs when daemonized When Chef performs a reconfigure, it rereads the configuration files. It also reopens its log files, which facilitates log file rotation.

    Normally, Chef will reconfigure when sent a HUP signal. As of this release, if you send a HUP signal while it is converging, the reconfigure happens at the end of the run. This is avoids the potential Ruby issues that occur when the configuration file contains additional Ruby code that is executed. While the daemon is sleeping between runs, sending a SIGHUP will still cause an immediate reconfigure.

    When daemonized, Chef now performs a reconfigure after every run.

New deprecations included in this release

  • Explicit property methods In Chef 14, custom resources will no longer assume property methods are being called on new_resource, and will instead require the resource author to be explicit.

What’s New in 13.0/13.1

  • Blacklist attributes
  • RubyGems sources
  • windows_task resource
  • Chef client will now exit using the rfc062 defined exit codes
  • New default encrypted databag format
  • Backwards compatibility breaks

It is now possible to blacklist node attributes

Blacklist Attributes

New in Chef Client 13.0

Warning

When attribute blacklist settings are used, any attribute defined in a blacklist will not be saved and any attribute that is not defined in a blacklist will be saved. Each attribute type is blacklisted independently of the other attribute types. For example, if automatic_attribute_blacklist defines attributes that will not be saved, but normal_attribute_blacklist, default_attribute_blacklist, and override_attribute_blacklist are not defined, then all normal attributes, default attributes, and override attributes will be saved, as well as the automatic attributes that were not specifically excluded through blacklisting.

Attributes that should not be saved by a node may be blacklisted in the client.rb file. The blacklist is a Hash of keys that specify each attribute to be filtered out.

Attributes are blacklisted by attribute type, with each attribute type being blacklisted independently. Each attribute type—automatic, default, normal, and override—may define blacklists by using the following settings in the client.rb file:

Setting Description
automatic_attribute_blacklist A hash that blacklists automatic attributes, preventing blacklisted attributes from being saved. For example: ['network/interfaces/eth0']. Default value: nil, all attributes are saved. If the array is empty, all attributes are saved.
default_attribute_blacklist A hash that blacklists default attributes, preventing blacklisted attributes from being saved. For example: ['filesystem/dev/disk0s2/size']. Default value: nil, all attributes are saved. If the array is empty, all attributes are saved.
normal_attribute_blacklist A hash that blacklists normal attributes, preventing blacklisted attributes from being saved. For example: ['filesystem/dev/disk0s2/size']. Default value: nil, all attributes are saved. If the array is empty, all attributes are saved.
override_attribute_blacklist A hash that blacklists override attributes, preventing blacklisted attributes from being saved. For example: ['map - autohome/size']. Default value: nil, all attributes are saved. If the array is empty, all attributes are saved.

Warning

The recommended practice is to use only automatic_attribute_blacklist for blacklisting attributes. This is primarily because automatic attributes generate the most data, but also that normal, default, and override attributes are typically much more important attributes and are more likely to cause issues if they are blacklisted incorrectly.

For example, automatic attribute data similar to:

{
  "filesystem" => {
    "/dev/disk0s2" => {
      "size" => "10mb"
    },
    "map - autohome" => {
      "size" => "10mb"
    }
  },
  "network" => {
    "interfaces" => {
      "eth0" => {...},
      "eth1" => {...},
    }
  }
}

To blacklist the filesystem attributes and allow the other attributes to be saved, update the client.rb file:

automatic_attribute_blacklist ['filesystem']

When a blacklist is defined, any attribute of that type that is not specified in that attribute blacklist will be saved. So based on the previous blacklist for automatic attributes, the filesystem and map - autohome attributes will not be saved, but the network attributes will.

For attributes that contain slashes (/) within the attribute value, such as the filesystem attribute '/dev/diskos2', use an array. For example:

automatic_attribute_blacklist [['filesystem','/dev/diskos2']]

RubyGems provider sources behavior changed.

The behavior of gem_package and chef_gem is now to always apply the Chef::Config[:rubygems_uri] sources, which may be a string uri or an array of strings. If additional sources are put on the resource with the source property those are added to the configured :rubygems_uri sources.

This should enable easier setup of rubygems mirrors particularly in “airgapped” environments through the use of the global config variable. It also means that an admin may force all rubygems.org traffic to an internal mirror, while still being able to consume external cookbooks which have resources which add other mirrors unchanged (in a non-airgapped environment).

In the case where a resource must force the use of only the specified source(s), then the include_default_source property has been added – setting it to false will remove the Chef::Config[:rubygems_url] setting from the list of sources for that resource.

The behavior of the clear_sources property is now to only add --clear-sources and has no magic side effects on the source options.

Ruby version upgraded to 2.4.1

We’ve upgraded to the latest stable release of the Ruby programming language. See the Ruby 2.4.0 Release Notes for an overview of what’s new in the language.

Resource can now declare a default name

The core apt_update resource can now be declared without any name argument, no need for apt_update STING.

This can be used by any other resource by just overriding the name property and supplying a default:

property :name, String, default: ""

Notifications to resources with empty strings as their name is also supported via either the bare resource name (apt_update – matches what the user types in the DSL) or with empty brackets (apt_update[]` – matches the resource notification pattern).

The knife ssh command applies the same fuzzifier as knife search node

A bare name to knife search node will search for the name in tags, roles, fqdn, addresses, policy_name or policy_group fields and will match when given partial strings (available since Chef 11). The knife ssh search term has been similarly extended so that the search API matches in both cases. The node search fuzzifier has also been extracted out to a fuzz option to Chef::Search::Query for re-use elsewhere.

Cookbook root aliases

Rather than attributes/default.rb, cookbooks can now use attributes.rb in the root of the cookbook. Similarly for a single default recipe, cookbooks can use recipe.rb in the root of the cookbook.

knife ssh connects gateways with ssh key authentication

The new gateway_identity_file option allows the operator to specify the key to access ssh gateways with.

Windows Task resource added

The windows_task resource has been ported from the windows cookbook. Use the windows_task resource to create, delete or run a Windows scheduled task. Requires Windows Server 2008 due to API usage.

Note: :change action has been removed from windows_task resource. :create action can be used to update an existing task.

Solaris SMF services can now be started recursively

It is now possible to load Solaris services recursively, by ensuring the new options property of the service resource contains -r.

The guard interpreter for powershell_script is PowerShell, again

When writing not_if or only_if statements, by default we now run those statements using powershell, rather than forcing the user to set guard_interpreter each time.

Zypper GPG checks by default

Zypper now defaults to performing gpg checks of packages.

The InSpec gem is now shipped by default

The inspec and train gems are shipped by default in the chef omnibus package, making it easier for users in airgapped environments to use InSpec.

Properly support managing Sys-V services on Debian systemd hosts

Chef now properly supports managing sys-v services on hosts running systemd. Previously Chef would incorrectly attempt to fallback to Upstart even if upstart was not installed.

New default encrypted databag format

The default encrypted databag format is now 3.0, which was introduced in Chef 12.0. Encrypted databag version 3.0 format uses the aes-256-gcm cipher for enhanced security. All nodes using encrypted data bags in your environment will need to be upgraded to Chef 12.0 or later before creating encrypted data bags in this new format.

Backwards Compatibility Breaks

Resource Cloning has been removed

When Chef compiles resources, it will no longer attempt to merge the properties of previously compiled resources with the same name and type in to the new resource. See the deprecation page for further information.

It is an error to specify both default and name_property on a property

Chef 12 made this work by picking the first option it found, but it was always an error and has now been disallowed.

The path property of the execute resource has been removed

It was never implemented in the provider, so it was always a no-op to use it, the remediation is to simply delete it.

Using the command property on any script resource (including bash, etc) is now a hard error

This was always a usage mistake. The command property was used internally by the script resource and was not intended to be exposed to users. Users should use the code property instead (or use the command property on an execute resource to execute a single command).

Omitting the code property on any script resource (including bash, etc) is now a hard error

It is possible that this was being used as a no-op resource, but the log resource is a better choice for that until we get a null resource added. Omitting the code property or mixing up the code property with the command property are also common usage mistakes that we need to catch and error on.

The chef_gem resource defaults to not run at compile time

The compile_time true flag may still be used to force compile time.

The Chef::Config[:chef_gem_compile_time] config option has been removed

In order to for community cookbooks to behave consistently across all users this optional flag has been removed.

The supports[:manage_home] and supports[:non_unique] API has been removed

The remediation is to set the manage_home and non_unique properties directly.

creates without cwd is a hard error

Using relative paths in the creates property of an execute resource with specifying a cwd is now a hard error Without a declared cwd the relative path was (most likely?) relative to wherever chef-client happened to be invoked which is not deterministic or easy to intuit behavior.

Chef::PolicyBuilder::ExpandNodeObject#load_node has been removed

This change is most likely to only affect internals of tooling like chefspec if it affects anything at all.

PolicyFile failback

PolicyFile failback to create non-policyfile nodes on Chef Server < 12.3 has been removed PolicyFile users on Chef-13 should be using Chef Server 12.3 or higher.

Cookbooks with self dependencies are no longer allowed

The remediation is removing the self-dependency depends line in the metadata.

Removed supports API from Chef::Resource

Retained only for the service resource (where it makes some sense) and for the mount resource.

Removed retrying of non-StandardError exceptions for Chef::Resource

Exceptions not descending from StandardError (e.g. LoadError, SecurityError, SystemExit) will no longer trigger a retry if they are raised during the execution of a resources with a non-zero retries setting.

Removed deprecated method_missing access from the Chef::Node object

Previously, the syntax node.foo.bar could be used to mean node["foo"]["bar"], but this API had sharp edges where methods collided with the core ruby Object class (e.g. node.class`) and where it collided with our own ability to extend the ``Chef::Node API. This method access has been deprecated for some time, and has been removed in Chef-13.

Changed declare_resource API

Dropped the create_if_missing parameter that was immediately supplanted by the edit_resource API (most likely nobody ever used this) and converted the created_at parameter from an optional positional parameter to a named parameter. These changes are unlikely to affect any cookbook code.

Node deep-duping fixes

The node.to_hash`/`node.to_h and node.dup APIs have been fixed so that they correctly deep-dup the node data structure including every string value. This results in a mutable copy of the immutable merged node structure. This is correct behavior, but is now more expensive and may break some poor code (which would have been buggy and difficult to follow code with odd side effects before).

For example:

node.default["foo"] = "fizz"
n = node.to_hash   # or node.dup
n["foo"] << "buzz"

before this would have mutated the original string in-place so that node["foo"] and node.default["foo"] would have changed to “fizzbuzz” while now they remain “fizz” and only the mutable n["foo"] copy is changed to “fizzbuzz”.

Freezing immutable merged attributes

Since Chef 11 merged node attributes have been intended to be immutable but the merged strings have not been frozen. In Chef 13, in the process of merging the node attributes strings and other simple objects are dup’d and frozen. In order to get a mutable copy, you can now correctly use the node.dup or node.to_hash methods, or you should mutate the object correctly through its precedence level like node.default[“some_string”] << “appending_this”.

The Chef::REST API has been removed

It has been fully replaced with Chef::ServerAPI in chef-client code.

Properties overriding methods now raise an error

Defining a property that overrides methods defined on the base ruby Object or on Chef::Resource itself can cause large amounts of confusion. A simple example is property :hash which overrides the Object#hash method which will confuse ruby when the Custom Resource is placed into the Chef::ResourceCollection which uses a hash internally which expects to call Object#hash to get a unique id for the object. Attempting to create property :action would also override the Chef::Resource#action method which is unlikely to end well for the user. Overriding inherited properties is still supported.

chef-shell now supports solo and legacy solo modes

Running chef-shell -s or chef-shell --solo will give you an experience consistent with chef-solo. chef-shell --solo-legacy-mode` will give you an experience consistent with ``chef-solo --legacy-mode.

Remove sort option for the Search API

This option has been unimplemented on the server side for years, so any use of it has been pointless.

Remove Chef::ShellOut

This was deprecated and replaced a long time ago with mixlib-shellout and the shell_out mixin.

Remove method_missing from the Recipe DSL

The core of chef hasn’t used this to implement the Recipe DSL since 12.5.1 and its unlikely that any external code depended upon it.

Simplify Recipe DSL wiring

Support for actions with spaces and hyphens in the action name has been dropped. Resources and property names with spaces and hyphens most likely never worked in Chef-12. UTF-8 characters have always been supported and still are.

easy_install resource has been removed

The Python easy_install package installer has been deprecated for many years, so we have removed support for it. No specific replacement for pip is being included with Chef at this time, but a pip`-based ``python_package resource is available in the poise-python cookbooks.

Removal of run_command and popen4 APIs

All the APIs in chef/mixlib/command have been removed. They were deprecated by mixlib-shellout and the shell_out mixin API.

Iconv has been removed from the ruby libraries and chef omnibus build

The ruby Iconv library was replaced by the Encoding library in ruby 1.9.x and since the deprecation of ruby 1.8.7 there has been no need for the Iconv library but we have carried it forwards as a dependency since removing it might break some chef code out there which used this library. It has now been removed from the ruby build. This also removes LGPLv3 code from the omnibus build and reduces build headaches from porting iconv to every platform we ship chef-client on.

This will also affect nokogiri, but that gem natively supports UTF-8, UTF-16LE/BE, ISO-8851-1(Latin-1), ASCII and “HTML” encodings. Users who really need to write something like Shift-JIS inside of XML will need to either maintain their own nokogiri installs or will need to convert to using UTF-8.

Deprecated cookbook metadata has been removed

The recommends, suggests, conflicts, replaces and grouping metadata fields are no longer supported, and have been removed. Chef will ignore them in existing metadata.rb files, but we recommend that you remove them.

All unignored cookbook files will now be uploaded.

We now treat every file under a cookbook directory as belonging to a cookbook, unless that file is ignored with a chefignore file. This is a change from the previous behavior where only files in certain directories, such as recipes or templates, were treated as special. This change allows chef to support new classes of files, such as Ohai plugins or InSpec tests, without having to make changes to the cookbook format to support them.

DSL-based custom resources and providers no longer get module constants

Up until now, creating a mycook/resources/thing.rb would create a Chef::Resources::MycookThing name to access the resource class object. This const is no longer created for resources and providers. You can access resource classes through the resolver API like:

Chef::Resource.resource_for_node(:mycook_thing, node)

Accessing a provider class is a bit more complex, as you need a resource against which to run a resolution like so:

Chef::ProviderResolver.new(node, find_resource!("mycook_thing[name]"), :nothing).resolve

Default values for resource properties are frozen

A resource declaring something like:

property :x, default: {}

will now see the default value set to be immutable. This prevents cases of modifying the default in one resource affecting others. If you want a per-resource mutable default value, define it inside a lazy{} helper like:

property :x, default: lazy { {} }

ResourceCollection and notifications

Resources which later modify their name during creation will have their name changed on the ResourceCollection and notifications

..code-block:: ruby

some_resource “name_one” do
name “name_two”

The fix for sending notifications to multipackage resources involved changing the API so that it no longer directly takes the string that is typed into the DSL but reads the (possibly coerced) name off of the resource after it is built. The result is that the above resource will be named some_resource[name_two] instead of some_resource[name_one]. Note that setting the name (not the name_property, but actually renaming the resource) is very uncommon. The fix is to name the resource correctly in the first place (some_resource name_two do).

use_inline_resources is always enabled

The use_inline_resources provider mode is always enabled when using the action :name do `` syntax. You can remove the ``use_inline_resources line.

knife cookbook site vendor has been removed

Please use knife cookbook site install instead.

knife cookbook create has been removed

Please use chef generate cookbook from ChefDK instead.

Verify commands no longer support “%{file}”

Chef has always recommended %{path}, and %{file} has now been removed.

The partial_search recipe method has been removed

The partial_search method has been fully replaced by the filter_result argument to search, and has now been removed.

The logger and formatter settings are more predictable

The default now is the formatter. There is no more automatic switching to the logger when logging or when output is sent to a pipe. The logger needs to be specifically requested with --force-logger or it will not show up.

The --force-formatter option does still exist, although it will probably be deprecated in the future.

If your logfiles switch to the formatter, you need to include --force-logger for your daemonized runs.

Redirecting output to a file with chef-client > /tmp/chef.out now captures the same output as invoking it directly on the command line with no redirection.

Path Sanity disabled by default and modified

The chef client itself no long modifies its ENV['PATH'] variable directly. When using the shell_out API now, in addition to setting up LANG/LANGUAGE/LC_ALL variables that API will also inject certain system paths and the ruby bindir and gemdirs into the PATH (or Path on Windows). The shell_out_with_systems_locale API still does not mangle any environment variables. During the Chef-13 lifecycle changes will be made to prep Chef-14 to switch so that shell_out by default behaves like shell_out_with_systems_locale. A new flag will get introduced to call shell_out(..., internal: [true|false]) to either get the forced locale and path settings (“internal”) or not. When that is introduced in Chef 13.x the default will be true (backwards-compat with 13.0) and that default will change in 14.0 to false.

The PATH changes have also been tweaked so that the ruby bindir and gemdir PATHS are prepended instead of appended to the PATH. Some system directories are still appended.

Some examples of changes:

** * which ruby in 12.x will return any system ruby and fall back to the embedded ruby if using omnibus ** * which ruby in 13.x will return any system ruby and will not find the embedded ruby if using omnibus ** * shell_out_with_systems_locale("which ruby") behaves the same as which ruby above ** * shell_out("which ruby") in 12.x will return any system ruby and fall back to the embedded ruby if using omnibus ** * shell_out("which ruby") in 13.x will always return the omnibus ruby first (but will find the system ruby if not using omnibus)

The PATH in shell_out can also be overridden:

** * shell_out("which ruby", env: { "PATH" => nil }) - behaves like shell_out_with_systems_locale() ** * shell_out("which ruby", env: { "PATH" => [...include PATH string here...] }) - set it arbitrarily however you need

Since most providers which launch custom user commands use shell_out_with_systems_locale (service, execute, script, etc) the behavior will be that those commands that used to be having embedded omnibus paths injected into them no longer will. Generally this will fix more problems than it solves, but may causes issues for some use cases.

Default guard clauses (not_if/only_if) do not change the PATH or other env vars

The implementation switched to shell_out_with_systems_locale to match execute resource, etc.

Chef Client exits the RFC062 defined exit codes

Chef Client will only exit with exit codes defined in RFC 062. This allows other tooling to respond to how a Chef run completes. Attempting to exit Chef Client with an unsupported exit code (either via Chef::Application.fatal! or Chef::Application.exit!) will result in an exit code of 1 (GENERIC_FAILURE) and a warning in the event log.

When Chef Client is running as a forked process on unix systems, the standardized exit codes are used by the child process. To actually have Chef Client return the standard exit code, client_fork false will need to be set in Chef Client’s configuration file.

New deprecations included in this release

What’s New in 12.22.3

This release fixes an issue in our Windows security support code that would occasionally cause heap corruption on Windows. This would manifest as Chef Client runs that terminated without any logging or errors. Since the issue was located within the common get_account_right method, this could affect a number of different recipes, but was most often seen when using the windows_service resource.

This issue is also fixed in the recent Chef 14.0.190 release, and will be included in the next Chef 13 release expected by the end of the month.

This is the final planned Chef 12 release, which is currently deprecated and will become End of Life on April 30th. For additional information on that process, please see our Chef 12 and ChefDK 1 EOL information.

What’s New in 12.22.1

  • Security Updates
  • Ohai 8.26.1
    • Ohai now provides EC2 metadata configuration information on the new C5/M5 instance types running on Amazon’s new hypervisor
    • The new LsPci plugin provides a node[:pci] hash with information about the PCI bus based on lspci. Only runs on Linux.
    • The virtualization plugin has been updated to properly detect Docker CE

What’s New in 12.21.31

  • Support for AArch64 platform on Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • mdadm support for arrays with more than 10 disks
  • OpenSSL updated to version 1.0.2

What’s New in 12.21.26

Ohai Critical Plugins Functionality

Users can now specify a list of plugins which are critical for the Chef run. Critical plugins will cause Ohai to fail if they do not run successfully (and thus cause a Chef run using Ohai to fail). The syntax for this is:

ohai.critical_plugins << :Filesystem

What’s New in 12.21.20

  • Improved dsc_script logging Converge logging in dsc_script has been improved
  • DNF Improvements Accuracy in determining when to use the dnf_package resource has been improved. DNF will no longer be used on RHEL 7 systems that have it installed, and the determination logic performance has been greatly improved.

What’s New in 12.21.14

  • apt_repository APT key fingerprint fixes apt_repository now correctly checks APT key fingerprints on newer systems

What’s New in 12.21.12

What’s New in 12.21.10

  • Security release of RubyGems RubyGems has been upgraded to 2.6.13 to address the following:
  • Attribute Performance Attribute performance has been improved when utilizing large numbers of merged attributes

What’s New in 12.21.4

  • Improved Resource Reporting Resource reporting for Chef Automate has been improved
  • Ruby Upgrade Ruby has been updated to 2.3.4
  • RubyGems Upgrade RubyGems has been updated to 2.6.12 to prevent a segfault on Windows
  • Policyfile fix Chef client now properly sends expanded run list events for policy file nodes

What’s New in 12.21.1

zlib Security Update

zlib has been updated to resolve the following CVEs:

On Debian prefer Systemd to Upstart

On Debian systems, packages that support systemd will often ship both an old style init script and a systemd unit file. When this happened, Chef would incorrectly choose Upstart rather than systemd as the service provider. Chef will now prefer systemd where available.

Handle the ‘supports’ property better

Chef 13 removed the supports property from core resources. Chef 12 was incorrectly giving a deprecation notice for another propeerty called support, which prevented users from properly testing their cookbooks for upgrades.

Don’t crash if downgrading from Chef 13 to 12

On systems where Chef 13 had been run, Chef 12 would crash as the on-disk cookbook format has changed. Chef 12 now correctly ignores the unexpected files.

Provide better information during failures

When Chef client fails, the output now includes details about the platform and version of Chef that was running, so that a bug report has more detail.

What’s New in 12.20

The following items are new for chef-client 12.20, or introduce changes from previous versions:

Server Enforced Recipe

This release adds support for Server Enforced Recipe, as described in RFC 896 and implemented in Chef server 12.15. Full release documentation of this feature will be coming soon.

Bugfixes

Fixes issue where the apt_repository resource couldn’t identify key fingerprints when gnupg 2.1.x was used.

What’s New in 12.19

The following items are new for chef-client 12.19 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Systemd unit files are now verified before being installed.
  • Added support for windows alternate user identity in execute resources.
  • Added ed25519 key support for ssh connections.

Windows alternate user identity execute support

The execute resource and similar resources such as script, batch, and powershell_script now support the specification of credentials on Windows so that the resulting process is created with the security identity that corresponds to those credentials.

Note: When Chef is running as a service, this feature requires that the user that Chef runs as has ‘SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege’ (aka ‘SE_ASSIGNPRIMARYTOKEN_NAME’) user right. By default only LocalSystem and NetworkService have this right when running as a service. This is necessary even if the user is an Administrator.

This right can be added and checked in a recipe using this example:

# Add 'SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege' for the user
Chef::ReservedNames::Win32::Security.add_account_right('<user>', 'SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege')

# Check if the user has 'SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege' rights
Chef::ReservedNames::Win32::Security.get_account_right('<user>').include?('SeAssignPrimaryTokenPrivilege')

Properties

The following properties are new or updated for the execute, script, batch, and powershell_script resources and any resources derived from them:

user
Ruby Type: String The user name of the user identity with which to launch the new process. The user name may optionally be specified with a domain, i.e. domain\user or user@my.dns.domain.com via Universal Principal Name (UPN) format. It can also be specified without a domain simply as user if the domain is instead specified using the domain attribute. On Windows only, if this property is specified, the password property must be specified.
password
Ruby types String _Windows only:_ The password of the user specified by the user property. This property is mandatory if user is specified on Windows and may only be specified if user is specified. The sensitive property for this resource will automatically be set to true if password is specified.
domain
Ruby types String _Windows only:_ The domain of the user specified by the user property. If not specified, the user name and password specified by the user and password properties will be used to resolve that user against the domain in which the system running Chef client is joined, or if that system is not joined to a domain it will resolve the user as a local account on that system. An alternative way to specify the domain is to leave this property unspecified and specify the domain as part of the user property.

Usage

The following examples explain how alternate user identity properties can be used in the execute resources:

powershell_script 'create powershell-test file' do
  code <<-EOH
  $stream = [System.IO.StreamWriter] "#{Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]}/powershell-test.txt"
  $stream.WriteLine("In #{Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]}...word.")
  $stream.close()
  EOH
  user 'username'
  password 'password'
end

execute 'mkdir test_dir' do
  cwd Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]
  domain "domain-name"
  user "user"
  password "password"
end

script 'create test_dir' do
  interpreter "bash"
  code  "mkdir test_dir"
  cwd Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]
  user "domain-name\\username"
  password "password"
end

batch 'create test_dir' do
  code "mkdir test_dir"
  cwd Chef::Config[:file_cache_path]
  user "username@domain-name"
  password "password"
end

Highlighted bug fixes for this release:

  • Ensure that the Windows Administrator group can access the chef-solo nodes directory
  • When loading a cookbook in Chef Solo, use “metadata.json“ in preference to “metadata.rb“.

What’s New in 12.18

The following items are new for chef-client 12.18 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Can now specify the acceptable return codes from the chocolatey_package resource using the returns property
  • Can now enable chef-client to run as a scheduled task directly from the client MSI on Windows hosts
  • Package provider now supports DNF packages for Fedora and upcoming RHEL releases

What’s New in 12.17

The following items are new for chef-client 12.17 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Added msu_package resource and provider
  • Added alias unmount to umount action for mount resource
  • Can now delete multiple nodes/clients in knife
  • Haskell language plugin added to Ohai

msu_package resource

The msu_package resource installs or removes Microsoft Update(MSU) packages on Microsoft Windows machines. Here are some examples:

Using local path in source

msu_package 'Install Windows 2012R2 Update KB2959977' do
  source 'C:\Users\xyz\AppData\Local\Temp\Windows8.1-KB2959977-x64.msu'
  action :install
end

msu_package 'Remove Windows 2012R2 Update KB2959977' do
  source 'C:\Users\xyz\AppData\Local\Temp\Windows8.1-KB2959977-x64.msu'
  action :remove
end

Using URL in source

msu_package 'Install Windows 2012R2 Update KB2959977' do
  source 'https://s3.amazonaws.com/my_bucket/Windows8.1-KB2959977-x64.msu'
  action :install
end

msu_package 'Remove Windows 2012R2 Update KB2959977' do
  source 'https://s3.amazonaws.com/my_bucket/Windows8.1-KB2959977-x64.msu'
  action :remove
end

unmount alias for umount action

Now you can use action :unmount to unmout a mount point through the mount resource. For example:

mount '/mount/tmp' do
  action :unmount
end

Multiple client/node deletion in knife

You can now pass multiple nodes/clients to knife node delete or knife client delete subcommands.

$ knife client delete client1,client2,client3

Ohai Enhancements

Haskell Language plugin

Haskell is now detected in a new haskell language plugin:

"languages": {
  "haskell": {
    "stack": {
      "version": "1.2.0",
      "description": "Version 1.2.0 x86_64 hpack-0.14.0"
    }
  }
}

LSB Release Detection

The lsb_release command line tool is now preferred to the contents of /etc/lsb-release for release detection. This resolves an issue where a distro can be upgraded, but /etc/lsb-release is not upgraded to reflect the change.

What’s New in 12.16

The following items are new for chef-client 12.16 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Added new attribute_changed event hook
  • Automatic connection to Chef Automate’s data collector through Chef server
  • Added new –field-separator flag to knife show commands

attribute_changed event hook

In a cookbook library file, you can add this in order to print out all attribute changes in cookbooks:

Chef.event_handler do
  on :attribute_changed do |precedence, key, value|
    puts "setting attribute #{precedence}#{key.map {|n| "[\"#{n}\"]" }.join} = #{value}"
  end
end

If you want to setup a policy that override attributes should never be used:

Chef.event_handler do
  on :attribute_changed do |precedence, key, value|
    raise "override policy violation" if precedence == :override
  end
end

Automatic connection to Chef Automate’s data collector with supported Chef server

Chef client will automatically attempt to connect to the Chef server authenticated data collector proxy. If you have a supported version of Chef server with this feature enabled, Chef client run data will automatically be forwarded to Chef Automate without additional Chef client configuration. If you do not have Chef Automate, or the feature is disabled on the Chef server, Chef client will detect this and disable data collection.

Note

Chef Server 12.11.0 or newer is required for this feature.

RFC018 Partially Implemented: Specify --field-separator for attribute filtering

If you have periods (.) in your Chef Node attribute keys, you can now pass the --field-separator (or -S) flag along with your --attribute (or -a) flag to specify a custom nesting character other than ..

In a situation where the webapp node has the following node data:

{
  "foo.bar": "baz",
  "alpha": {
    "beta": "omega"
  }
}

Running knife node show with the default field separator (.) won’t show us the data we’re expecting for the foo.bar attribute because of the period:

$ knife node show webapp -a foo.bar
webapp:
  foo.bar:

$ knife node show webapp -a alpha.beta
webapp:
  alpha.beta: omega

However, by specifying a field separator other than . we are now able to show the data.

$ knife node show webapp -S: -a foo.bar
webapp:
  foo.bar: baz

$ knife node show webapp -S: -a alpha:beta
webapp:
  alpha:beta: omega

Package locking for Apt, Yum, and Zypper

To allow for more fine grain control of package installation the apt_package, yum_package, and zypper_package resources now support the :lock and :unlock actions.

package "httpd" do
  action :lock
end

package "httpd" do
  action :unlock
end

What’s New in 12.15

The following items are new for chef-client 12.15 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Omnibus packages are now available for Ubuntu 16.04
  • New cab_package resource Supports the installation of cabinet packages on Microsoft Windows.
  • Added new Chef client exit code (213) New exit code when Chef client exits during upgrade.
  • Default for gpgcheck on yum_repository resource is set to true
  • Allow deletion of registry_key without the need for users to pass data key in values hash
  • If provided, knife ssh will pass the -P option on the command line as the sudo password and will bypass prompting

cab_package

Supports the installation of cabinet packages on Microsoft Windows. For example:

cab_package 'Install .NET 3.5 sp1 via KB958488' do
  source 'C:\Users\xyz\AppData\Local\Temp\Windows6.1-KB958488-x64.cab'
  action :install
end

cab_package 'Remove .NET 3.5 sp1 via KB958488' do
  source 'C:\Users\xyz\AppData\Local\Temp\Windows6.1-KB958488-x64.cab'
  action :remove
end

Note

The cab_package resource does not support URL strings in the source property.

exit code 213

This new exit code signals Chef has exited during a client upgrade. This allows for easier testing of chef client upgrades in Test Kitchen. See Chef Killing in the omnibus_updater cookbook for more information.

What’s New in 12.14

The following items are new for chef-client 12.14 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Upgraded Ruby version from 2.1.9 to 2.3.1 Adds several performance and functionality enhancements.
  • Now support for Chef client runs on Windows Nano Server A small patch to Ruby 2.3.1 and improvements to the Ohai network plugin now allow you to do chef client runs on Windows Nano Server.
  • New yum_repository resource Use the yum_repository resource to manage a yum repository configuration file.
  • Added the ability to mark a property of a custom resource as sensitive This will suppress the property’s value when it’s used in other outputs, such as messages used by the data collector.

yum_repository

Use the yum_repository resource to manage a Yum repository configuration file located at /etc/yum.repos.d/repositoryid.repo on the local machine. This configuration file specifies which repositories to reference, how to handle cached data, etc.

For syntax, a list of properties and actions, see yum_repository.

sensitive: true

Some properties in custom resources may include sensitive data, such as a password for a database server. When the resource’s state is built for use by data collector or a similar auditing tool, a hash is built of all state properties for that resource and their values. This leads to sensitive data being transmitted and potentially stored in the clear.

Individual properties can now be marked as sensitive and then have the value of that property suppressed when exporting the resource’s state. To do this, add sensitive: true when definine the property, such as in the following example:

property :db_password, String, sensitive: true

What’s New in 12.13

The following items are new for chef-client 12.13 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Ohai 8.18 includes new plugin for gathering available user shells Other additions include a new hardware plugin for macOS that gathers system information and detection of VMWare and VirtualBox installations.
  • New Chef client option to override any config key/value pair Use chef-client --config-option to override any config setting from the command line.

–config-option

Use the --config-option option to override a single configuration option when calling a command on chef-client. To override multiple configuration options, simply add additional --config-option options like in the following example:

$ chef-client --config-option chef_server_url=http://example --config-option policy_name=web"

Updated Dependencies

  • ruby - 2.1.9 (from 2.1.8)

Updated Gems

  • chef-zero - 4.8.0 (from 4.7.0)
  • cheffish - 2.0.5 (from 2.0.4)
  • compat_resource - 12.10.7 (from 12.10.6)
  • ffi - 1.9.14 (from 1.9.10)
  • ffi-yajl - 2.3.0 (from 2.2.3)
  • fuzzyurl - 0.9.0 (from 0.8.0)
  • mixlib-cli - 1.7.0 (from 1.6.0)
  • mixlib-log - 1.7.0 (from 1.6.0)
  • ohai - 8.18.0 (from 8.17.1)
  • pry - 0.10.4 (from 0.10.3)
  • rspec - 3.5.0 (from 3.4.0)
  • rspec-core - 3.5.2 (from 3.4.4)
  • rspec-expectations - 3.5.0 (from 3.4.0)
  • rspec-mocks - 3.5.0 (from 3.4.1)
  • rspec-support - 3.5.0 (from 3.4.1)
  • simplecov - 0.12.0 (from 0.11.2)
  • specinfra - 2.60.3 (from 2.59.4)
  • mixlib-archive - 0.2.0 (added to package)

What’s New in 12.12

The following items are new for chef-client 12.12 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • New node attribute APIs Common set of methods to read, write, delete, and check if node attributes exist.
  • Data collector updates Minor enhancements to data that the data collector reports on.
  • knife cookbook create has been deprecated You should use chef generate cookbook instead.

Depreciated node attribute methods

The following methods have been deprecated in this release:

  • node.set
  • node.set_unless

data_collector updates

  • Adds node to the data_collector message.
  • data_collector reports on all resources and not just those that have been processed.

What’s New in 12.11

The following items are new for chef-client 12.11 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Support for standard exit codes in Chef client Standard exit codes are now used by Chef client and should be identical across all OS platforms. New configuration setting exit_status has been added to specify how Chef client reports non-standard exit codes.
  • New data collector functionality for run statistics New feature that provides a unified method for sharing statistics about your Chef runs in webhook-like manner.
  • Default chef-solo behavior is equivalent to chef-client local mode chef-solo now uses chef-client local mode. To use the previous chef-solo behavior, run in chef-solo --legacy-mode.
  • New systemd_unit resource Use the systemd_unit to manage systemd units.

exit_status

When set to :enabled, chef-client will use standardized exit codes for Chef client run status, and any non-standard exit codes will be converted to 1 or GENERIC_FAILURE. This setting can also be set to :disabled which preserves the old behavior of using non-standardized exit codes and skips the deprecation warnings. Default value: nil.

Note

The behavior with the default value consists of a warning on the use of deprecated and non-standard exit codes. In a future release of Chef client, using standardized exit codes will be the default behavior.

Data collector

The data collector feature is new to Chef 12.11. It provides a unified method for sharing statistics about your Chef runs in a webhook-like manner. The data collector supports Chef in all its modes: Chef client, Chef solo (commonly referred to as “Chef client local mode”), and Chef solo legacy mode.

To enable the data collector, specify the following settings in your client configuration file:

  • data_collector.server_url: Required. The URL to which the Chef client will POST the data collector messages
  • data_collector.token: Optional. An token which will be sent in a x-data-collector-token HTTP header which can be used to authenticate the message.
  • data_collector.mode: The Chef mode in which the data collector should run. Chef client mode is chef client configured to use Chef server to provide Chef client its resources and artifacts. Chef solo mode is Chef client configured to use a local Chef zero server (chef-client --local-mode). This setting also allows you to only enable data collector in Chef solo mode but not Chef client mode. Available options are :solo, :client, or :both. Default is :both.
  • data_collector.raise_on_failure: If enabled, Chef will raise an exception and fail to run if the data collector cannot be reached at the start of the Chef run. Defaults to false.
  • data_collector.organization: Optional. In Chef solo mode, the organization field in the messages will be set to this value. Default is chef_solo. This field does not apply to Chef client mode.

Replace previous Chef-solo behavior with Chef client local mode

The default operation of chef-solo is now the equivalent to chef-client -z or chef-client --local-mode, but you can use the previous chef-solo behavior by running in chef-solo --legacy-mode. As part of this change, environment and role files written in ruby are now fully supported by knife upload.

systemd_unit

Use the systemd_unit resource to create, manage, and run systemd units.

Syntax

A systemd_unit resource describes the configuration behavior for systemd units. For example:

systemd_unit 'sysstat-collect.timer' do
  content({
    'Unit' => {
      'Description' => 'Run system activity accounting tool every 10 minutes'
    },
    'Timer' => {
      'OnCalendar' => '*:00/10'
    },
    'Install' => {
      'WantedBy' => 'sysstat.service'
    }
  })
  action [:create, :enable, :start]
end

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the systemd_unit resource is:

systemd_unit 'name' do
  user                   String
  content                String or Hash
  triggers_reload        Boolean
end

where

  • name is the name of the unit
  • user is the user account that systemd units run under. If not specified, systemd units will run under the system account.
  • content describes the behavior of the unit
  • triggers_reload controls if a daemon-reload is executed to load the unit

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:create
Create a unit file, if it does not already exist.
:delete
Delete a unit file, if it exists.
:enable
Ensure the unit will be started after the next system boot.
:disable
Ensure the unit will not be started after the next system boot.
:nothing
Default. Do nothing with the unit.
:mask
Ensure the unit will not start, even to satisfy dependencies.
:unmask
Stop the unit from being masked and cause it to start as specified.
:start
Start a unit based in its systemd unit file.
:stop
Stop a running unit.
:restart
Restart a unit.
:reload
Reload the configuration file for a unit.
:try_restart
Try to restart a unit if the unit is running.
:reload_or_restart
For units that are services, this action reloads the configuration of the service without restarting, if possible; otherwise, it will restart the service so the new configuration is applied.
:reload_or_try_restart
For units that are services, this action reloads the configuration of the service without restarting, if possible; otherwise, it will try to restart the service so the new configuration is applied.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

user

Ruby Type: String

The user account that the systemd unit process is run under. The path to the unit for that user would be something like /etc/systemd/user/sshd.service. If no user account is specified, the systemd unit will run under a system account, with the path to the unit being something like /etc/systemd/system/sshd.service.

content

Ruby Type: String, Hash

A string or hash that contains a systemd unit file definition that describes the properties of systemd-managed entities, such as services, sockets, devices, and so on.

triggers_reload

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: true

Specifies whether to trigger a daemon reload when creating or deleting a unit.

verify

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: true

Specifies if the unit will be verified before installation. Systemd can be overly strict when verifying units, so in certain cases it is preferable not to verify the unit.

What’s New in 12.10

The following items are new for chef-client 12.10 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • New layout property for mdadm resource Use the layout property to set the RAID5 parity algorithm. Possible values: left-asymmetric (or la), left-symmetric (or ls), right-asymmetric (or ra), or right-symmetric (or rs).
  • New with_run_context for the Recipe DSL Use with_run_context to run resource blocks as part of the root or parent run context.
  • New Recipe DSL methods for declaring, deleting, editing, and finding resources Use the declare_resource, delete_resource, edit_resource, and find_resource methods to interact with resources in the resource collection. Use the delete_resource!, edit_resource!, or find_resource! methods to trigger an exception when the resource is not found in the collection.

with_run_context

Use the with_run_context method to define a block that has a pointer to a location in the run_context hierarchy. Resources in recipes always run at the root of the run_context hierarchy, whereas custom resources and notification blocks always build a child run_context which contains their sub-resources.

The syntax for the with_run_context method is as follows:

with_run_context :type do
  # some arbitrary pure Ruby stuff goes here
end

where :type may be one of the following:

  • :root runs the block as part of the root run_context hierarchy
  • :parent runs the block as part of the parent process in the run_context hierarchy

For example:

action :run do
  with_run_context :root do
    edit_resource(:my_thing, "accumulated state") do
      action :nothing
      my_array_property << accumulate_some_stuff
    end
  end
  log "kick it off" do
    notifies :run, "my_thing[accumulated state], :delayed
  end
end

declare_resource

Use the declare_resource method to instantiate a resource and then add it to the resource collection.

The syntax for the declare_resource method is as follows:

declare_resource(:resource_type, 'resource_name', resource_attrs_block)

where:

  • :resource_type is the resource type, such as :file (for the file resource), :template (for the template resource), and so on. Any resource available to Chef may be declared.
  • resource_name the property that is the default name of the resource, typically the string that appears in the resource 'name' do block of a resource (but not always); see the Syntax section for the resource to be declared to verify the default name property.
  • resource_attrs_block is a block in which properties of the instantiated resource are declared.

For example:

declare_resource(:file, '/x/y.txy', caller[0]) do
  action :delete
end

is equivalent to:

file '/x/y.txt' do
  action :delete
end

delete_resource

Use the delete_resource method to find a resource in the resource collection, and then delete it.

The syntax for the delete_resource method is as follows:

delete_resource(:resource_type, 'resource_name')

where:

  • :resource_type is the resource type, such as :file (for the file resource), :template (for the template resource), and so on. Any resource available to Chef may be declared.
  • resource_name the property that is the default name of the resource, typically the string that appears in the resource 'name' do block of a resource (but not always); see the Syntax section for the resource to be declared to verify the default name property.

For example:

delete_resource(:template, '/x/y.erb')

delete_resource!

Use the delete_resource! method to find a resource in the resource collection, and then delete it. If the resource is not found, an exception is returned.

The syntax for the delete_resource! method is as follows:

delete_resource!(:resource_type, 'resource_name')

where:

  • :resource_type is the resource type, such as :file (for the file resource), :template (for the template resource), and so on. Any resource available to Chef may be declared.
  • resource_name the property that is the default name of the resource, typically the string that appears in the resource 'name' do block of a resource (but not always); see the Syntax section for the resource to be declared to verify the default name property.

For example:

delete_resource!(:file, '/x/file.txt')

edit_resource

Use the edit_resource method to:

  • Find a resource in the resource collection, and then edit it.
  • Define a resource block. If a resource block with the same name exists in the resource collection, it will be updated with the contents of the resource block defined by the edit_resource method. If a resource block does not exist in the resource collection, it will be created.

The syntax for the edit_resource method is as follows:

edit_resource(:resource_type, 'resource_name', resource_attrs_block)

where:

  • :resource_type is the resource type, such as :file (for the file resource), :template (for the template resource), and so on. Any resource available to Chef may be declared.
  • resource_name the property that is the default name of the resource, typically the string that appears in the resource 'name' do block of a resource (but not always); see the Syntax section for the resource to be declared to verify the default name property.
  • resource_attrs_block is a block in which properties of the instantiated resource are declared.

For example:

edit_resource(:template, '/x/y.txy') do
  cookbook 'cookbook_name'
end

and a resource block:

edit_resource(:template, '/etc/aliases') do
  source 'aliases.erb'
  cookbook 'aliases'
  variables({:aliases => {} })
  notifies :run, 'execute[newaliases]'
end

edit_resource!

Use the edit_resource! method to:

  • Find a resource in the resource collection, and then edit it.
  • Define a resource block. If a resource with the same name exists in the resource collection, its properties will be updated with the contents of the resource block defined by the edit_resource method.

In both cases, if the resource is not found, an exception is returned.

The syntax for the edit_resource! method is as follows:

edit_resource!(:resource_type, 'resource_name')

where:

  • :resource_type is the resource type, such as :file (for the file resource), :template (for the template resource), and so on. Any resource available to Chef may be declared.
  • resource_name the property that is the default name of the resource, typically the string that appears in the resource 'name' do block of a resource (but not always); see the Syntax section for the resource to be declared to verify the default name property.
  • resource_attrs_block is a block in which properties of the instantiated resource are declared.

For example:

edit_resource!(:file, '/x/y.rst')

find_resource

Use the find_resource method to:

  • Find a resource in the resource collection.
  • Define a resource block. If a resource block with the same name exists in the resource collection, it will be returned. If a resource block does not exist in the resource collection, it will be created.

The syntax for the find_resource method is as follows:

find_resource(:resource_type, 'resource_name')

where:

  • :resource_type is the resource type, such as :file (for the file resource), :template (for the template resource), and so on. Any resource available to Chef may be declared.
  • resource_name the property that is the default name of the resource, typically the string that appears in the resource 'name' do block of a resource (but not always); see the Syntax section for the resource to be declared to verify the default name property.

For example:

find_resource(:template, '/x/y.txy')

and a resource block:

find_resource(:template, '/etc/seapower') do
  source 'seapower.erb'
  cookbook 'seapower'
  variables({:seapower => {} })
  notifies :run, 'execute[newseapower]'
end

find_resource!

Use the find_resource! method to find a resource in the resource collection. If the resource is not found, an exception is returned.

The syntax for the find_resource! method is as follows:

find_resource!(:resource_type, 'resource_name')

where:

  • :resource_type is the resource type, such as :file (for the file resource), :template (for the template resource), and so on. Any resource available to Chef may be declared.
  • resource_name the property that is the default name of the resource, typically the string that appears in the resource 'name' do block of a resource (but not always); see the Syntax section for the resource to be declared to verify the default name property.

For example:

find_resource!(:template, '/x/y.erb')

What’s New in 12.9

The following items are new for chef-client 12.9 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • New apt_repository resource
  • 64-bit chef-client for Microsoft Windows Starting with chef-client 12.9, 64-bit
  • New property for the mdadm resource Use the mdadm_defaults property to set the default values for chunk and metadata to nil, which allows mdadm to apply its own default values.
  • File redirection in Windows for 32-bit applications Files on Microsoft Windows that are managed by the file and directory resources are subject to file redirection, depending if the chef-client is 64-bit or 32-bit.
  • Registry key redirection in Windows for 32-bit applications Registry keys on Microsoft Windows that are managed by the registry_key resource are subject to key redirection, depending if the chef-client is 64-bit or 32-bit.
  • New values for log_location Use :win_evt to write log output to the (Windows Event Logger and :syslog to write log output to the syslog daemon facility with the originator set as chef-client.
  • New timeout setting for knife ssh Set the --ssh-timeout setting to an integer (in seconds) as part of a knife ssh command. The ssh_timeout setting may also be configured (as seconds) in the knife.rb file.
  • New “seconds to wait before first chef-client run” setting The -daemonized option for the chef-client now allows the seconds to wait before starting the chef-client run to be specified. For example, if --daemonize 10 is specified, the chef-client will wait ten seconds.

apt_repository resource

The apt_repository resource, previously available in the apt cookbook, is now included in chef-client. With this change you will no longer need to depend on the apt cookbook to use the apt_repository resource.

64-bit chef-client

The chef-client now runs on 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems.

  • Support for file redirection
  • Support for key redirection

File Redirection

64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows have a 32-bit compatibility layer that redirects attempts by 32-bit application to access the System32 directory to a different location. Starting with chef-client version 12.9, the 32-bit version of the chef-client is subject to the file redirection policy.

For example, consider the following script:

process_type = ENV['PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE'] == 'AMD64' ? '64-bit' : '32-bit'
system32_dir = ::File.join(ENV['SYSTEMROOT'], 'system32')
test_dir = ::File.join(system32_dir, 'cheftest')
test_file = ::File.join(test_dir, 'chef_architecture.txt')

directory test_dir do
  # some directory
end

file test_file do
  content "Chef made me, I come from a #{process_type} process."
end

When running a 32-bit version of chef-client, the script will write the chef_architecture file to the C:\Windows\SysWow64 directory. However, when running a native 64-bit version of the chef-client, the script will write a file to the C:\Windows\System32 directory, as expected.

For more information, see: File System Redirector.

Key Redirection

64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows have a 32-bit compatibility layer in the registry that reflects and redirects certain keys (and their values) into specific locations (or logical views) of the registry hive.

The chef-client can access any reflected or redirected registry key. The machine architecture of the system on which the chef-client is running is used as the default (non-redirected) location. Access to the SysWow64 location is redirected must be specified. Typically, this is only necessary to ensure compatibility with 32-bit applications that are running on a 64-bit operating system.

32-bit versions of the chef-client (12.8 and earlier) and 64-bit versions of the chef-client (12.9 and later) generally behave the same in this situation, with one exception: it is only possible to read and write from a redirected registry location using chef-client version 12.9 (and later).

For more information, see: Registry Reflection.

What’s New in 12.8

The following items are new for chef-client 12.8 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Support for OpenSSL validation of FIPS The chef-client can be configured to allow OpenSSL to enforce FIPS-validated security during a chef-client run.
  • Support for multiple configuration files The chef-client supports reading multiple configuration files by putting them inside a .d configuration directory.
  • New launchd resource Use the launchd resource to manage system-wide services (daemons) and per-user services (agents) on the macOS platform.
  • chef-zero support for Chef Server API endpoints chef-zero now supports using all Chef server API version 12 endpoints, with the exception of /universe.
  • Updated support for OpenSSL OpenSSL is updated to version 1.0.1.
  • Ohai auto-detects hosts for Azure instances Ohai will auto-detect hosts for instances that are hosted by Microsoft Azure.
  • gem attribute added to metadata.rb Specify a gem dependency to be installed via the chef_gem resource after all cookbooks are synchronized, but before any other cookbook loading is done.

FIPS Mode

Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) is a United States government computer security standard that specifies security requirements for cryptography. The current version of the standard is FIPS 140-2. The chef-client can be configured to allow OpenSSL to enforce FIPS-validated security during a chef-client run. This will disable cryptography that is explicitly disallowed in FIPS-validated software, including certain ciphers and hashing algorithms. Any attempt to use any disallowed cryptography will cause the chef-client to throw an exception during a chef-client run.

Note

Chef uses MD5 hashes to uniquely identify files that are stored on the Chef server. MD5 is used only to generate a unique hash identifier and is not used for any cryptographic purpose.

Notes about FIPS:

  • May be enabled for nodes running on Microsoft Windows and Enterprise Linux platforms
  • Should only be enabled for environments that require FIPS 140-2 compliance
  • May not be enabled for any version of the chef-client earlier than 12.8

Enable FIPS Mode

Allowing OpenSSL to enforce FIPS-validated security may be enabled by using any of the following ways:

  • Set the fips configuration setting to true in the client.rb or knife.rb files
  • Set the --fips command-line option when running any knife command or the chef-client executable
  • Set the --fips command-line option when bootstrapping a node using the knife bootstrap command

Command Option

The following command-line option may be used to with a knife or chef-client executable command:

--[no-]fips
Allows OpenSSL to enforce FIPS-validated security during the chef-client run.

Bootstrap a node using FIPS

$ knife bootstrap 192.0.2.0 -P vanilla -x root -r 'recipe[apt],recipe[xfs],recipe[vim]' --fips

which shows something similar to:

OpenSSL FIPS 140 mode enabled
...
192.0.2.0 Chef Client finished, 12/12 resources updated in 78.942455583 seconds

Configuration Setting

The following configuration setting may be set in the knife.rb, client.rb, or config.rb files:

fips
Allows OpenSSL to enforce FIPS-validated security during the chef-client run. Set to true to enable FIPS-validated security.

.d Directories

The chef-client supports reading multiple configuration files by putting them inside a .d configuration directory. For example: /etc/chef/client.d. All files that end in .rb in the .d directory are loaded; other non-.rb files are ignored.

.d directories may exist in any location where the client.rb, config.rb, or solo.rb files are present, such as:

  • /etc/chef/client.d
  • /etc/chef/config.d
  • ~/chef/solo.d

(There is no support for a knife.d directory; use config.d instead.)

For example, when using knife, the following configuration files would be loaded:

  • ~/.chef/config.rb
  • ~/.chef/config.d/company_settings.rb
  • ~/.chef/config.d/ec2_configuration.rb
  • ~/.chef/config.d/old_settings.rb.bak

The old_settings.rb.bak file is ignored because it’s not a configuration file. The config.rb, company_settings.rb, and ec2_configuration files are merged together as if they are a single configuration file.

Note

If multiple configuration files exists in a .d directory, ensure that the same setting has the same value in all files.

launchd

Use the launchd resource to manage system-wide services (daemons) and per-user services (agents) on the macOS platform.

Syntax

A launchd resource manages system-wide services (daemons) and per-user services (agents) on the macOS platform:

launchd 'call.mom.weekly' do
  program '/Library/scripts/call_mom.sh'
  start_calendar_interval 'Weekday' => 7, 'Hourly' => 10
  time_out 300
end

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the launchd resource is:

launchd 'name' do
  abandon_process_group      true, false
  backup                     Integer, false
  cookbook                   String
  debug                      true, false
  disabled                   true, false
  enable_globbing            true, false
  enable_transactions        true, false
  environment_variables      Hash
  exit_timeout               Integer
  group                      String, Integer
  hard_resource_limits       Hash
  hash                       Hash
  ignore_failure             true, false
  inetd_compatibility        Hash
  init_groups                true, false
  keep_alive                 true, false
  label                      String
  launch_only_once           true, false
  limit_load_from_hosts      Array
  limit_load_to_hosts        Array
  limit_load_to_session_type String
  low_priority_io            true, false
  mach_services              Hash
  mode                       Integer, String
  nice                       Integer
  notifies                   # see description
  on_demand                  true, false
  owner                      Integer, String
  path                       String
  process_type               String
  program                    String
  program_arguments          Array
  provider                   Chef::Provider::Launchd
  queue_directories          Array
  retries                    Integer
  retry_delay                Integer
  root_directory             String
  run_at_load                true, false
  sockets                    Hash
  soft_resource_limits       Array
  standard_error_path        String
  standard_in_path           String
  standard_out_path          String
  start_calendar_interval    Hash
  start_interval             Integer
  start_on_mount             true, false
  subscribes                 # see description
  throttle_interval          Integer
  time_out                   Integer
  type                       String
  umask                      Integer
  username                   String
  wait_for_debugger          true, false
  watch_paths                Array
  working_directory          String
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :create if not specified
end

where

  • launchd is the resource
  • name is the name of the resource block
  • action identifies the steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • abandon_process_group, backup, cookbook, debug, disabled, enable_globbing, enable_transactions, environment_variables, exit_timeout, group, hard_resource_limits, hash, inetd_compatibility, init_groups, keep_alive, label, launch_only_once, limit_load_from_hosts, limit_load_to_hosts, limit_load_to_session_type, low_priority_io, mach_services, mode, nice, on_demand, owner, path, process_type, program, program_arguments, queue_directories, retries, retry_delay, root_directory, run_at_load, sockets, soft_resource_limits, standard_error_path, standard_in_path, standard_out_path, start_calendar_interval, start_interval, start_on_mount, throttle_interval, time_out, type, umask, username, wait_for_debugger, watch_paths, and working_directory are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

The launchd resource has the following actions:

:create
Default. Create a launchd property list.
:create_if_missing
Create a launchd property list, if it does not already exist.
:delete
Delete a launchd property list. This will unload a daemon or agent, if loaded.
:disable
Disable a launchd property list.
:enable
Create a launchd property list, and then ensure that it is enabled. If a launchd property list already exists, but does not match, updates the property list to match, and then restarts the daemon or agent.
:restart
Restart a launchd managed daemon or agent.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

backup

Ruby Type: Integer, false

The number of backups to be kept in /var/chef/backup. Set to false to prevent backups from being kept.

cookbook

Ruby Type: String

The name of the cookbook in which the source files are located.

group

Ruby Type: String, Integer

When launchd is run as the root user, the group to run the job as. If the username property is specified and this property is not, this value is set to the default group for the user.

hash

Ruby Type: Hash

A Hash of key value pairs used to create the launchd property list.

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

label

Ruby Type: String

The unique identifier for the job.

mode

Ruby Type: Integer, String

A quoted 3-5 character string that defines the octal mode. For example: '755', '0755', or 00755. If mode is not specified and if the directory already exists, the existing mode on the directory is used. If mode is not specified, the directory does not exist, and the :create action is specified, the chef-client assumes a mask value of '0777', and then applies the umask for the system on which the directory is to be created to the mask value. For example, if the umask on a system is '022', the chef-client uses the default value of '0755'.

The behavior is different depending on the platform.

UNIX- and Linux-based systems: A quoted 3-5 character string that defines the octal mode that is passed to chmod. For example: '755', '0755', or 00755. If the value is specified as a quoted string, it works exactly as if the chmod command was passed. If the value is specified as an integer, prepend a zero (0) to the value to ensure that it is interpreted as an octal number. For example, to assign read, write, and execute rights for all users, use '0777' or '777'; for the same rights, plus the sticky bit, use 01777 or '1777'.

Microsoft Windows: A quoted 3-5 character string that defines the octal mode that is translated into rights for Microsoft Windows security. For example: '755', '0755', or 00755. Values up to '0777' are allowed (no sticky bits) and mean the same in Microsoft Windows as they do in UNIX, where 4 equals GENERIC_READ, 2 equals GENERIC_WRITE, and 1 equals GENERIC_EXECUTE. This property cannot be used to set :full_control. This property has no effect if not specified, but when it and rights are both specified, the effects are cumulative.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
owner

Ruby Type: Integer, String

A string or ID that identifies the group owner by user name, including fully qualified user names such as domain\user or user@domain. If this value is not specified, existing owners remain unchanged and new owner assignments use the current user (when necessary).

path

Ruby Type: String

The path to the directory. Using a fully qualified path is recommended, but is not always required. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

session_type

Ruby Type: String

The type of launchd plist to be created. Possible values: system (default) or user.

source

Ruby Type: String

The path to the launchd property list.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
supports

Ruby Type: Array

An array of options for supported mount features. Default value: { :remount => false }.

type

Ruby Type: String

The type of resource. Possible values: daemon (default), agent.

The following resource properties may be used to define keys in the XML property list for a daemon or agent. Please refer to the Apple man page documentation for launchd for more information about these keys:

abandon_process_group

Ruby Type: true, false

If a job dies, all remaining processes with the same process ID may be kept running. Set to true to kill all remaining processes.

debug

Ruby Type: true, false

Sets the log mask to LOG_DEBUG for this job.

disabled

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Hints to launchctl to not submit this job to launchd.

enable_globbing

Ruby Type: true, false

Update program arguments before invocation.

enable_transactions

Ruby Type: true, false

Track in-progress transactions; if none, then send the SIGKILL signal.

environment_variables

Ruby Type: Hash

Additional environment variables to set before running a job.

exit_timeout

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 20

The amount of time (in seconds) launchd waits before sending a SIGKILL signal.

hard_resource_limits

Ruby Type: Hash

A Hash of resource limits to be imposed on a job.

inetd_compatibility

Ruby Type: Hash

Specifies if a daemon expects to be run as if it were launched from inetd. Set to wait => true to pass standard input, output, and error file descriptors. Set to wait => false to call the accept system call on behalf of the job, and then pass standard input, output, and error file descriptors.

init_groups

Ruby Type: true, false

Specify if initgroups is called before running a job. Default value: true (starting with macOS 10.5).

keep_alive

Ruby Type: true, false, Hash | Default Value: false

Keep a job running continuously (true) or allow demand and conditions on the node to determine if the job keeps running (false).

Hash type was added in Chef client 12.14.

launch_only_once

Ruby Type: true, false

Specify if a job can be run only one time. Set this value to true if a job cannot be restarted without a full machine reboot.

limit_load_from_hosts

Ruby Type: Array

An array of hosts to which this configuration file does not apply, i.e. “apply this configuration file to all hosts not specified in this array”.

limit_load_to_hosts

Ruby Type: Array

An array of hosts to which this configuration file applies.

limit_load_to_session_type

Ruby Type: String

The session type to which this configuration file applies.

low_priority_io

Ruby Type: true, false

Specify if the kernel on the node should consider this daemon to be low priority during file system I/O.

mach_services

Ruby Type: Hash

Specify services to be registered with the bootstrap subsystem.

nice

Ruby Type: Integer

The program scheduling priority value in the range -20 to 20.

on_demand

Ruby Type: true, false

Keep a job alive. Only applies to macOS version 10.4 (and earlier); use keep_alive instead for newer versions.

process_type

Ruby Type: String

The intended purpose of the job: Adaptive, Background, Interactive, or Standard.

program

Ruby Type: String

The first argument of execvp, typically the file name associated with the file to be executed. This value must be specified if program_arguments is not specified, and vice-versa.

program_arguments

Ruby Type: Array

The second argument of execvp. If program is not specified, this property must be specified and will be handled as if it were the first argument.

queue_directories

Ruby Type: Array

An array of non-empty directories which, if any are modified, will cause a job to be started.

root_directory

Ruby Type: String

chroot to this directory, and then run the job.

run_at_load

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Launch a job once (at the time it is loaded).

sockets

Ruby Type: Hash

A Hash of on-demand sockets that notify launchd when a job should be run.

soft_resource_limits

Ruby Type: Array

A Hash of resource limits to be imposed on a job.

standard_error_path

Ruby Type: String

The file to which standard error (stderr) is sent.

standard_in_path

Ruby Type: String

The file to which standard input (stdin) is sent.

standard_out_path

Ruby Type: String

The file to which standard output (stdout) is sent.

start_calendar_interval

Ruby Type: Hash

A Hash (similar to crontab) that defines the calendar frequency at which a job is started. For example: { Minute => "0", Hour => "20", Day => "*", Weekday => "1-5", Month => "*" } will run a job at 8:00 PM every day, Monday through Friday, every month of the year.

start_interval

Ruby Type: Integer

The frequency (in seconds) at which a job is started.

start_on_mount

Ruby Type: true, false

Start a job every time a file system is mounted.

throttle_interval

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 10

The frequency (in seconds) at which jobs are allowed to spawn.

time_out

Ruby Type: Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) a job may be idle before it times out. If no value is specified, the default timeout value for launchd will be used.

umask

Ruby Type: Integer

A decimal value to pass to umask before running a job.

username

Ruby Type: String

When launchd is run as the root user, the user to run the job as.

wait_for_debugger

Ruby Type: true, false

Specify if launchd has a job wait for a debugger to attach before executing code.

watch_paths

Ruby Type: Array

An array of paths which, if any are modified, will cause a job to be started.

working_directory

Ruby Type: String

chdir to this directory, and then run the job.

Examples

Create a Launch Daemon from a cookbook file

launchd 'com.chef.every15' do
  source 'com.chef.every15.plist'
end

Create a Launch Daemon using keys

launchd 'call.mom.weekly' do
  program '/Library/scripts/call_mom.sh'
  start_calendar_interval 'Weekday' => 7, 'Hourly' => 10
  time_out 300
end

Remove a Launch Daemon

launchd 'com.chef.every15' do
  action :delete
end

gem, metadata.rb

Specifies a gem dependency for installation into the chef-client through bundler. The gem installation occurs after all cookbooks are synchronized but before loading any other cookbooks. Use this attribute one time for each gem dependency. For example:

gem "poise"
gem "chef-sugar"

What’s New in 12.7

The following items are new for chef-client 12.7 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Chef::REST => require ‘chef/rest’ Internal API calls are moved from Chef::REST to Chef::ServerAPI. Any code that uses Chef::REST must use require 'chef/rest'.
  • New chocolatey_package resource Use the chocolatey_package resource to manage packages using Chocolatey for the Microsoft Windows platform.
  • New osx_profile resource Use the osx_profile resource to manage configuration profiles (.mobileconfig files) on the macOS platform.
  • New apt_update resource Use the apt_update resource to manage Apt repository updates on Debian and Ubuntu platforms.
  • Improved support for UTF-8 The chef-client 12.7 release fixes a UTF-8 handling bug present in chef-client versions 12.4, 12.5, and 12.6.
  • New options for the chef-client The chef-client has a new option: --delete-entire-chef-repo.
  • Multi-package support for Chocolatey and Zypper A resource may specify multiple packages and/or versions for platforms that use Zypper or Chocolatey package managers (in addition to the existing support for specifying multiple packages for Yum and Apt packages).

Chef::REST => require ‘chef/rest’

Internal API calls are moved from Chef::REST to Chef::ServerAPI. As a result of this move, Chef::REST is no longer globally required. Any code that uses Chef::REST must be required as follows:

require 'chef/rest'

For code that is run using knife or chef command line interfaces, consider using Chef::ServerAPI instead.

chocolatey_package

Use the chocolatey_package resource to manage packages using Chocolatey on the Microsoft Windows platform.

Syntax

A chocolatey_package resource block manages packages using Chocolatey for the Microsoft Windows platform. The simplest use of the chocolatey_package resource is:

chocolatey_package 'package_name'

which will install the named package using all of the default options and the default action (:install).

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the chocolatey_package resource is:

chocolatey_package 'name' do
  notifies                   # see description
  options                    String
  package_name               String, Array # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  source                     String
  subscribes                 # see description
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where

  • chocolatey_package tells the chef-client to manage a package
  • 'name' is the name of the package
  • action identifies which steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • options, package_name, source, timeout, and version are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:install
Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.
:nothing
Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:purge
Purge a package. This action typically removes the configuration files as well as the package.
:reconfig
Reconfigure a package. This action requires a response file.
:remove
Remove a package.
:uninstall
Uninstall a package.
:upgrade
Install a package and/or ensure that a package is the latest version.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
options

Ruby Type: String

One (or more) additional options that are passed to the command.

package_name

Ruby Type: String, Array

The name of the package. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

source

Ruby Type: String

Optional. The path to a package in the local file system.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
timeout

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out.

version

Ruby Type: String, Array

The version of a package to be installed or upgraded.

Examples

Install a package

chocolatey_package 'name of package' do
  action :install
end

Install a package with options

This example uses Chocolatey’s --checksum option:

chocolatey_package 'name of package' do
  options '--checksum 1234567890'
  action :install
end

osx_profile

Use the osx_profile resource to manage configuration profiles (.mobileconfig files) on the macOS platform. The osx_profile resource installs profiles by using the uuidgen library to generate a unique ProfileUUID, and then using the profiles command to install the profile on the system.

Syntax

A osx_profile resource block manages configuration profiles on the macOS platform:

osx_profile 'Install screensaver profile' do
  profile 'com.company.screensaver.mobileconfig'
end

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the osx_profile resource is:

osx_profile 'name' do
  path                       # set automatically
  profile                    String, Hash
  profile_name               String # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  identifier                 String
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where

  • osx_profile is the resource
  • name is the name of the resource block
  • action identifies the steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • profile, profile_name, and identifier are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

The osx_profile resource has the following actions:

:install
Default. Install the specified configuration profile.
:nothing

Default. .. tag resources_common_actions_nothing

Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:remove
Remove the specified configuration profile.

Properties

The osx_profile resource has the following properties:

identifier

Ruby Type: String

Use to specify the identifier for the profile, such as com.company.screensaver.

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
profile

Ruby Type: String, Hash

Use to specify a profile. This may be the name of a profile contained in a cookbook or a Hash that contains the contents of the profile.

profile_name

Ruby Type: String

Use to specify the name of the profile, if different from the name of the resource block.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer

Examples

One liner to install profile from cookbook file

The profiles command will be used to install the specified configuration profile.

osx_profile 'com.company.screensaver.mobileconfig'

Install profile from cookbook file

The profiles command will be used to install the specified configuration profile. It can be in sub-directory within a cookbook.

osx_profile 'Install screensaver profile' do
  profile 'screensaver/com.company.screensaver.mobileconfig'
end

Install profile from a hash

The profiles command will be used to install the configuration profile, which is provided as a hash.

profile_hash = {
  'PayloadIdentifier' => 'com.company.screensaver',
  'PayloadRemovalDisallowed' => false,
  'PayloadScope' => 'System',
  'PayloadType' => 'Configuration',
  'PayloadUUID' => '1781fbec-3325-565f-9022-8aa28135c3cc',
  'PayloadOrganization' => 'Chef',
  'PayloadVersion' => 1,
  'PayloadDisplayName' => 'Screensaver Settings',
  'PayloadContent'=> [
    {
      'PayloadType' => 'com.apple.ManagedClient.preferences',
      'PayloadVersion' => 1,
      'PayloadIdentifier' => 'com.company.screensaver',
      'PayloadUUID' => '73fc30e0-1e57-0131-c32d-000c2944c108',
      'PayloadEnabled' => true,
      'PayloadDisplayName' => 'com.apple.screensaver',
      'PayloadContent' => {
        'com.apple.screensaver' => {
          'Forced' => [
            {
              'mcx_preference_settings' => {
                'idleTime' => 0,
              }
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

osx_profile 'Install screensaver profile' do
  profile profile_hash
end

Remove profile using identifier in resource name

The profiles command will be used to remove the configuration profile specified by the provided identifier property.

osx_profile 'com.company.screensaver' do
  action :remove
end

Remove profile by identifier and user friendly resource name

The profiles command will be used to remove the configuration profile specified by the provided identifier property.

osx_profile 'Remove screensaver profile' do
  identifier 'com.company.screensaver'
  action :remove
end

apt_update

Use the apt_update resource to manage APT repository updates on Debian and Ubuntu platforms.

Syntax

An apt_update resource block defines the update frequency for APT repositories:

apt_update 'name' do
  frequency                  Integer
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :periodic if not specified
end

where

  • apt_update is the resource
  • name is the name of the resource block
  • action identifies the steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • frequency is a property of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:nothing
Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:periodic
Update the Apt repository at the interval specified by the frequency property.
:update
Update the Apt repository at the start of the chef-client run.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

frequency

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 86400

Determines how frequently (in seconds) APT repository updates are made. Use this property when the :periodic action is specified.

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer

Examples

Update the Apt repository at a specified interval

apt_update 'all platforms' do
  frequency 86400
  action :periodic
end

Update the Apt repository at the start of a chef-client run

apt_update 'update'

New chef-client options

The chef-client has the following new options:

--delete-entire-chef-repo
Delete the entire chef-repo. This option may only be used when running the chef-client in local mode (--local-mode) mode. This options requires --recipe-url to be specified.

What’s New in 12.6

The following items are new for chef-client 12.6 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • New timer for resource notifications Use the :before timer with the notifies and subscribes properties to specify that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
  • New ksh resource The ksh resource is added and is based on the script resource.
  • New metadata.rb settings The metadata.rb file has settings for chef_version and ohai_version that allow ranges to be specified that declare the supported versions of the chef-client and Ohai.
  • dsc_resource supports reboots The dsc_resource resource supports immediate and queued reboots. This uses the reboot resource and its :reboot_now or :request_reboot actions.
  • New and changed knife bootstrap options The --identify-file option for the knife bootstrap subcommand is renamed to --ssh-identity-file; the --sudo-preserve-home is new.
  • New installer types for the windows_package resource The windows_package resource now supports the following installer types: :custom, Inno Setup (:inno), InstallShield (:installshield), Microsoft Installer Package (MSI) (:msi), Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (NSIS) (:nsis), Wise (:wise). Prior versions of Chef supported only :msi.
  • dsc_resource resource may be run in non-disabled refresh mode The latest version of Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5 has relaxed the limitation that prevented the chef-client from running in non-disabled refresh mode. Requires Windows PowerShell 5.0.10586.0 or higher.
  • dsc_script and dsc_resource resources may be in the same run-list The latest version of Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5 has relaxed the limitation that prevented the chef-client from running in non-disabled refresh mode, which allows the Local Configuration Manager to be set to Push. Requires Windows PowerShell 5.0.10586.0 or higher.
  • New –profile-ruby option Use the --profile-ruby option to dump a (large) profiling graph into /var/chef/cache/graph_profile.out.
  • New live_stream property for the execute resource Set the live_stream property to true to send the output of a command run by the execute resource to the chef-client event stream.

Notification Timers

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

ksh

Use the ksh resource to execute scripts using the Korn shell (ksh) interpreter. This resource may also use any of the actions and properties that are available to the execute resource. Commands that are executed with this resource are (by their nature) not idempotent, as they are typically unique to the environment in which they are run. Use not_if and only_if to guard this resource for idempotence. New in Chef Client 12.6.

Note

The ksh script resource (which is based on the script resource) is different from the ruby_block resource because Ruby code that is run with this resource is created as a temporary file and executed like other script resources, rather than run inline.

Syntax

A ksh resource block executes scripts using ksh:

ksh 'hello world' do
  code <<-EOH
    echo "Hello world!"
    echo "Current directory: " $cwd
    EOH
end

where

  • code specifies the command to run

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the ksh resource is:

ksh 'name' do
  code                       String
  creates                    String
  cwd                        String
  environment                Hash
  flags                      String
  group                      String, Integer
  notifies                   # see description
  path                       Array
  returns                    Integer, Array
  subscribes                 # see description
  timeout                    Integer, Float
  user                       String, Integer
  umask                      String, Integer
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :run if not specified
end

where

  • ksh is the resource
  • name is the name of the resource block
  • action identifies the steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • code, creates, cwd, environment, flags, group, path, returns, timeout, user, and umask are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

The ksh resource has the following actions:

:nothing
Prevent a command from running. This action is used to specify that a command is run only when another resource notifies it.
:run
Default. Run a script.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

code

Ruby Type: String

A quoted (” “) string of code to be executed.

creates

Ruby Type: String

Prevent a command from creating a file when that file already exists.

cwd

Ruby Type: String

The current working directory.

environment

Ruby Type: Hash

A Hash of environment variables in the form of ({"ENV_VARIABLE" => "VALUE"}). (These variables must exist for a command to be run successfully.)

flags

Ruby Type: String

One or more command line flags that are passed to the interpreter when a command is invoked.

group

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The group name or group ID that must be changed before running a command.

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
path

Ruby Type: Array

An array of paths to use when searching for a command. These paths are not added to the command’s environment $PATH. The default value uses the system path.

Warning

For example:

ksh 'mycommand' do
  environment 'PATH' => "/my/path/to/bin:#{ENV['PATH']}"
end
retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

returns

Ruby Type: Integer, Array | Default Value: 0

The return value for a command. This may be an array of accepted values. An exception is raised when the return value(s) do not match.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the Chef Client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:before
Specifies that the action on a notified resource should be run before processing the resource block in which the notification is located.
:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the end of the Chef Client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
timeout

Ruby Type: Integer, Float | Default Value: 3600

The amount of time (in seconds) a command is to wait before timing out.

user

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The user name or user ID that should be changed before running a command.

umask

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The file mode creation mask, or umask.

Changes for PowerShell 5.0.10586.0

Using the dsc_resource has the following requirements:

  • Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 February Preview (or higher), which includes Windows PowerShell 5.0.10018.0 (or higher).

  • The RefreshMode configuration setting in the Local Configuration Manager must be set to Disabled.

    NOTE: Starting with the chef-client 12.6 release, this requirement applies only for versions of Windows PowerShell earlier than 5.0.10586.0. The latest version of Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5 has relaxed the limitation that prevented the chef-client from running in non-disabled refresh mode.

  • The dsc_script resource may not be used in the same run-list with the dsc_resource. This is because the dsc_script resource requires that RefreshMode in the Local Configuration Manager be set to Push, whereas the dsc_resource resource requires it to be set to Disabled.

    NOTE: Starting with the chef-client 12.6 release, this requirement applies only for versions of Windows PowerShell earlier than 5.0.10586.0. The latest version of Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5 has relaxed the limitation that prevented the chef-client from running in non-disabled refresh mode, which allows the Local Configuration Manager to be set to Push.

  • The dsc_resource resource can only use binary- or script-based resources. Composite DSC resources may not be used.

    This is because composite resources aren’t “real” resources from the perspective of the Local Configuration Manager (LCM). Composite resources are used by the “configuration” keyword from the PSDesiredStateConfiguration module, and then evaluated in that context. When using DSC to create the configuration document (the Managed Object Framework (MOF) file) from the configuration command, the composite resource is evaluated. Any individual resources from that composite resource are written into the Managed Object Framework (MOF) document. As far as the Local Configuration Manager (LCM) is concerned, there is no such thing as a composite resource. Unless that changes, the dsc_resource resource and/or Invoke-DscResource command cannot directly use them.

New metadata.rb Settings

The following settings are new for metadata.rb:

Setting Description
chef_version

A range of chef-client versions that are supported by this cookbook.

For example, to match any 12.x version of the chef-client, but not 11.x or 13.x:

chef_version '~> 12'

A more complex example where you set both a lower and upper bound of the chef-client version:

chef_version ">= 14.2.1", "< 14.5.1"
ohai_version

A range of chef-client versions that are supported by this cookbook.

For example, to match any 8.x version of Ohai, but not 7.x or 9.x:

ohai_version "~> 8"

Note

These settings are not visible in Chef Supermarket.

knife bootstrap Options

The following option is new for knife bootstrap:

--sudo-preserve-home
Use to preserve the non-root user’s HOME environment.

The --identify-file option is now --ssh-identify-file.

–profile-ruby Option

Use the --profile-ruby option to dump a (large) profiling graph into /var/chef/cache/graph_profile.out. Use the graph output to help identify, and then resolve performance bottlenecks in a chef-client run. This option:

  • Generates a large amount of data about the chef-client run.
  • Has a dependency on the ruby-prof gem, which is packaged as part of Chef and the Chef development kit.
  • Increases the amount of time required to complete the chef-client run.
  • Should not be used in a production environment.

New in Chef Client 12.6.

What’s New in 12.5

The following items are new for chef-client 12.5 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • New way to build custom resources The process for extending the collection of resources that are built into Chef has been simplified. It is defined only in the /resources directory using a simplified syntax that easily leverages the built-in collection of resources. (All of the ways you used to build custom resources still work.)
  • “resource attributes” are now known as “resource properties” In previous releases of Chef, resource properties are referred to as attributes, but this is confusing for users because nodes also have attributes. Starting with chef-client 12.5 release—and retroactively updated for all previous releases of the documentation—”resource attributes” are now referred to as “resource properties” and the word “attribute” now refers specifically to “node attributes”.
  • ps_credential helper to embed usernames and passwords Use the ps_credential helper on Microsoft Windows to create a PSCredential object—security credentials, such as a user name or password—that can be used in the dsc_script resource.
  • New Handler DSL A new DSL exists to make it easier to use events that occur during the chef-client run from recipes. The on method is easily associated with events. The action the chef-client takes as a result of that event (when it occurs) is up to you.
  • The -j / –json-attributes supports policy revisions and environments The JSON file used by the --json-attributes option for the chef-client may now contain the policy name and policy group associated with a policy revision or may contain the name of the environment to which the node is associated.
  • verify property now uses path, not file The verify property, used by file-based resources such as remote_file and file, runs user-defined correctness checks against the proposed new file before making the change. For versions of the chef-client prior to 12.5, the name of the temporary file was stored as file; starting with chef-client 12.5, use path. This change is documented as a warning across all versions in any topic in which the version attribute is documented.
  • depth property added to deploy resource The depth property allows the depth of a git repository to be truncated to the specified number of versions.
  • The knife ssl check subcommand supports SNI Support for Server Name Indication (SNI) is added to the knife ssl check subcommand.
  • Chef Policy group and name can now be part of the node object Chef policy is a beta feature of the chef-client that will eventually replace roles, environments or manually specifying the run_list. Policy group and name can now be stored as part of the node object rather than in the client.rb file. A recent version of the Chef server, such as 12.2.0 or higher, is needed to fully utilize this feature.

Custom Resources

A custom resource:

  • Is a simple extension of Chef that adds your own resources
  • Is implemented and shipped as part of a cookbook
  • Follows easy, repeatable syntax patterns
  • Effectively leverages resources that are built into Chef and/or custom Ruby code
  • Is reusable in the same way as resources that are built into Chef

For example, Chef includes built-in resources to manage files, packages, templates, and services, but it does not include a resource that manages websites.

Note

See /custom_resources.html for more information about custom resources, including a scenario that shows how to build a website resource.

Syntax

A custom resource is defined as a Ruby file and is located in a cookbook’s /resources directory. This file

  • Declares the properties of the custom resource
  • Loads current state of properties, if the resource already exists
  • Defines each action the custom resource may take

The syntax for a custom resource is. For example:

property :property_name, RubyType, default: 'value'

load_current_value do
  # some Ruby for loading the current state of the resource
end

action :action_name do
 # a mix of built-in Chef resources and Ruby
end

action :another_action_name do
 # a mix of built-in Chef resources and Ruby
end

where the first action listed is the default action.

Warning

Do not use existing keywords from the chef-client resource system in a custom resource, like “name”. For example, property :property_name in the following invalid syntax: property :name, String, default: 'thename'.

This example site utilizes Chef’s built in file, service and package resources, and includes :create and :delete actions. Since it uses built in Chef resources, besides defining the property and actions, the code is very similar to that of a recipe.

property :homepage, String, default: '<h1>Hello world!</h1>'

action :create do
  package 'httpd'

  service 'httpd' do
    action [:enable, :start]
  end

  file '/var/www/html/index.html' do
    content homepage
  end
end

action :delete do
  package 'httpd' do
    action :delete
  end
end

where

  • homepage is a property that sets the default HTML for the index.html file with a default value of '<h1>Hello world!</h1>'
  • the action block uses the built-in collection of resources to tell the chef-client how to install Apache, start the service, and then create the contents of the file located at /var/www/html/index.html
  • action :create is the default resource, because it is listed first; action :delete must be called specifically (because it is not the default resource)

Once built, the custom resource may be used in a recipe just like any of the resources that are built into Chef. The resource gets its name from the cookbook and from the file name in the /resources directory, with an underscore (_) separating them. For example, a cookbook named exampleco with a custom resource named site.rb is used in a recipe like this:

exampleco_site 'httpd' do
  homepage '<h1>Welcome to the Example Co. website!</h1>'
end

and to delete the exampleco website, do the following:

exampleco_site 'httpd' do
  action :delete
end

Custom Resource DSL

Use the Custom Resource DSL to define property behaviors within custom resources, such as:

  • Loading the value of a specific property
  • Comparing the current property value against a desired property value
  • Telling the chef-client when and how to make changes

action_class

Use the action_class block to make methods available to the actions in the custom resource. Modules with helper methods created as files in the cookbook library directory may be included. New action methods may also be defined directly in the action_class block. Code in the action_class block has access to the new_resource properties.

Assume a helper module has been created in the cookbook libraries/helper.rb file.

module Sample
  module Helper
    def helper_method
      # code
    end
  end
end

Methods may be made available to the custom resource actions by using an action_class block.

property file, String

action :delete do
  helper_method
  FileUtils.rm(new_resource.file) if file_ex
end

action_class do

  def file_exist
    ::File.exist?(new_resource.file)
  end

  def file_ex
    ::File.exist?(new_resource.file)
  end

  require 'fileutils'

  include Sample::Helper

end

converge_if_changed

Use the converge_if_changed method inside an action block in a custom resource to compare the desired property values against the current property values (as loaded by the load_current_value method). Use the converge_if_changed method to ensure that updates only occur when property values on the system are not the desired property values and to otherwise prevent a resource from being converged.

To use the converge_if_changed method, wrap it around the part of a recipe or custom resource that should only be converged when the current state is not the desired state:

action :some_action do

  converge_if_changed do
    # some property
  end

end

For example, a custom resource defines two properties (content and path) and a single action (:create). Use the load_current_value method to load the property value to be compared, and then use the converge_if_changed method to tell the chef-client what to do if that value is not the desired value:

property :content, String
property :path, String, name_property: true

load_current_value do
  if ::File.exist?(new_resource.path)
    content IO.read(new_resource.path)
  end
end

action :create do
  converge_if_changed do
    IO.write(new_resource.path, new_resource.content)
  end
end

When the file does not exist, the IO.write(path, content) code is executed and the chef-client output will print something similar to:

Recipe: recipe_name::block
  * resource_name[blah] action create
    - update my_file[blah]
    -   set content to "hola mundo" (was "hello world")
Multiple Properties

The converge_if_changed method may be used multiple times. The following example shows how to use the converge_if_changed method to compare the multiple desired property values against the current property values (as loaded by the load_current_value method).

property :path, String, name_property: true
property :content, String
property :mode, String

load_current_value do
  if ::File.exist?(new_resource.path)
    content IO.read(new_resource.path)
    mode ::File.stat(new_resource.path).mode
  end
end

action :create do
  converge_if_changed :content do
    IO.write(new_resource.path, new_resource.content)
  end
  converge_if_changed :mode do
    ::File.chmod(new_resource.mode, new_resource.path)
  end
end

where

  • load_current_value loads the property values for both content and mode
  • A converge_if_changed block tests only content
  • A converge_if_changed block tests only mode

The chef-client will only update the property values that require updates and will not make changes when the property values are already in the desired state

default_action

The default action in a custom resource is, by default, the first action listed in the custom resource. For example, action aaaaa is the default resource:

property :property_name, RubyType, default: 'value'

...

action :aaaaa do
 # the first action listed in the custom resource
end

action :bbbbb do
 # the second action listed in the custom resource
end

The default_action method may also be used to specify the default action. For example:

property :property_name, RubyType, default: 'value'

default_action :aaaaa

action :aaaaa do
 # the first action listed in the custom resource
end

action :bbbbb do
 # the second action listed in the custom resource
end

defines action aaaaa as the default action. If default_action :bbbbb is specified, then action bbbbb is the default action. Use this method for clarity in custom resources, if deliberately stating the default resource is desired, or to specify a default action that is not listed first in the custom resource.

load_current_value

Use the load_current_value method to load the specified property values from the node, and then use those values when the resource is converged. This method may take a block argument.

Use the load_current_value method to guard against property values being replaced. For example:

load_current_value do
  if ::File.exist?('/var/www/html/index.html')
    homepage IO.read('/var/www/html/index.html')
  end

  if ::File.exist?('/var/www/html/404.html')
    page_not_found IO.read('/var/www/html/404.html')
  end
end

This ensures the values for homepage and page_not_found are not changed to the default values when the chef-client configures the node.

new_resource.property

Custom resources are designed to use core resources that are built into Chef. In some cases, it may be necessary to specify a property in the custom resource that is the same as a property in a core resource, for the purpose of overriding that property when used with the custom resource. For example:

resource_name :node_execute

property :command, String, name_property: true
property :version, String

# Useful properties from the `execute` resource
property :cwd, String
property :environment, Hash, default: {}
property :user, [String, Integer]
property :sensitive, [true, false], default: false

prefix = '/opt/languages/node'

load_current_value do
  current_value_does_not_exist! if node.run_state['nodejs'].nil?
  version node.run_state['nodejs'][:version]
end

action :run do
  execute 'execute-node' do
    cwd cwd
    environment environment
    user user
    sensitive sensitive
    # gsub replaces 10+ spaces at the beginning of the line with nothing
    command <<-CODE.gsub(/^ {10}/, '')
      #{prefix}/#{new_resource.version}/#{command}
    CODE
  end
end

where the property :cwd, property :environment, property :user, and property :sensitive are identical to properties in the execute resource, embedded as part of the action :run action. Because both the custom properties and the execute properties are identical, this will result in an error message similar to:

ArgumentError
-------------
wrong number of arguments (0 for 1)

To prevent this behavior, use new_resource. to tell the chef-client to process the properties from the core resource instead of the properties in the custom resource. For example:

resource_name :node_execute

property :command, String, name_property: true
property :version, String

# Useful properties from the `execute` resource
property :cwd, String
property :environment, Hash, default: {}
property :user, [String, Integer]
property :sensitive, [true, false], default: false

prefix = '/opt/languages/node'

load_current_value do
  current_value_does_not_exist! if node.run_state['nodejs'].nil?
  version node.run_state['nodejs'][:version]
end

action :run do
  execute 'execute-node' do
    cwd new_resource.cwd
    environment new_resource.environment
    user new_resource.user
    sensitive new_resource.sensitive
    # gsub replaces 10+ spaces at the beginning of the line with nothing
    command <<-CODE.gsub(/^ {10}/, '')
      #{prefix}/#{new_resource.version}/#{new_resource.command}
    CODE
  end
end

where cwd new_resource.cwd, environment new_resource.environment, user new_resource.user, and sensitive new_resource.sensitive correctly use the properties of the execute resource and not the identically-named override properties of the custom resource.

property

Use the property method to define properties for the custom resource. The syntax is:

property :property_name, ruby_type, default: 'value', parameter: 'value'

where

  • :property_name is the name of the property
  • ruby_type is the optional Ruby type or array of types, such as String, Integer, true, or false
  • default: 'value' is the optional default value loaded into the resource
  • parameter: 'value' optional parameters

For example, the following properties define username and password properties with no default values specified:

property :username, String
property :password, String
ruby_type

The property ruby_type is a positional parameter. Use to ensure a property value is of a particular ruby class, such as true, false, nil, String, Array, Hash, Integer, Symbol. Use an array of ruby classes to allow a value to be of more than one type. For example:

property :aaaa, String

property :bbbb, Integer

property :cccc, Hash

property :dddd, [true, false]

property :eeee, [String, nil]

property :ffff, [Class, String, Symbol]

property :gggg, [Array, Hash]
validators

A validation parameter is used to add zero (or more) validation parameters to a property.

Parameter Description
:callbacks

Use to define a collection of unique keys and values (a ruby hash) for which the key is the error message and the value is a lambda to validate the parameter. For example:

callbacks: {
             'should be a valid non-system port' => lambda {
               |p| p > 1024 && p < 65535
             }
           }
:default

Use to specify the default value for a property. For example:

default: 'a_string_value'

default: 123456789

default: []

default: ()

default: {}
:equal_to

Use to match a value with ==. Use an array of values to match any of those values with ==. For example:

equal_to: [true, false]

equal_to: ['php', 'perl']
:regex

Use to match a value to a regular expression. For example:

regex: [ /^([a-z]|[A-Z]|[0-9]|_|-)+$/, /^\d+$/ ]
:required

Indicates that a property is required. For example:

required: true
:respond_to

Use to ensure that a value has a given method. This can be a single method name or an array of method names. For example:

respond_to: valid_encoding?

Some examples of combining validation parameters:

property :spool_name, String, regex: /$\w+/

property :enabled, equal_to: [true, false, 'true', 'false'], default: true
desired_state

Add desired_state: to set the desired state property for a resource. This value may be true or false, and all properties default to true.

  • When true, the state of the property is determined by the state of the system
  • When false, the value of the property impacts how the resource executes, but it is not determined by the state of the system.

For example, if you were to write a resource to create volumes on a cloud provider you would need define properties such as volume_name, volume_size, and volume_region. The state of these properties would determine if your resource needed to converge or not. For the resource to function you would also need to define properties such as cloud_login and cloud_password. These are necessary properties for interacting with the cloud provider, but their state has no impact on decision to converge the resource or not, so you would set desired_state to false for these properties.

property :volume_name, String
property :volume_size, Integer
property :volume_region, String
property :cloud_login, String, desired_state: false
property :cloud_password, String, desired_state: false
identity

Add identity: to set a resource to a particular set of properties. This value may be true or false.

  • When true, data for that property is returned as part of the resource data set and may be available to external applications, such as reporting
  • When false, no data for that property is returned.

If no properties are marked true, the property that defaults to the name of the resource is marked true.

For example, the following properties define username and password properties with no default values specified, but with identity set to true for the user name:

property :username, String, identity: true
property :password, String
Block Arguments

Any properties that are marked identity: true or desired_state: false will be available from load_current_value. If access to other properties of a resource is needed, use a block argument that contains all of the properties of the requested resource. For example:

resource_name :file

load_current_value do |desired|
  puts "The user typed content = #{desired.content} in the resource"
end

property_is_set?

Use the property_is_set? method to check if the value for a property is set. The syntax is:

property_is_set?(:property_name)

The property_is_set? method will return true if the property is set.

For example, the following custom resource creates and/or updates user properties, but not their password. The property_is_set? method checks if the user has specified a password and then tells the chef-client what to do if the password is not identical:

action :create do
  converge_if_changed do
    shell_out!("rabbitmqctl create_or_update_user #{username} --prop1 #{prop1} ... ")
  end

  if property_is_set?(:password)
    if shell_out("rabbitmqctl authenticate_user #{username} #{password}").error?
      converge_by "Updating password for user #{username} ..." do
        shell_out!("rabbitmqctl update_user #{username} --password #{password}")
      end
    end
  end
end

provides

Use the provides method to associate a custom resource with the Recipe DSL on different operating systems. When multiple custom resources use the same DSL, specificity rules are applied to determine the priority, from highest to lowest:

  1. provides :resource_name, platform_version: ‘0.1.2’
  2. provides :resource_name, platform: ‘platform_name’
  3. provides :resource_name, platform_family: ‘platform_family’
  4. provides :resource_name, os: ‘operating_system’
  5. provides :resource_name

For example:

provides :my_custom_resource, platform: 'redhat' do |node|
  node['platform_version'].to_i >= 7
end

provides :my_custom_resource, platform: 'redhat'

provides :my_custom_resource, platform_family: 'rhel'

provides :my_custom_resource, os: 'linux'

provides :my_custom_resource

This allows you to use multiple custom resources files that provide the same resource to the user, but for different operating systems or operation system versions. With this you can eliminate the need for platform or platform version logic within your resources.

override

Chef will warn you if the Recipe DSL is provided by another custom resource or built-in resource. For example:

class X < Chef::Resource
  provides :file
end

class Y < Chef::Resource
  provides :file
end

This will emit a warning that Y is overriding X. To disable this warning, use override: true:

class X < Chef::Resource
  provides :file
end

class Y < Chef::Resource
  provides :file, override: true
end

reset_property

Use the reset_property method to clear the value for a property as if it had never been set, and then use the default value. For example, to clear the value for a property named password:

reset_property(:password)

Definition vs. Resource

The following examples show:

  1. A definition
  2. The same definition rewritten as a custom resource
  3. The same definition, rewritten again to use a common resource property

As a Definition

The following definition processes unique hostnames and ports, passed on as parameters:

define :host_porter, :port => 4000, :hostname => nil do
  params[:hostname] ||= params[:name]

  directory '/etc/#{params[:hostname]}' do
    recursive true
  end

  file '/etc/#{params[:hostname]}/#{params[:port]}' do
    content 'some content'
  end
end

As a Resource

The definition is improved by rewriting it as a custom resource:

property :port, Integer, default: 4000
property :hostname, String, name_property: true

action :create do

  directory "/etc/#{hostname}" do
    recursive true
  end

  file "/etc/#{hostname}/#{port}" do
    content 'some content'
  end

end

Once built, the custom resource may be used in a recipe just like the any of the resources that are built into Chef. The resource gets its name from the cookbook and from the file name in the /resources directory, with an underscore (_) separating them. For example, a cookbook named host with a custom resource in the /resources directory named porter.rb. Use it in a recipe like this:

host_porter node['hostname'] do
  port 4000
end

or:

host_porter 'www1' do
  port 4001
end

Common Properties

Unlike definitions, custom resources are able to use common resource properties. For example, only_if:

host_porter 'www1' do
  port 4001
  only_if '{ node['hostname'] == 'foo.bar.com' }'
end

ps_credential Helper

Use the ps_credential helper to embed a PSCredential object— a set of security credentials, such as a user name or password —within a script, which allows that script to be run using security credentials.

For example, assuming the CertificateID is configured in the local configuration manager, the SeaPower1@3 object is created and embedded within the seapower-user script:

 dsc_script 'seapower-user' do
   code <<-EOH
     User AlbertAtom
     {
       UserName = 'AlbertAtom'
       Password = #{ps_credential('SeaPower1@3')}
     }
  EOH
  configuration_data <<-EOH
    @{
      AllNodes = @(
        @{
          NodeName = "localhost";
          CertificateID = 'A8D1234559F349F7EF19104678908F701D4167'
        }
      )
    }
  EOH
end

Handler DSL

Use the Handler DSL to attach a callback to an event. If the event occurs during the chef-client run, the associated callback is executed. For example:

  • Sending email if a chef-client run fails
  • Sending a notification to chat application if an audit run fails
  • Aggregating statistics about resources updated during a chef-client runs to StatsD

on Method

Use the on method to associate an event type with a callback. The callback defines what steps are taken if the event occurs during the chef-client run and is defined using arbitrary Ruby code. The syntax is as follows:

Chef.event_handler do
  on :event_type do
    # some Ruby
  end
end

where

  • Chef.event_handler declares a block of code within a recipe that is processed when the named event occurs during a chef-client run
  • on defines the block of code that will tell the chef-client how to handle the event
  • :event_type is a valid exception event type, such as :run_start, :run_failed, :converge_failed, :resource_failed, or :recipe_not_found

For example:

Chef.event_handler do
  on :converge_start do
    puts "Ohai! I have started a converge."
  end
end

Example: Send Email

Use the on method to create an event handler that sends email when the chef-client run fails. This will require:

  • A way to tell the chef-client how to send email
  • An event handler that describes what to do when the :run_failed event is triggered
  • A way to trigger the exception and test the behavior of the event handler

Note

See /dsl_handler.html for more information about using event handlers in recipes.

Define How Email is Sent

Use a library to define the code that sends email when a chef-client run fails. Name the file helper.rb and add it to a cookbook’s /libraries directory:

require 'net/smtp'

module HandlerSendEmail
  class Helper

    def send_email_on_run_failure(node_name)

      message = "From: Chef <chef@chef.io>\n"
      message << "To: Grant <grantmc@chef.io>\n"
      message << "Subject: Chef run failed\n"
      message << "Date: #{Time.now.rfc2822}\n\n"
      message << "Chef run failed on #{node_name}\n"
      Net::SMTP.start('localhost', 25) do |smtp|
        smtp.send_message message, 'chef@chef.io', 'grantmc@chef.io'
      end
    end
  end
end

Add the Handler

Invoke the library helper in a recipe:

Chef.event_handler do
  on :run_failed do
    HandlerSendEmail::Helper.new.send_email_on_run_failure(
      Chef.run_context.node.name
    )
  end
end
  • Use Chef.event_handler to define the event handler
  • Use the on method to specify the event type

Within the on block, tell the chef-client how to handle the event when it’s triggered.

Test the Handler

Use the following code block to trigger the exception and have the chef-client send email to the specified email address:

ruby_block 'fail the run' do
  block do
    fail 'deliberately fail the run'
  end
end

New Resource Properties

The following property is new for the deploy resource:

Property Description
depth

Ruby Type: Integer

The depth of a git repository, truncated to the specified number of revisions.

Specify Policy Revision

Use the following command to specify a policy revision:

$ chef client -j JSON

where the JSON file is similar to:

{
  "policy_name": "appserver",
  "policy_group": "staging"
}

Or use the following settings to specify a policy revision in the client.rb file:

Setting Description
policy_group The name of a policy, as identified by the name setting in a Policyfile.rb file.
policy_name The name of a policy group that exists on the Chef server.

New Configuration Settings

The following settings are new for the client.rb file and enable the use of policy files:

Setting Description
named_run_list The run-list associated with a policy file.
policy_group The name of a policy, as identified by the name setting in a Policyfile.rb file. (See “Specify Policy Revision” in this readme for more information.)
policy_name The name of a policy group that exists on the Chef server. (See “Specify Policy Revision” in this readme for more information.)

chef-client Options

The following options are new or updated for the chef-client executable and enable the use of policy files:

-n NAME, --named-run-list NAME
The run-list associated with a policy file.
-j PATH, --json-attributes PATH

This option now supports using a JSON file to associate a policy revision.

Use this option to use policy files by specifying a JSON file that contains the following settings:

Setting Description
policy_group The name of a policy, as identified by the name setting in a Policyfile.rb file.
policy_name The name of a policy group that exists on the Chef server.

For example:

{
  "policy_name": "appserver",
  "policy_group": "staging"
}

This option also supports using a JSON file to associate an environment:

Use this option to set the chef_environment value for a node.

Note

Any environment specified for chef_environment by a JSON file will take precedence over an environment specified by the --environment option when both options are part of the same command.

For example, run the following:

$ chef-client -j /path/to/file.json

where /path/to/file.json is similar to:

{
  "chef_environment": "pre-production"
}

This will set the environment for the node to pre-production.

What’s New in 12.4

The following items are new for chef-client 12.4 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Validatorless bootstrap now requires the node name Use of the -N node_name option with a validatorless bootstrap is now required.
  • remote_file resource supports Windows UNC paths for source location A Microsoft Windows UNC path may be used to specify the location of a remote file.
  • Run PowerShell commands without excessive quoting Use the Import-Module chef module to run Windows PowerShell commands without excessive quotation.
  • Logging may use the Windows Event Logger Log files may be sent to the Windows Event Logger. Set the log_location setting in the client.rb file to Chef::Log::WinEvt.new.
  • Logging may be configured to use daemon facility available to the chef-client Log files may be sent to the syslog available to the chef-client. Set the log_location setting in the client.rb file to Chef::Log::Syslog.new("chef-client", ::Syslog::LOG_DAEMON).
  • Package locations on the Windows platform may be specified using a URL The location of a package may be at URL when using the windows_package resource.
  • Package locations on the Windows platform may be specified by passing attributes to the remote_file resource Use the remote_file_attributes attribute to pass a Hash of attributes that modifies the remote_file resource.
  • Public key management for users and clients The knife client and knife user subcommands may now create, delete, edit, list, and show public keys.
  • knife client create and knife user create options have changed With the new key management subcommands, the options for knife client create and knife user create have changed.
  • chef-client audit-mode is no longer marked as “experimental” The recommended version of audit-mode is chef-client 12.4, where it is no longer marked as experimental. The chef-client will report audit failures independently of converge failures.

UNC paths, remote_file

When using the remote_file resource, the location of a source file may be specified using a Microsoft Windows UNC. For example:

source "\\\\path\\to\\img\\sketch.png"

Import-Module chef

The chef-client version 12.4 release adds an optional feature to the Microsoft Installer Package (MSI) for Chef. This feature enables the ability to pass quoted strings from the Windows PowerShell command line without the need for triple single quotes (''' '''). This feature installs a Windows PowerShell module (typically in C:\opscode\chef\modules) that is also appended to the PSModulePath environment variable. This feature is not enabled by default. To activate this feature, run the following command from within Windows PowerShell:

$ Import-Module chef

or add Import-Module chef to the profile for Windows PowerShell located at:

~\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

This module exports cmdlets that have the same name as the command-line tools—chef-client, knife, chef-apply—that are built into Chef.

For example:

$ knife exec -E 'puts ARGV' """&s0meth1ng"""

is now:

$ knife exec -E 'puts ARGV' '&s0meth1ng'

and:

$ knife node run_list set test-node '''role[ssssssomething]'''

is now:

$ knife node run_list set test-node 'role[ssssssomething]'

To remove this feature, run the following command from within Windows PowerShell:

$ Remove-Module chef

client.rb Settings

The following settings have changed:

Setting Description
log_location The location of the log file. Possible values: /path/to/log_location, STDOUT, STDERR, Chef::Log::WinEvt.new (Windows Event Logger), or Chef::Log::Syslog.new("chef-client", ::Syslog::LOG_DAEMON) (writes to the syslog daemon facility with the originator set as chef-client). The application log will specify the source as Chef. Default value: STDOUT.

windows_package Updates

The windows_package resource has two new attributes (checksum and remote_file_attributes) and the source attribute now supports using a URL:

Attribute Description
checksum The SHA-256 checksum of the file. Use to prevent a file from being re-downloaded. When the local file matches the checksum, the chef-client does not download it. Use when a URL is specified by the source attribute.
remote_file_attributes A package at a remote location define as a Hash of properties that modifes the properties of the remote_file resource.
source Optional. The path to a package in the local file system. The location of the package may be at a URL. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

Examples:

Specify a URL for the source attribute

windows_package '7zip' do
  source 'http://www.7-zip.org/a/7z938-x64.msi'
end

Specify path and checksum

windows_package '7zip' do
  source 'http://www.7-zip.org/a/7z938-x64.msi'
  checksum '7c8e873991c82ad9cfc123415254ea6101e9a645e12977dcd518979e50fdedf3'
end

Modify remote_file resource attributes

The windows_package resource may specify a package at a remote location using the remote_file_attributes property. This uses the remote_file resource to download the contents at the specified URL and passes in a Hash that modifes the properties of the remote_file resource.

For example:

windows_package '7zip' do
  source 'http://www.7-zip.org/a/7z938-x64.msi'
  remote_file_attributes ({
    :path => 'C:\\7zip.msi',
    :checksum => '7c8e873991c82ad9cfc123415254ea6101e9a645e12977dcd518979e50fdedf3'
  })
end

knife client key

Use the knife client subcommand to manage an API client list and their associated RSA public key-pairs. This allows authentication requests to be made to the Chef server by any entity that uses the Chef server API, such as the chef-client and knife.

key create

Use the key create argument to create a public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife client key create CLIENT_NAME (options)
Options

This argument has the following options:

-e DATE, --expiration-date DATE
The expiration date for the public key, specified as an ISO 8601 formatted string: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. If this option is not specified, the public key will not have an expiration date. For example: 2013-12-24T21:00:00Z.
-f FILE, --file FILE
Save a private key to the specified file name. If the --public-key option is not specified the Chef server will generate a private key.
-k NAME, --key-name NAME
The name of the public key.
-p FILE_NAME, --public-key FILE_NAME
The path to a file that contains the public key. If this option is not specified, and only if --key-name is specified, the Chef server will generate a public/private key pair.

key delete

Use the key delete argument to delete a public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife client key delete CLIENT_NAME KEY_NAME

key edit

Use the key edit argument to modify or rename a public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife client key edit CLIENT_NAME KEY_NAME (options)
Options

This argument has the following options:

-c, --create-key
Generate a new public/private key pair and replace an existing public key with the newly-generated public key. To replace the public key with an existing public key, use --public-key instead.
-e DATE, --expiration-date DATE
The expiration date for the public key, specified as an ISO 8601 formatted string: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. If this option is not specified, the public key will not have an expiration date. For example: 2013-12-24T21:00:00Z.
-f FILE, --file FILE
Save a private key to the specified file name. If the --public-key option is not specified the Chef server will generate a private key.
-k NAME, --key-name NAME
The name of the public key.
-p FILE_NAME, --public-key FILE_NAME
The path to a file that contains the public key. If this option is not specified, and only if --key-name is specified, the Chef server will generate a public/private key pair.

key list

Use the key list argument to view a list of public keys for the named client.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife client key list CLIENT_NAME (options)
Options

This argument has the following options:

-e, --only-expired
Show a list of public keys that have expired.
-n, --only-non-expired
Show a list of public keys that have not expired.
-w, --with-details
Show a list of public keys, including URIs and expiration status.

key show

Use the key show argument to view details for a specific public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife client key show CLIENT_NAME KEY_NAME

knife user key

Use the knife user subcommand to manage the list of users and their associated RSA public key-pairs.

key create

Use the key create argument to create a public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife user key create USER_NAME (options)
Options

This argument has the following options:

-e DATE, --expiration-date DATE
The expiration date for the public key, specified as an ISO 8601 formatted string: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. If this option is not specified, the public key will not have an expiration date. For example: 2013-12-24T21:00:00Z.
-f FILE, --file FILE
Save a private key to the specified file name.
-k NAME, --key-name NAME
The name of the public key.
-p FILE_NAME, --public-key FILE_NAME
The path to a file that contains the public key. If this option is not specified, and only if --key-name is specified, the Chef server will generate a public/private key pair.

key delete

Use the key delete argument to delete a public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife user key delete USER_NAME KEY_NAME

key edit

Use the key edit argument to modify or rename a public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife user key edit USER_NAME KEY_NAME (options)
Options

This argument has the following options:

-c, --create-key
Generate a new public/private key pair and replace an existing public key with the newly-generated public key. To replace the public key with an existing public key, use --public-key instead.
-e DATE, --expiration-date DATE
The expiration date for the public key, specified as an ISO 8601 formatted string: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. If this option is not specified, the public key will not have an expiration date. For example: 2013-12-24T21:00:00Z.
-f FILE, --file FILE
Save a private key to the specified file name. If the --public-key option is not specified the Chef server will generate a private key.
-k NAME, --key-name NAME
The name of the public key.
-p FILE_NAME, --public-key FILE_NAME
The path to a file that contains the public key. If this option is not specified, and only if --key-name is specified, the Chef server will generate a public/private key pair.

key list

Use the key list argument to view a list of public keys for the named user.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife user key list USER_NAME (options)
Options

This argument has the following options:

-e, --only-expired
Show a list of public keys that have expired.
-n, --only-non-expired
Show a list of public keys that have not expired.
-w, --with-details
Show a list of public keys, including URIs and expiration status.

key show

Use the key show argument to view details for a specific public key.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife user key show USER_NAME KEY_NAME

Updated knife Options

With the new key management subcommands, the options for knife client create and knife user create have changed.

knife client create

This argument has the following options:

-a, --admin
Create a client as an admin client. This is required for any user to access Open Source Chef as an administrator. This option only works when used with the open source Chef server and will have no effect when used with Enterprise Chef or Chef server 12.x.
-f FILE, --file FILE
Save a private key to the specified file name.
-k, --prevent-keygen

Create a user without a public key. This key may be managed later by using the knife user key subcommands.

Note

This option is valid only with Chef server API, version 1.0, which was released with Chef server 12.1. If this option or the --user-key option are not passed in the command, the Chef server will create a user with a public key named default and will return the private key. For the Chef server versions earlier than 12.1, this option will not work; a public key is always generated unless --user-key is passed in the command.

-p FILE, --public-key FILE
The path to a file that contains the public key. This option may not be passed in the same command with --prevent-keygen. When using Open Source Chef a default key is generated if this option is not passed in the command. For Chef server version 12.x, see the --prevent-keygen option.
--validator
Create the client as the chef-validator. Default value: true.

knife user create

This argument has the following options:

-a, --admin
Create a client as an admin client. This is required for any user to access Open Source Chef as an administrator. This option only works when used with the open source Chef server and will have no effect when used with Enterprise Chef or Chef server 12.x.
-f FILE_NAME, --file FILE_NAME
Save a private key to the specified file name.
-k, --prevent-keygen

Create a user without a public key. This key may be managed later by using the knife user key subcommands.

Note

This option is valid only with Chef server API, version 1.0, which was released with Chef server 12.1. If this option or the --user-key option are not passed in the command, the Chef server will create a user with a public key named default and will return the private key. For the Chef server versions earlier than 12.1, this option will not work; a public key is always generated unless --user-key is passed in the command.

-p PASSWORD, --password PASSWORD
The user password. This option only works when used with the open source Chef server and will have no effect when used with Enterprise Chef or Chef server 12.x.
--user-key FILE_NAME
The path to a file that contains the public key. When using Open Source Chef a default key is generated if this option is not passed in the command. For Chef server version 12.x, see the --prevent-keygen option.

What’s New in 12.3

The following items are new for chef-client 12.3 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Socketless local mode with chef-zero Port binding and HTTP requests on localhost may be disabled in favor of socketless mode.
  • Minimal Ohai plugins Run only the plugins required for name resolution and resource/provider detection.
  • Dynamic resource and provider resolution Four helper methods may be used in a library file to get resource and/or provider mapping details, and then set them per-resource or provider.
  • New clear_soruces attribute for the chef_gem and gem_package resources Set to true to download a gem from the path specified by the source property (and not from RubyGems).

Socketless Local Mode

The chef-client may disable port binding and HTTP requests on localhost by making a socketless request to chef-zero. This may be done from the command line or with a configuration setting.

Use the following command-line option:

--[no-]listen
Run chef-zero in socketless mode. Use --no-listen to disable port binding and HTTP requests on localhost.

Or add the following setting to the client.rb file:

Setting Description
listen Run chef-zero in socketless mode. Set to false to disable port binding and HTTP requests on localhost.

Minimal Ohai

The following option may be used with chef-client, chef-solo, and chef-apply to speed up testing intervals:

--minimal-ohai
Run the Ohai plugins for name detection and resource/provider selection and no other Ohai plugins. Set to true during integration testing to speed up test cycles.

This setting may be configured using the minimal_ohai setting in the client.rb file.

Dynamic Resolution

Resources and providers are resolved dynamically and can handle multiple provides lines for a specific platform. When multiple provides lines exist, such as Homebrew and MacPorts packages for the macOS platform, then one is selected based on resource priority mapping performed by the chef-client during the chef-client run.

Use the following helpers in a library file to get and/or set resource and/or provider priority mapping before any recipes are compiled:

Chef.get_provider_priority_array(resource_name)
Get the priority mapping for a provider.
Chef.get_resource_priority_array(resource_name)
Get the priority mapping for a resource.
Chef.set_provider_priority_array(resource_name, Array<Class>, *filter)
Set the priority mapping for a provider.
Chef.set_resource_priority_array(resource_name, Array<Class>, *filter)
Set the priority mapping for a resource.

For example:

Chef.set_resource_priority_array(:package, [ Chef::Resource::MacportsPackage ], os: 'darwin')

What’s New in 12.2

The following items are new for chef-client 12.2 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • New dsc_resource Use the dsc_resource resource to use any DSC resource in a Chef recipe.
  • New –exit-on-error option for knife-ssh Use the --exit-on-error option to have the knife ssh subcommand exit on any error.

dsc_resource

Windows PowerShell is a task-based command-line shell and scripting language developed by Microsoft. Windows PowerShell uses a document-oriented approach for managing Microsoft Windows-based machines, similar to the approach that is used for managing Unix and Linux-based machines. Windows PowerShell is a tool-agnostic platform that supports using Chef for configuration management.

Desired State Configuration (DSC) is a feature of Windows PowerShell that provides a set of language extensions, cmdlets, and resources that can be used to declaratively configure software. DSC is similar to Chef, in that both tools are idempotent, take similar approaches to the concept of resources, describe the configuration of a system, and then take the steps required to do that configuration. The most important difference between Chef and DSC is that Chef uses Ruby and DSC is exposed as configuration data from within Windows PowerShell.

The dsc_resource resource allows any DSC resource to be used in a Chef recipe, as well as any custom resources that have been added to your Windows PowerShell environment. Microsoft frequently adds new resources to the DSC resource collection.

Warning

Using the dsc_resource has the following requirements:

  • Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5.0 February Preview (or higher), which includes Windows PowerShell 5.0.10018.0 (or higher).

  • The RefreshMode configuration setting in the Local Configuration Manager must be set to Disabled.

    NOTE: Starting with the chef-client 12.6 release, this requirement applies only for versions of Windows PowerShell earlier than 5.0.10586.0. The latest version of Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5 has relaxed the limitation that prevented the chef-client from running in non-disabled refresh mode.

  • The dsc_script resource may not be used in the same run-list with the dsc_resource. This is because the dsc_script resource requires that RefreshMode in the Local Configuration Manager be set to Push, whereas the dsc_resource resource requires it to be set to Disabled.

    NOTE: Starting with the chef-client 12.6 release, this requirement applies only for versions of Windows PowerShell earlier than 5.0.10586.0. The latest version of Windows Management Framework (WMF) 5 has relaxed the limitation that prevented the chef-client from running in non-disabled refresh mode, which allows the Local Configuration Manager to be set to Push.

  • The dsc_resource resource can only use binary- or script-based resources. Composite DSC resources may not be used.

    This is because composite resources aren’t “real” resources from the perspective of the Local Configuration Manager (LCM). Composite resources are used by the “configuration” keyword from the PSDesiredStateConfiguration module, and then evaluated in that context. When using DSC to create the configuration document (the Managed Object Framework (MOF) file) from the configuration command, the composite resource is evaluated. Any individual resources from that composite resource are written into the Managed Object Framework (MOF) document. As far as the Local Configuration Manager (LCM) is concerned, there is no such thing as a composite resource. Unless that changes, the dsc_resource resource and/or Invoke-DscResource command cannot directly use them.

Syntax

A dsc_resource resource block allows DSC resourcs to be used in a Chef recipe. For example, the DSC Archive resource:

Archive ExampleArchive {
  Ensure = "Present"
  Path = "C:\Users\Public\Documents\example.zip"
  Destination = "C:\Users\Public\Documents\ExtractionPath"
}

and then the same dsc_resource with Chef:

dsc_resource 'example' do
   resource :archive
   property :ensure, 'Present'
   property :path, "C:\Users\Public\Documents\example.zip"
   property :destination, "C:\Users\Public\Documents\ExtractionPath"
 end

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the dsc_resource resource is:

dsc_resource 'name' do
  module_name                String
  notifies                   # see description
  property                   Symbol
  resource                   String
  subscribes                 # see description
end

where

  • dsc_resource is the resource
  • name is the name of the resource block
  • property is zero (or more) properties in the DSC resource, where each property is entered on a separate line, :dsc_property_name is the case-insensitive name of that property, and "property_value" is a Ruby value to be applied by the chef-client
  • module_name, property, and resource are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Attributes

This resource has the following properties:

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

module_name

Ruby Type: String

The name of the module from which a DSC resource originates. If this property is not specified, it will be inferred.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
property

Ruby Type: Symbol

A property from a Desired State Configuration (DSC) resource. Use this property multiple times, one for each property in the Desired State Configuration (DSC) resource. The format for this property must follow property :dsc_property_name, "property_value" for each DSC property added to the resource block.

The :dsc_property_name must be a symbol.

Use the following Ruby types to define property_value:

Ruby Windows PowerShell
Array Object[]
Chef::Util::Powershell:PSCredential PSCredential
False bool($false)
Fixnum Integer
Float Double
Hash Hashtable
True bool($true)

These are converted into the corresponding Windows PowerShell type during the chef-client run.

resource

Ruby Type: String

The name of the DSC resource. This value is case-insensitive and must be a symbol that matches the name of the DSC resource.

For built-in DSC resources, use the following values:

Value Description
:archive Use to unpack archive (.zip) files.
:environment Use to manage system environment variables.
:file Use to manage files and directories.
:group Use to manage local groups.
:log Use to log configuration messages.
:package Use to install and manage packages.
:registry Use to manage registry keys and registry key values.
:script Use to run PowerShell script blocks.
:service Use to manage services.
:user Use to manage local user accounts.
:windowsfeature Use to add or remove Windows features and roles.
:windowsoptionalfeature Use to configure Microsoft Windows optional features.
:windowsprocess Use to configure Windows processes.

Any DSC resource may be used in a Chef recipe. For example, the DSC Resource Kit contains resources for configuring Active Directory components, such as xADDomain, xADDomainController, and xADUser. Assuming that these resources are available to the chef-client, the corresponding values for the resource attribute would be: :xADDomain, :xADDomainController, and xADUser.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer

Examples

Open a Zip file

dsc_resource 'example' do
   resource :archive
   property :ensure, 'Present'
   property :path, 'C:\Users\Public\Documents\example.zip'
   property :destination, 'C:\Users\Public\Documents\ExtractionPath'
 end

Manage users and groups

dsc_resource 'demogroupadd' do
  resource :group
  property :groupname, 'demo1'
  property :ensure, 'present'
end

dsc_resource 'useradd' do
  resource :user
  property :username, 'Foobar1'
  property :fullname, 'Foobar1'
  property :password, ps_credential('P@assword!')
  property :ensure, 'present'
end

dsc_resource 'AddFoobar1ToUsers' do
  resource :Group
  property :GroupName, 'demo1'
  property :MembersToInclude, ['Foobar1']
end

What’s New in 12.1

The following items are new for chef-client 12.1 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • chef-client may be run in audit-mode Use audit-mode to run audit tests against a node.
  • control method added to Recipe DSL Use the control method to define specific tests that match directories, files, packages, ports, and services. A control method must be contained within a control_group block.
  • control_group method added to Recipe DSL Use the control_group method to group one (or more) control methods into a single audit.
  • Bootstrap nodes without using the ORGANIZATION-validator.key file A node may now be bootstrapped using the USER.pem file, instead of the ORGANIZATION-validator.pem file. Also known as a “validatorless bootstrap”.
  • New options for knife-bootstrap Use the --bootstrap-vault-file, --bootstrap-vault-item, and --bootstrap-vault-json options with knife bootstrap to specify items that are stored in chef-vault.
  • New verify attribute for cookbook_file, file, remote_file, and template resources Use the verify attribute to test a file using a block of code or a string.
  • New imports attribute for dsc_script resource Use the imports attribute to import DSC resources from modules.
  • New attribute for chef_gem resource Use the compile_time attribute to disable compile-time installation of gems.
  • New openbsd_package resource Use the openbsd_package resource to install packages on the OpenBSD platform.
  • New –proxy-auth option for knife raw subcommand Enable proxy authentication to the Chef server web user interface..
  • New watchdog_timeout setting for the Windows platform Use the windows_service.watchdog_timeout setting in the client.rb file to specify the maximum amount of time allowed for a chef-client run on the Microsoft Windows platform.
  • Support for multiple packages and versions Multiple packages and versions may be specified for platforms that use Yum or Apt.
  • New attributes for windows_service resource Use the run_as_user and run_as_password attributes to specify the user under which a Microsoft Windows service should run.

chef-client, audit-mode

The chef-client may be run in audit-mode. Use audit-mode to evaluate custom rules—also referred to as audits—that are defined in recipes. audit-mode may be run in the following ways:

  • By itself (i.e. a chef-client run that does not build the resource collection or converge the node)
  • As part of the chef-client run, where audit-mode runs after all resources have been converged on the node

Each audit is authored within a recipe using the control_group and control methods that are part of the Recipe DSL. Recipes that contain audits are added to the run-list, after which they can be processed by the chef-client. Output will appear in the same location as the regular chef-client run (as specified by the log_location setting in the client.rb file).

Finished audits are reported back to the Chef server. From there, audits are sent to the Chef Analytics platform for further analysis, such as rules processing and visibility from the actions web user interface.

Use following option to run the chef-client in audit-mode mode:

--audit-mode MODE
Enable audit-mode. Set to audit-only to skip the converge phase of the chef-client run and only perform audits. Possible values: audit-only, disabled, and enabled. Default value: disabled.

The Audit Run

The following diagram shows the stages of the audit-mode phase of the chef-client run, and then the list below the diagram describes in greater detail each of those stages.

_images/audit_run.png

When the chef-client is run in audit-mode, the following happens:

Stages Description
chef-client Run ID The chef-client run identifier is associated with each audit.
Configure the Node If audit-mode is run as part of the full chef-client run, audit-mode occurs after the chef-client has finished converging all resources in the resource collection.
Audit node based on controls in cookbooks Each control_group and control block found in any recipe that was part of the run-list of for the node is evaluated, with each expression in each control block verified against the state of the node.
Upload audit data to the Chef server When audit-mode mode is complete, the data is uploaded to the Chef server.
Send to Chef Analytics Most of this data is passed to the Chef Analytics platform for further analysis, such as rules processing (for notification events triggered by expected or unexpected audit outcomes) and visibility from the actions web user interface.

control

A control is an automated test that is built into a cookbook, and then used to test the state of the system for compliance. Compliance can be many things. For example, ensuring that file and directory management meets specific internal IT policies—”Does the file exist?”, “Do the correct users or groups have access to this directory?”. Compliance may also be complex, such as helping to ensure goals defined by large-scale compliance frameworks such as PCI, HIPAA, and Sarbanes-Oxley can be met.

Use the control method to define a specific series of tests that comprise an individual audit. A control method MUST be contained within a control_group block. A control_group block may contain multiple control methods.

The syntax for the control method is as follows:

control_group 'audit name' do
  control 'name' do
    it 'should do something' do
      expect(something).to/.to_not be_something
    end
  end
end

where:

  • control_group groups one (or more) control blocks
  • control 'name' do defines an individual audit
  • Each control block must define at least one validation
  • Each it statement defines a single validation. it statements are processed individually when the chef-client is run in audit-mode
  • An expect(something).to/.to_not be_something is a statement that represents the individual test. In other words, this statement tests if something is expected to be (or not be) something. For example, a test that expects the PostgreSQL pacakge to not be installed would be similar to expect(package('postgresql')).to_not be_installed and a test that ensures a service is enabled would be similar to expect(service('init')).to be_enabled
  • An it statement may contain multiple expect statements

directory Matcher

Matchers are available for directories. Use this matcher to define audits for directories that test if the directory exists, is mounted, and if it is linked to. This matcher uses the same matching syntax—expect(file('foo'))—as the files. The following matchers are available for directories:

Matcher Description, Example
be_directory

Use to test if directory exists. For example:

it 'should be a directory' do
  expect(file('/var/directory')).to be_directory
end
be_linked_to

Use to test if a subject is linked to the named directory. For example:

it 'should be linked to the named directory' do
  expect(file('/etc/directory')).to be_linked_to('/etc/some/other/directory')
end
be_mounted

Use to test if a directory is mounted. For example:

it 'should be mounted' do
  expect(file('/')).to be_mounted
end

For directories with a single attribute that requires testing:

it 'should be mounted with an ext4 partition' do
  expect(file('/')).to be_mounted.with( :type => 'ext4' )
end

For directories with multiple attributes that require testing:

it 'should be mounted only with certain attributes' do
  expect(file('/')).to be_mounted.only_with(
    :attribute => 'value',
    :attribute => 'value',
)
end

file Matcher

Matchers are available for files and directories. Use this matcher to define audits for files that test if the file exists, its version, if it is executable, writable, or readable, who owns it, verify checksums (both MD5 and SHA-256) and so on. The following matchers are available for files:

Matcher Description, Example
be_executable

Use to test if a file is executable. For example:

it 'should be executable' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_executable
end

For a file that is executable by its owner:

it 'should be executable by owner' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_executable.by('owner')
end

For a file that is executable by a group:

it 'should be executable by group members' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_executable.by('group')
end

For a file that is executable by a specific user:

it 'should be executable by user foo' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_executable.by_user('foo')
end
be_file

Use to test if a file exists. For example:

it 'should be a file' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_file
end
be_grouped_into

Use to test if a file is grouped into the named group. For example:

it 'should be grouped into foo' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_grouped_into('foo')
end
be_linked_to

Use to test if a subject is linked to the named file. For example:

it 'should be linked to the named file' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_linked_to('/etc/some/other/file')
end
be_mode

Use to test if a file is set to the specified mode. For example:

it 'should be mode 440' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_mode(440)
end
be_owned_by

Use to test if a file is owned by the named owner. For example:

it 'should be owned by the root user' do
  expect(file('/etc/sudoers')).to be_owned_by('root')
end
be_readable

Use to test if a file is readable. For example:

it 'should be readable' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_readable
end

For a file that is readable by its owner:

it 'should be readable by owner' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_readable.by('owner')
end

For a file that is readable by a group:

it 'should be readable by group members' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_readable.by('group')
end

For a file that is readable by a specific user:

it 'should be readable by user foo' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_readable.by_user('foo')
end
be_socket

Use to test if a file exists as a socket. For example:

it 'should be a socket' do
  expect(file('/var/file.sock')).to be_socket
end
be_symlink

Use to test if a file exists as a symbolic link. For example:

it 'should be a symlink' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_symlink
end
be_version

Microsoft Windows only. Use to test if a file is the specified version. For example:

it 'should be version 1.2' do
  expect(file('C:\\Windows\\path\\to\\file')).to be_version('1.2')
end
be_writable

Use to test if a file is writable. For example:

it 'should be writable' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_writable
end

For a file that is writable by its owner:

it 'should be writable by owner' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_writable.by('owner')
end

For a file that is writable by a group:

it 'should be writable by group members' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_writable.by('group')
end

For a file that is writable by a specific user:

it 'should be writable by user foo' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to be_writable.by_user('foo')
end
contain

Use to test if a file contains specific contents. For example:

it 'should contain docs.chef.io' do
  expect(file('/etc/file')).to contain('docs.chef.io')
end

package Matcher

Matchers are available for packages and may be used to define audits that test if a package or a package version is installed. The following matchers are available:

Matcher Description, Example
be_installed

Use to test if the named package is installed. For example:

it 'should be installed' do
  expect(package('httpd')).to be_installed
end

For a specific package version:

it 'should be installed' do
  expect(package('httpd')).to be_installed.with_version('0.1.2')
end

port Matcher

Matchers are available for ports and may be used to define audits that test if a port is listening. The following matchers are available:

Matcher Description, Example
be_listening

Use to test if the named port is listening. For example:

it 'should be listening' do
  expect(port(23)).to be_listening
end

For a named port that is not listening:

it 'should not be listening' do
  expect(port(23)).to_not be_listening
end

For a specific port type use .with('port_type'). For example, UDP:

it 'should be listening with UDP' do
  expect(port(23)).to_not be_listening.with('udp')
end

For UDP, version 6:

it 'should be listening with UDP6' do
  expect(port(23)).to_not be_listening.with('udp6')
end

For TCP/IP:

it 'should be listening with TCP' do
  expect(port(23)).to_not be_listening.with('tcp')
end

For TCP/IP, version 6:

it 'should be listening with TCP6' do
  expect(port(23)).to_not be_listening.with('tcp6')
end

service Matcher

Matchers are available for services and may be used to define audits that test for conditions related to services, such as if they are enabled, running, have the correct startup mode, and so on. The following matchers are available:

Matcher Description, Example
be_enabled

Use to test if the named service is enabled (i.e. will start up automatically). For example:

it 'should be enabled' do
  expect(service('ntpd')).to be_enabled
end

For a service that is enabled at a given run level:

it 'should be enabled at the specified run level' do
  expect(service('ntpd')).to be_enabled.with_level(3)
end
be_installed

Microsoft Windows only. Use to test if the named service is installed on the Microsoft Windows platform. For example:

it 'should be installed' do
  expect(service('DNS Client')).to be_installed
end
be_running

Use to test if the named service is running. For example:

it 'should be running' do
  expect(service('ntpd')).to be_running
end

For a service that is running under supervisor:

it 'should be running under supervisor' do
  expect(service('ntpd')).to be_running.under('supervisor')
end

or daemontools:

it 'should be running under daemontools' do
  expect(service('ntpd')).to be_running.under('daemontools')
end

or Upstart:

it 'should be running under upstart' do
  expect(service('ntpd')).to be_running.under('upstart')
end
be_monitored_by

Use to test if the named service is being monitored by the named monitoring application. For example:

it 'should be monitored by' do
  expect(service('ntpd')).to be_monitored_by('monit')
end
have_start_mode

Microsoft Windows only. Use to test if the named service’s startup mode is correct on the Microsoft Windows platform. For example:

it 'should start manually' do
  expect(service('DNS Client')).to have_start_mode.Manual
end

Examples

A package is installed

For example, a package is installed:

control_group 'audit name' do
  control 'mysql package' do
    it 'should be installed' do
      expect(package('mysql')).to be_installed
    end
  end
end

The control_group block is processed when the chef-client run is run in audit-mode. If the audit was successful, the chef-client will return output similar to:

Audit Mode
  mysql package
    should be installed

If an audit was unsuccessful, the chef-client will return output similar to:

Starting audit phase

Audit Mode
  mysql package
  should be installed (FAILED - 1)

Failures:

1) Audit Mode mysql package should be installed
  Failure/Error: expect(package('mysql')).to be_installed.with_version('5.6')
    expected Package 'mysql' to be installed
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:22:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

Finished in 0.5745 seconds (files took 0.46481 seconds to load)
1 examples, 1 failures

Failed examples:

rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:21 # Audit Mode mysql package should be installed

A package version is installed

A package that is installed with a specific version:

control_group 'audit name' do
  control 'mysql package' do
    it 'should be installed' do
      expect(package('mysql')).to be_installed.with_version('5.6')
    end
  end
end

A package is not installed

A package that is not installed:

control_group 'audit name' do
  control 'postgres package' do
    it 'should not be installed' do
      expect(package('postgresql')).to_not be_installed
    end
  end
end

If the audit was successful, the chef-client will return output similar to:

Audit Mode
  postgres audit
    postgres package
      is not installed

A service is enabled

A service that is enabled and running:

control_group 'audit name' do
  control 'mysql service' do
    let(:mysql_service) { service('mysql') }
    it 'should be enabled' do
      expect(mysql_service).to be_enabled
    end
    it 'should be running' do
      expect(mysql_service).to be_running
    end
  end
end

If the audit was successful, the chef-client will return output similar to:

Audit Mode
  mysql service audit
    mysql service
      is enabled
      is running

A configuration file contains specific settings

The following example shows how to verify sshd configration, including whether it’s installed, what the permissions are, and how it can be accessed:

control_group 'check sshd configuration' do

  control 'sshd package' do
    it 'should be installed' do
      expect(package('openssh-server')).to be_installed
    end
  end

  control 'sshd configuration' do
    let(:config_file) { file('/etc/ssh/sshd_config') }
    it 'should exist with the right permissions' do
      expect(config_file).to be_file
      expect(config_file).to be_mode(644)
      expect(config_file).to be_owned_by('root')
      expect(config_file).to be_grouped_into('root')
    end
    it 'should not permit RootLogin' do
      expect(config_file.content).to_not match(/^PermitRootLogin yes/)
    end
    it 'should explicitly not permit PasswordAuthentication' do
      expect(config_file.content).to match(/^PasswordAuthentication no/)
    end
    it 'should force privilege separation' do
      expect(config_file.content).to match(/^UsePrivilegeSeparation sandbox/)
    end
  end
end

where

  • let(:config_file) { file('/etc/ssh/sshd_config') } uses the file matcher to test specific settings within the sshd configuration file

A file contains desired permissions and contents

The following example shows how to verify that a file has the desired permissions and contents:

controls 'mysql config' do
  control 'mysql config file' do
    let(:config_file) { file('/etc/mysql/my.cnf') }
    it 'exists with correct permissions' do
      expect(config_file).to be_file
      expect(config_file).to be_mode(0400)
    end
    it 'contains required configuration' do
      expect(its('contents')).to match(/default-time-zone='UTC'/)
    end
  end
end

If the audit was successful, the chef-client will return output similar to:

Audit Mode
  mysql config
    mysql config file
      exists with correct permissions
      contains required configuration

control_group

Use the control_group method to define a group of control methods that comprise a single audit. The name of each control_group must be unique within the organization.

The syntax for the control_group method is as follows:

control_group 'name' do
  control 'name' do
    it 'should do something' do
      expect(something).to/.to_not be_something
    end
  end
  control 'name' do
    ...
  end
  ...
end

where:

  • control_group groups one (or more) control blocks
  • 'name' is the unique name for the control_group; the chef-client will raise an exception if duplicate control_group names are present
  • control defines each individual audit within the control_group block. There is no limit to the number of control blocks that may defined within a control_group block

Examples

control_group block with multiple control blocks

The following control_group ensures that MySQL is installed, that PostgreSQL is not installed, and that the services and configuration files associated with MySQL are configured correctly:

control_group 'Audit Mode' do

  control 'mysql package' do
    it 'should be installed' do
      expect(package('mysql')).to be_installed.with_version('5.6')
    end
  end

  control 'postgres package' do
    it 'should not be installed' do
      expect(package('postgresql')).to_not be_installed
    end
  end

  control 'mysql service' do
    let(:mysql_service) { service('mysql') }
    it 'should be enabled' do
      expect(mysql_service).to be_enabled
    end
    it 'should be running' do
      expect(mysql_service).to be_running
    end
  end

  control 'mysql config directory' do
    let(:config_dir) { file('/etc/mysql') }
    it 'should exist with correct permissions' do
      expect(config_dir).to be_directory
      expect(config_dir).to be_mode(0700)
    end
    it 'should be owned by the db user' do
      expect(config_dir).to be_owned_by('db_service_user')
    end
  end

  control 'mysql config file' do
    let(:config_file) { file('/etc/mysql/my.cnf') }
    it 'should exist with correct permissions' do
      expect(config_file).to be_file
      expect(config_file).to be_mode(0400)
    end
    it 'should contain required configuration' do
      expect(config_file.content).to match(/default-time-zone='UTC'/)
    end
  end

end

The control_group block is processed when the chef-client is run in audit-mode. If the chef-client run was successful, the chef-client will return output similar to:

Audit Mode
  mysql package
    should be installed
  postgres package
    should not be installed
  mysql service
    should be enabled
    should be running
  mysql config directory
    should exist with correct permissions
    should be owned by the db user
  mysql config file
    should exist with correct permissions
    should contain required configuration

If an audit was unsuccessful, the chef-client will return output similar to:

Starting audit phase

Audit Mode
  mysql package
  should be installed (FAILED - 1)
postgres package
  should not be installed
mysql service
  should be enabled (FAILED - 2)
  should be running (FAILED - 3)
mysql config directory
  should exist with correct permissions (FAILED - 4)
  should be owned by the db user (FAILED - 5)
mysql config file
  should exist with correct permissions (FAILED - 6)
  should contain required configuration (FAILED - 7)

Failures:

1) Audit Mode mysql package should be installed
  Failure/Error: expect(package('mysql')).to be_installed.with_version('5.6')
    expected Package 'mysql' to be installed
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:22:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

2) Audit Mode mysql service should be enabled
  Failure/Error: expect(mysql_service).to be_enabled
    expected Service 'mysql' to be enabled
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:35:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

3) Audit Mode mysql service should be running
   Failure/Error: expect(mysql_service).to be_running
    expected Service 'mysql' to be running
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:38:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

4) Audit Mode mysql config directory should exist with correct permissions
  Failure/Error: expect(config_dir).to be_directory
    expected `File '/etc/mysql'.directory?` to return true, got false
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:45:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

5) Audit Mode mysql config directory should be owned by the db user
  Failure/Error: expect(config_dir).to be_owned_by('db_service_user')
    expected `File '/etc/mysql'.owned_by?('db_service_user')` to return true, got false
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:49:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

6) Audit Mode mysql config file should exist with correct permissions
  Failure/Error: expect(config_file).to be_file
    expected `File '/etc/mysql/my.cnf'.file?` to return true, got false
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:56:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

7) Audit Mode mysql config file should contain required configuration
  Failure/Error: expect(config_file.content).to match(/default-time-zone='UTC'/)
    expected '-n\n' to match /default-time-zone='UTC'/
    Diff:
    @@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
    -/default-time-zone='UTC'/
    +-n
  # /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:60:in 'block (3 levels) in from_file'

Finished in 0.5745 seconds (files took 0.46481 seconds to load)
8 examples, 7 failures

Failed examples:

rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:21 # Audit Mode mysql package should be installed
rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:34 # Audit Mode mysql service should be enabled
rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:37 # Audit Mode mysql service should be running
rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:44 # Audit Mode mysql config directory should exist with correct permissions
rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:48 # Audit Mode mysql config directory should be owned by the db user
rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:55 # Audit Mode mysql config file should exist with correct permissions
rspec /var/chef/cache/cookbooks/grantmc/recipes/default.rb:59 # Audit Mode mysql config file should contain required configuration
Auditing complete

Duplicate control_group names

If two control_group blocks have the same name, the chef-client will raise an exception. For example, the following control_group blocks exist in different cookbooks:

control_group 'basic control group' do
  it 'should pass' do
    expect(2 - 2).to eq(0)
  end
end

control_group 'basic control group' do
  it 'should pass' do
    expect(3 - 2).to eq(1)
  end
end

Because the two control_group block names are identical, the chef-client will return an exception similar to:

Synchronizing Cookbooks:
  - audit_test
Compiling Cookbooks...

================================================================================
Recipe Compile Error in /Users/grantmc/.cache/chef/cache/cookbooks
                        /audit_test/recipes/error_duplicate_control_groups.rb
================================================================================

Chef::Exceptions::AuditControlGroupDuplicate
--------------------------------------------
Audit control group with name 'basic control group' has already been defined

Cookbook Trace:
---------------
/Users/grantmc/.cache/chef/cache/cookbooks
/audit_test/recipes/error_duplicate_control_groups.rb:13:in 'from_file'

Relevant File Content:
----------------------
/Users/grantmc/.cache/chef/cache/cookbooks/audit_test/recipes/error_duplicate_control_groups.rb:

control_group 'basic control group' do
  it 'should pass' do
    expect(2 - 2).to eq(0)
  end
end

control_group 'basic control group' do
  it 'should pass' do
    expect(3 - 2).to eq(1)
  end
end

Running handlers:
[2015-01-15T09:36:14-08:00] ERROR: Running exception handlers
Running handlers complete

Verify a package is installed

The following control_group verifies that the git package has been installed:

package 'git' do
  action :install
end

execute 'list packages' do
  command 'dpkg -l'
end

execute 'list directory' do
  command 'ls -R ~'
end

control_group 'my audits' do
  control 'check git' do
    it 'should be installed' do
      expect(package('git')).to be_installed
    end
  end
end

Validatorless Bootstrap

The ORGANIZATION-validator.pem is typically added to the .chef directory on the workstation. When a node is bootstrapped from that workstation, the ORGANIZATION-validator.pem is used to authenticate the newly-created node to the Chef server during the initial chef-client run. Starting with Chef client 12.1, it is possible to bootstrap a node using the USER.pem file instead of the ORGANIZATION-validator.pem file. This is known as a “validatorless bootstrap”.

To create a node via the USER.pem file, simply delete the ORGANIZATION-validator.pem file on the workstation. For example:

$ rm -f /home/lamont/.chef/myorg-validator.pem

and then make the following changes in the config.rb file:

  • Remove the validation_client_name setting
  • Edit the validation_key setting to be something that isn’t a path to an existent ORGANIZATION-validator.pem file. For example: /nonexist.

As long as a USER.pem is also present on the workstation from which the validatorless bootstrap operation will be initiated, the bootstrap operation will run and will use the USER.pem file instead of the ORGANIZATION-validator.pem file.

When running a validatorless knife bootstrap operation, the output is similar to:

desktop% knife bootstrap 10.1.1.1 -N foo01.acme.org \
  -E dev -r 'role[base]' -j '{ "foo": "bar" }' \
  --ssh-user vagrant --sudo
Node foo01.acme.org exists, overwrite it? (Y/N)
Client foo01.acme.org exists, overwrite it? (Y/N)
Creating new client for foo01.acme.org
Creating new node for foo01.acme.org
Connecting to 10.1.1.1
10.1.1.1 Starting first Chef Client run...
[....etc...]

knife bootstrap Options

Use the following options to specify items that are stored in chef-vault:

--bootstrap-vault-file VAULT_FILE
The path to a JSON file that contains a list of vaults and items to be updated.
--bootstrap-vault-item VAULT_ITEM
A single vault and item to update as vault:item.
--bootstrap-vault-json VAULT_JSON

A JSON string that contains a list of vaults and items to be updated.

For example:

--bootstrap-vault-json '{ "vault1": ["item1", "item2"], "vault2": "item2" }'

New Resource Attributes

The following attributes are new for chef-client 12.1.

verify

The verify attribute may be used with the cookbook_file, file, remote_file, and template resources.

verify

A block or a string that returns true or false. A string, when true is executed as a system command.

The following examples show how the verify attribute is used with the template resource. The same approach (but with different resource names) is true for the cookbook_file, file, and remote_file resources:

A block is arbitrary Ruby defined within the resource block by using the verify property. When a block is true, the chef-client will continue to update the file as appropriate.

For example, this should return true:

template '/tmp/baz' do
  verify { 1 == 1 }
end

This should return true:

template '/etc/nginx.conf' do
  verify 'nginx -t -c %{path}'
end

Warning

For releases of the chef-client prior to 12.5 (chef-client 12.4 and earlier) the correct syntax is:

template '/etc/nginx.conf' do
  verify 'nginx -t -c %{file}'
end

See GitHub issues https://github.com/chef/chef/issues/3232 and https://github.com/chef/chef/pull/3693 for more information about these differences.

This should return true:

template '/tmp/bar' do
  verify { 1 == 1}
end

And this should return true:

template '/tmp/foo' do
  verify do |path|
    true
  end
end

Whereas, this should return false:

template '/tmp/turtle' do
  verify '/usr/bin/false'
end

If a string or a block return false, the chef-client run will stop and an error is returned.

imports

The following attribute is new for the dsc_script resource:

imports

Use to import DSC resources from a module. To import all resources from a module, specify only the module name:

imports "module_name"

To import specific resources, specify the module name and then the name for each resource in that module to import:

imports "module_name", "resource_name_a", "resource_name_b", ...

For example, to import all resources from a module named cRDPEnabled:

imports "cRDPEnabled"

And to import only the PSHOrg_cRDPEnabled resource:

imports "cRDPEnabled", "PSHOrg_cRDPEnabled"

compile_time

The following attribute is new for the chef_gem resource:

compile_time

Controls the phase during which a gem is installed on a node. Set to true to install a gem while the resource collection is being built (the “compile phase”). Set to false to install a gem while the chef-client is configuring the node (the “converge phase”). Possible values: nil (for verbose warnings), true (to warn once per chef-client run), or false (to remove all warnings). Recommended value: false.

To suppress warnings for cookbooks authored prior to chef-client 12.1, use a respond_to? check to ensure backward compatibility. For example:

chef_gem 'aws-sdk' do
  compile_time false if respond_to?(:compile_time)
end

run_as

The following attributes are new for the windows_service resource:

run_as_password
The password for the user specified by run_as_user.
run_as_user
The user under which a Microsoft Windows service runs.

paludis_package

Use the paludis_package resource to manage packages for the Paludis platform.

Note

In many cases, it is better to use the package resource instead of this one. This is because when the package resource is used in a recipe, the chef-client will use details that are collected by Ohai at the start of the chef-client run to determine the correct package application. Using the package resource allows a recipe to be authored in a way that allows it to be used across many platforms.

Syntax

A paludis_package resource block manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the paludis_package resource is:

paludis_package 'package_name'

which will install the named package using all of the default options and the default action (:install).

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the paludis_package resource is:

paludis_package 'name' do
  notifies                   # see description
  options                    String
  package_name               String, Array # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  source                     String
  subscribes                 # see description
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where:

  • paludis_package is the resource.
  • name is the name given to the resource block.
  • action identifies which steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state.
  • options, package_name, source, recursive, timeout, and version are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:install
Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.
:nothing
Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:remove
Remove a package.
:upgrade
Install a package and/or ensure that a package is the latest version.

Attributes

This resource has the following properties:

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
options

Ruby Type: String

One (or more) additional options that are passed to the command.

package_name

Ruby Type: String, Array

The name of the package. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

source

Ruby Type: String

Optional. The path to a package in the local file system.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
timeout

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out.

version

Ruby Type: String, Array

The version of a package to be installed or upgraded.

Examples

Install a package

paludis_package 'name of package' do
  action :install
end

openbsd_package

Use the openbsd_package resource to manage packages for the OpenBSD platform.

Note

In many cases, it is better to use the package resource instead of this one. This is because when the package resource is used in a recipe, the chef-client will use details that are collected by Ohai at the start of the chef-client run to determine the correct package application. Using the package resource allows a recipe to be authored in a way that allows it to be used across many platforms.

Syntax

A openbsd_package resource block manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the openbsd_package resource is:

openbsd_package 'package_name'

which will install the named package using all of the default options and the default action (:install).

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the openbsd_package resource is:

openbsd_package 'name' do
  notifies                   # see description
  options                    String
  package_name               String, Array # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  source                     String
  subscribes                 # see description
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where

  • openbsd_package tells the chef-client to manage a package
  • 'name' is the name of the package
  • action identifies which steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • options, package_name, source, timeout, and version are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

The openbsd_package resource has the following actions:

:install
Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.
:nothing
Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:remove
Remove a package.

Attributes

This resource has the following properties:

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
options

Ruby Type: String

One (or more) additional options that are passed to the command.

package_name

Ruby Type: String, Array

The name of the package. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

source

Ruby Type: String

Optional. The path to a package in the local file system.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
timeout

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out.

version

Ruby Type: String, Array

The version of a package to be installed or upgraded.

Examples

Install a package

openbsd_package 'name of package' do
  action :install
end

New client.rb Settings

The following client.rb settings are new:

chef_gem_compile_time

Controls the phase during which a gem is installed on a node. Set to true to install a gem while the resource collection is being built (the “compile phase”). Set to false to install a gem while the chef-client is configuring the node (the “converge phase”). Recommended value: false.

Note

To suppress warnings for cookbooks authored prior to chef-client 12.1, use a respond_to? check to ensure backward compatibility. For example:

chef_gem 'aws-sdk' do
  compile_time false if respond_to?(:compile_time)
end
windows_service.watchdog_timeout
The maximum amount of time (in seconds) available to the chef-client run when the chef-client is run as a service on the Microsoft Windows platform. If the chef-client run does not complete within the specified timeframe, the chef-client run is terminated. Default value: 2 * (60 * 60).

Multiple Packages and Versions

A resource may specify multiple packages and/or versions for platforms that use Yum, DNF, Apt, Zypper, or Chocolatey package managers. Specifing multiple packages and/or versions allows a single transaction to:

  • Download the specified packages and versions via a single HTTP transaction
  • Update or install multiple packages with a single resource during the chef-client run

For example, installing multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2)

Installing multiple packages with versions:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  version [ '1.3.4-2', '4.3.6-1']
end

Upgrading multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2)  do
  action :upgrade
end

Removing multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2)  do
  action :remove
end

Purging multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2)  do
  action :purge
end

Notifications, via an implicit name:

package %w(package1 package2)  do
  action :nothing
end

log 'call a notification' do
  notifies :install, 'package[package1, package2]', :immediately
end

Note

Notifications and subscriptions do not need to be updated when packages and versions are added or removed from the package_name or version properties.

What’s New in 12.0

The following items are new for chef-client 12.0 and/or are changes from previous versions. The short version:

  • Changing attributes Attributes may be modified for named precedence levels, all precedence levels, and be fully assigned. These changes were based on RFC-23.
  • Ruby 2.0 (or higher) for Windows; and Ruby 2.1 (or higher) for Unix/Linux Ruby versions 1.8.7, 1.9.1, 1.9.2, and 1.9.3 are no longer supported. See this blog post for more info.
  • The number of changes between Ruby 1.9 and 2.0 is small Please review the Ruby 2.0 release notes or Ruby 2.1 release notes for the full list of changes.
  • provides method for building custom resources Use the provides method to associate a custom resource with a built-in chef-client resource and to specify platforms on which the custom resource may be used.
  • The chef-client supports the AIX platform The chef-client may now be used to configure nodes that are running on the AIX platform, versions 6.1 (TL6 or higher, recommended) and 7.1 (TL0 SP3 or higher, recommended). The service resource supports starting, stopping, and restarting services that are managed by System Resource Controller (SRC), as well as managing all service states with BSD-based init systems.
  • New bff_package resource Use the bff_package resource to install packages on the AIX platform.
  • New homebrew_package resource Use the homebrew_package resource to install packages on the macOS platform. The homebrew_package resource also replaces the macports_package resource as the default package installer on the macOS platform.
  • New reboot resource Use the reboot resource to reboot a node during or at the end of a chef-client run.
  • New windows_service resource Use the windows_service resource to manage services on the Microsoft Windows platform.
  • New –bootstrap-template option Use the --bootstrap-template option to install the chef-client with a bootstrap template. Specify the name of a template, such as chef-full, or specify the path to a custom bootstrap template. This option deprecates the --distro and --template-file options.
  • New SSL options for bootstrap operations The knife bootstrap subcommand has new options that support SSL with bootstrap operations. Use the --[no-]node-verify-api-cert option to perform SSL validation of the connection to the Chef server. Use the --node-ssl-verify-mode option to validate SSL certificates.
  • New format options for knife status Use the --medium and --long options to include attributes in the output and to format that output as JSON.
  • New fsck_device property for mount resource The mount resource supports fsck devices for the Solaris platform with the fsck_device property.
  • New settings for metadata.rb The metadata.rb file has two new settings: issues_url and source_url. These settings are used to capture the source location and issues tracking location for a cookbook. These settings are also used with Chef Supermarket. In addition, the name setting is now required.
  • The http_request GET and HEAD requests drop the hard-coded query string The :get and :head actions appended a hard-coded query string—?message=resource_name—that cannot be overridden. This hard-coded string is deprecated in the chef-client 12.0 release. Cookbooks that rely on this string need to be updated to manually add it to the URL as it is passed to the resource.
  • New Recipe DSL methods The Recipe DSL has three new methods: shell_out, shell_out!, and shell_out_with_systems_locale.
  • File specificity updates File specificity for the template and cookbook_file resources now supports using the source attribute to define an explicit lookup path as an array.
  • Improved user password security for the user resource, macOS platform The user resource now supports salted password hashes for macOS 10.7 (and higher). Use the iterations and salt attributes to calculate SALTED-SHA512 password shadow hashes for macOS version 10.7 and SALTED-SHA512-PBKDF2 password shadow hashes for version 10.8 (and higher).
  • data_bag_item method in the Recipe DSL supports encrypted data bag items Use data_bag_item(bag_name, item, secret) to specify the secret to use for an encrypted data bag item. If secret is not specified, the chef-client looks for a secret at the path specified by the encrypted_data_bag_secret setting in the client.rb file.
  • value_for_platform method in the Recipe DSL supports version constraints Version constraints—>, <, >=, <=, ~>—may be used when specifying a version. An exception is raised if two version constraints match. An exact match will always take precedence over a match made from a version constraint.
  • knife cookbook site share supports –dry-run Use the --dry-run option with the knife cookbook site to take no action and only print out results.
  • chef-client configuration setting updates The chef-client now supports running an override run-list (via the --override-runlist option) without clearing the cookbook cache on the node. In addition, the --chef-zero-port option allows specifying a range of ports.
  • Unforked interval runs are no longer allowed The --[no-]fork option may no longer be used in the same command with the --daemonize and --interval options.
  • Splay and interval values are applied before the chef-client run The --interval and --splay values are applied before the chef-client run when using the chef-client and chef-solo executables.
  • All files and templates in a cookbook are synchronized at the start of the chef-client run The no_lazy_load configuration setting in the client.rb file now defaults to true. This avoids issues where time-sensitive URLs in a cookbook manifest timeout before the cookbook_file or template resources converged.
  • File staging now defaults to the destination directory by default Staging into a system’s temporary directory—typically /tmp or /var/tmp—as opposed to the destination directory may cause issues with permissions, available space, or cross-device renames. Files are now staged to the destination directory by default.
  • Partial search updates Use :filter_result to build search results into a Hash. This replaces the previous functionality that was provided by the partial_search cookbook, albeit with a different API. Use the --filter-result option to return only attributes that match the specified filter. For example: \"ServerName=name, Kernel=kernel.version\".
  • Client-side key generation is enabled by default When a new chef-client is created using the validation client account, the Chef server allows the chef-client to generate a key-pair locally, and then send the public key to the Chef server. This behavior is controlled by the local_key_generation attribute in the client.rb file and now defaults to true.
  • New guard_interpreter property defaults The guard_interpreter property now defaults to :batch for the batch resource and :powershell_script for the powershell_script resource.
  • Events are sent to the Application event log on the Windows platform by default Events are sent to the Microsoft Windows “Application” event log at the start and end of a chef-client run, and also if a chef-client run fails. Set the disable_event_logger configuration setting in the client.rb file to true to disable event logging.
  • The installer_type property for the windows_package resource uses a symbol instead of a string Previous versions of the chef-client (starting with version 11.8) used a string.
  • The path property is deprecated for the execute resource Use the environment property instead.
  • SSL certificate validation improvements The default settings for SSL certificate validation now default in favor of validation. In addition, using the knife ssl fetch subcommand is now an important part of setting up your workstation.
  • New property for git resource The git resource has a new property: environment, which takes a Hash of environment variables in the form of {"ENV_VARIABLE" => "VALUE"}.
  • New encrypted a version 3 Format utilizes aes-256-gcm ciphers for enhanced security.

Please view the notes for more background on the upgrade process from chef-client 11 to chef-client 12.

Change Attributes

Starting with chef-client 12.0, attribute precedence levels may be

  • Removed for a specific, named attribute precedence level
  • Removed for all attribute precedence levels
  • Fully assigned attributes

Remove Precedence Level

A specific attribute precedence level for default, normal, and override attributes may be removed by using one of the following syntax patterns.

For default attributes:

  • node.rm_default('foo', 'bar')

For normal attributes:

  • node.rm_normal('foo', 'bar')

For override attributes:

  • node.rm_override('foo', 'bar')

These patterns return the computed value of the key being deleted for the specified precedence level.

Examples

The following examples show how to remove a specific, named attribute precedence level.

Delete a default value when only default values exist

Given the following code structure under 'foo':

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

And some role attributes:

# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'otherstuff'

And a force attribute:

node.force_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'allthestuff'

When the default attribute precedence node['foo']['bar'] is removed:

node.rm_default('foo', 'bar') #=> {'baz' => 52, 'thing' => 'allthestuff'}

What is left under 'foo' is only 'bat':

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> {'bat' => { 'things' => [5,6] } }

Delete default without touching higher precedence attributes

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

And some role attributes:

# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'otherstuff'

And a force attribute:

node.force_default['foo']['bar']['thing'] = 'allthestuff'

And also some override attributes:

node.override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 99

Same delete as before:

node.rm_default('foo', 'bar') #=> { 'baz' => 52, 'thing' => 'allthestuff' }

The other attribute precedence levels are unaffected:

node.attributes.combined_override['foo'] #=> { 'bar' => {'baz' => 99} }
node['foo'] #=> { 'bar' => {'baz' => 99}, 'bat' => { 'things' => [5,6] }

Delete override without touching lower precedence attributes

Given the following code structure, which has an override attribute:

node.override['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

with a single default value:

node.default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 11

and a force at each attribute precedence:

node.force_default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 55
node.force_override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 99

Delete the override:

node.rm_override('foo', 'bar') #=> { 'baz' => 99, 'thing' => 'stuff' }

The other attribute precedence levels are unaffected:

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> { 'bar' => {'baz' => 55} }

Non-existent key deletes return nil

node.rm_default("no", "such", "thing") #=> nil

Remove All Levels

All attribute precedence levels may be removed by using the following syntax pattern:

  • node.rm('foo', 'bar')

Note

Using node['foo'].delete('bar') will throw an exception that points to the new API.

Examples

The following examples show how to remove all attribute precedence levels.

Delete all attribute precedence levels

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
    'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

With override attributes:

node.override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 999

Removing the 'bar' key returns the computed value:

node.rm('foo', 'bar') #=> {'baz' => 999, 'thing' => 'stuff'}

Looking at 'foo', all that’s left is the 'bat' entry:

node['foo'] #=> {'bat' => { 'things' => [5,6] } }

Non-existent key deletes return nil

node.rm_default("no", "such", "thing") #=> nil

Full Assignment

Use ! to clear out the key for the named attribute precedence level, and then complete the write by using one of the following syntax patterns:

  • node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
  • node.force_default!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
  • node.normal!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
  • node.override!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
  • node.force_override!['foo']['bar'] = {...}
Examples

The following examples show how to remove all attribute precedence levels.

Just one component

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo']['bar'] = {'a' => 'b'}
node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {'c' => 'd'}

The '!' caused the entire ‘bar’ key to be overwritten: .. code-block:: ruby

node[‘foo’] #=> {‘bar’ => {‘c’ => ‘d’}

Multiple components; one “after”

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo']['bar'] = {'a' => 'b'}
# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar'] = {'c' => 'd'}
node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {'d' => 'e'}

The '!' write overwrote the “cookbook-default” value of 'bar', but since role data is later in the resolution list, it was unaffected:

node['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'c' => 'd', 'd' => 'e'}

Multiple components; all “before”

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo']['bar'] = {'a' => 'b'}
# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar'] = {'c' => 'd'}
node.force_default!['foo']['bar'] = {'d' => 'e'}

With force_default! there is no other data under 'bar':

node['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'d' => 'e'}

Multiple precedence levels

Given the following code structure:

node.default['foo'] = {
  'bar' => {
    'baz' => 52,
    'thing' => 'stuff',
  },
  'bat' => {
   'things' => [5, 6],
  },
}

And some attributes:

# Please don't ever do this in real code :)
node.role_default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 55
node.force_default['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 66

And other precedence levels:

node.normal['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 88
node.override['foo']['bar']['baz'] = 99

With a full assignment:

node.default!['foo']['bar'] = {}

Role default and force default are left in default, plus other precedence levels:

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 66}, 'bat'=>{'things'=>[5, 6]}}
node.attributes.normal['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 88}}
node.attributes.combined_override['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 99}}
node['foo']['bar'] #=> {'baz' => 99}

If force_default! is written:

node.force_default!['foo']['bar'] = {}

the difference is:

node.attributes.combined_default['foo'] #=> {'bat'=>{'things'=>[5, 6]}, 'bar' => {}}
node.attributes.normal['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 88}}
node.attributes.combined_override['foo'] #=> {'bar' => {'baz' => 99}}
node['foo']['bar'] #=> {'baz' => 99}

provides Method

Use the provides method to map a custom resource/provider to an existing resource/provider, and then to also specify the platform(s) on which the behavior of the custom resource/provider will be applied. This method enables scenarios like:

  • Building a custom resource that is based on an existing resource
  • Defining platform mapping specific to a custom resource
  • Handling situations where a resource on a particular platform may have more than one provider, such as the behavior on the Ubuntu platform where both SysVInit and systemd are present
  • Allowing the custom resource to declare what platforms are supported, enabling the creator of the custom resource to use arbitrary criteria if desired
  • Not using the previous naming convention—#{cookbook_name}_#{provider_filename}

Warning

The provides method must be defined in both the custom resource and custom provider files and both files must have identical provides statement(s).

The syntax for the provides method is as follows:

provides :resource_name, os: [ 'platform', 'platform', ...], platform_family: 'family'

where:

  • :resource_name is a chef-client resource: :cookbook_file, :package, :rpm_package, and so on
  • 'platform' is a comma-separated list of platforms: 'windows', 'solaris2', 'linux', and so on
  • platform_family is optional and may specify the same parameters as the platform_family? method in the Recipe DSL; platform is optional and also supported (and is the same as the platform? method in the Recipe DSL)

A custom resource/provider may be mapped to more than one existing resource/provider. Multiple platform associations may be made. For example, to completely map a custom resource/provider to an existing custom resource/provider, only specificy the resource name:

provides :cookbook_file

The same mapping, but only for the Linux platform:

provides :cookbook_file, os: 'linux'

A similar mapping, but also for packages on the Microsoft Windows platform:

provides :cookbook_file
provides :package, os: 'windows'

Use multiple provides statements to define multiple conditions: Use an array to match any of the platforms within the array:

provides :cookbook_file
provides :package, os: 'windows'
provides :rpm_package, os: [ 'linux', 'aix' ]

Use an array to match any of the platforms within the array:

provides :package, os: 'solaris2', platform_family: 'solaris2' do |node|
  node[:platform_version].to_f <= 5.10
end

AIX Platform Support

The chef-client may now be used to configure nodes that are running on the AIX platform, versions 6.1 (TL6 or higher, recommended) and 7.1 (TL0 SP3 or higher, recommended). The service resource supports starting, stopping, and restarting services that are managed by System Resource Controller (SRC), as well as managing all service states with BSD-based init systems.

System Requirements

The chef-client has the same system requirements on the AIX platform as any other platform, with the following notes:

  • Expand the file system on the AIX platform using chfs or by passing the -X flag to installp to automatically expand the logical partition (LPAR)
  • The EN_US (UTF-8) character set should be installed on the logical partition prior to installing the chef-client

Install the chef-client on the AIX platform

The chef-client is distributed as a Backup File Format (BFF) binary and is installed on the AIX platform using the following command run as a root user:

# installp -aYgd chef-12.0.0-1.powerpc.bff all

Increase system process limits

The out-of-the-box system process limits for maximum process memory size (RSS) and number of open files are typically too low to run the chef-client on a logical partition (LPAR). When the system process limits are too low, the chef-client will not be able to create threads. To increase the system process limits:

  1. Validate that the system process limits have not already been increased.

  2. If they have not been increased, run the following commands as a root user:

    $ chsec -f /etc/security/limits -s default -a "rss=-1"

    and then:

    $ chsec -f /etc/security/limits -s default -a "data=-1"

    and then:

    $ chsec -f /etc/security/limits -s default -a "nofiles=50000"

    Note

    The previous commands may be run against the root user, instead of default. For example:

    $ chsec -f /etc/security/limits -s root_user -a "rss=-1"

  3. Reboot the logical partition (LPAR) to apply the updated system process limits.

When the system process limits are too low, an error is returned similar to:

Error Syncing Cookbooks:
==================================================================

Unexpected Error:
-----------------
ThreadError: can't create Thread: Resource temporarily unavailable

Install the UTF-8 character set

The chef-client uses the EN_US (UTF-8) character set. By default, the AIX base operating system does not include the EN_US (UTF-8) character set and it must be installed prior to installing the chef-client. The EN_US (UTF-8) character set may be installed from the first disc in the AIX media or may be copied from /installp/ppc/*EN_US* to a location on the logical partition (LPAR). This topic assumes this location to be /tmp/rte.

Use smit to install the EN_US (UTF-8) character set. This ensures that any workload partitions (WPARs) also have UTF-8 applied.

Remember to point INPUT device/directory to /tmp/rte when not installing from CD.

  1. From a root shell type:

    # smit lang

    A screen similar to the following is returned:

                           Manage Language Environment

Move cursor to desired item and press Enter.

  Change/Show Primary Language Environment
  Add Additional Language Environments
  Remove Language Environments
  Change/Show Language Hierarchy
  Set User Languages
  Change/Show Applications for a Language
  Convert System Messages and Flat Files

F1=Help             F2=Refresh          F3=Cancel           F8=Image
F9=Shell            F10=Exit            Enter=Do

  2. Select Add Additional Language Environments and press Enter. A screen similar to the following is returned:

                       Add Additional Language Environments

Type or select values in entry fields.
Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.

                                                        [Entry Fields]
  CULTURAL convention to install                                             +
  LANGUAGE translation to install                                            +
* INPUT device/directory for software                [/dev/cd0]              +
  EXTEND file systems if space needed?                yes                    +

  WPAR Management
      Perform Operation in Global Environment         yes                    +
      Perform Operation on Detached WPARs             no                     +
          Detached WPAR Names                        [_all_wpars]            +
      Remount Installation Device in WPARs            yes                    +
      Alternate WPAR Installation Device             []

F1=Help             F2=Refresh          F3=Cancel           F4=List
F5=Reset            F6=Command          F7=Edit             F8=Image
F9=Shell            F10=Exit            Enter=Do

  3. Cursor over the first two entries—CULTURAL convention to install and LANGUAGE translation to install—and use F4 to navigate through the list until UTF-8 English (United States) [EN_US] is selected. (EN_US is in capital letters!)

  4. Press Enter to apply and install the language set.

New providers

The service resource has the following providers to support the AIX platform:

Long name Short name Notes
Chef::Provider::Service::Aix service The provider that is used with the AIX platforms. Use the service short name to start, stop, and restart services with System Resource Controller (SRC).
Chef::Provider::Service::AixInit service The provider that is used to manage BSD-based init services on AIX.

Enable a service on AIX using the mkitab command

The service resource does not support using the :enable and :disable actions with resources that are managed using System Resource Controller (SRC). This is because System Resource Controller (SRC) does not have a standard mechanism for enabling and disabling services on system boot.

One approach for enabling or disabling services that are managed by System Resource Controller (SRC) is to use the execute resource to invoke mkitab, and then use that command to enable or disable the service.

The following example shows how to install a service:

execute "install #{node['chef_client']['svc_name']} in SRC" do
  command "mkssys -s #{node['chef_client']['svc_name']}
                  -p #{node['chef_client']['bin']}
                  -u root
                  -S
                  -n 15
                  -f 9
                  -o #{node['chef_client']['log_dir']}/client.log
                  -e #{node['chef_client']['log_dir']}/client.log -a '
                  -i #{node['chef_client']['interval']}
                  -s #{node['chef_client']['splay']}'"
  not_if "lssrc -s #{node['chef_client']['svc_name']}"
  action :run
end

and then enable it using the mkitab command:

execute "enable #{node['chef_client']['svc_name']}" do
  command "mkitab '#{node['chef_client']['svc_name']}:2:once:/usr/bin/startsrc
                  -s #{node['chef_client']['svc_name']} > /dev/console 2>&1'"
  not_if "lsitab #{node['chef_client']['svc_name']}"
end

Recipe DSL, Encrypted Data Bags

The Recipe DSL provides access to data bags and data bag items (including encrypted data bag items) with the following methods:

  • data_bag(bag), where bag is the name of the data bag.
  • data_bag_item('bag_name', 'item', 'secret'), where bag is the name of the data bag and item is the name of the data bag item. If 'secret' is not specified, the chef-client will look for a secret at the path specified by the encrypted_data_bag_secret setting in the client.rb file.

The data_bag method returns an array with a key for each of the data bag items that are found in the data bag.

Some examples:

To load the secret from a file:

data_bag_item('bag', 'item', IO.read('secret_file'))

To load a single data bag item named admins:

data_bag('admins')

The contents of a data bag item named justin:

data_bag_item('admins', 'justin')

will return something similar to:

# => {'comment'=>'Justin Currie', 'gid'=>1005, 'id'=>'justin', 'uid'=>1005, 'shell'=>'/bin/zsh'}

If item is encrypted, data_bag_item will automatically decrypt it using the key specified above, or (if none is specified) by the Chef::Config[:encrypted_data_bag_secret] method, which defaults to /etc/chef/encrypted_data_bag_secret.

bff_package

Use the bff_package resource to manage packages for the AIX platform using the installp utility. When a package is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

Note

A Backup File Format (BFF) package may not have a .bff file extension. The chef-client will still identify the correct provider to use based on the platform, regardless of the file extension.

Syntax

A bff_package resource manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the bff_package resource is:

bff_package 'package_name'

which will install the named package using all of the default options and the default action (:install).

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the bff_package resource is:

bff_package 'name' do
  notifies                   # see description
  options                    String
  package_name               String, Array # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  source                     String
  subscribes                 # see description
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where

  • bff_package tells the chef-client to manage a package
  • 'name' is the name of the package
  • action identifies which steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • options, package_name, source, timeout, and version are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:install
Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.
:nothing
Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:purge
Purge a package. This action typically removes the configuration files as well as the package.
:remove
Remove a package.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
options

Ruby Type: String

One (or more) additional options that are passed to the command.

package_name

Ruby Type: String, Array

The name of the package. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

source

Ruby Type: String

Required. The path to a package in the local file system. The AIX platform requires source to be a local file system path because installp does not retrieve packages using HTTP or FTP.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
timeout

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out.

version

Ruby Type: String, Array

The version of a package to be installed or upgraded.

Providers

This resource has the following providers:

Chef::Provider::Package, package
When this short name is used, the chef-client will attempt to determine the correct provider during the chef-client run.
Chef::Provider::Package::Aix, bff_package
The provider for the AIX platform. Can be used with the options attribute.

Example

Install a package

The bff_package resource is the default package provider on the AIX platform. The base package resource may be used, and then when the platform is AIX, the chef-client will identify the correct package provider. The following examples show how to install part of the IBM XL C/C++ compiler.

Using the base package resource:

package 'xlccmp.13.1.0' do
  source '/var/tmp/IBM_XL_C_13.1.0/usr/sys/inst.images/xlccmp.13.1.0'
  action :install
end

Using the bff_package resource:

bff_package 'xlccmp.13.1.0' do
  source '/var/tmp/IBM_XL_C_13.1.0/usr/sys/inst.images/xlccmp.13.1.0'
  action :install
end

homebrew_package

Use the homebrew_package resource to manage packages for the macOS platform.

Syntax

A homebrew_package resource block manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the homebrew_package resource is:

homebrew_package 'package_name'

which will install the named package using all of the default options and the default action (:install).

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the homebrew_package resource is:

homebrew_package 'name' do
  homebrew_user              String, Integer
  notifies                   # see description
  options                    String
  package_name               String, Array # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  source                     String
  subscribes                 # see description
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where

  • homebrew_package tells the chef-client to manage a package
  • 'name' is the name of the package
  • action identifies which steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • homebrew_user, options, package_name, source, timeout, and version are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:install
Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.
:nothing
Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:purge
Purge a package. This action typically removes the configuration files as well as the package.
:remove
Remove a package.
:upgrade
Install a package and/or ensure that a package is the latest version.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

homebrew_user

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The name of the Homebrew owner to be used by the chef-client when executing a command.

The chef-client, by default, will attempt to execute a Homebrew command as the owner of /usr/local/bin/brew. If that executable does not exist, the chef-client will attempt to find the user by executing which brew. If that executable cannot be found, the chef-client will print an error message: Could not find the "brew" executable in /usr/local/bin or anywhere on the path.. Use the homebrew_user attribute to specify the Homebrew owner for situations where the chef-client cannot automatically detect the correct owner.

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
options

Ruby Type: String

One (or more) additional options that are passed to the command.

package_name

Ruby Type: String, Array

The name of the package. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

source

Ruby Type: String

Optional. The path to a package in the local file system.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
timeout

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out.

version

Ruby Type: String, Array

The version of a package to be installed or upgraded.

Providers

This resource has the following providers:

Chef::Provider::Package, package
When this short name is used, the chef-client will attempt to determine the correct provider during the chef-client run.
Chef::Provider::Package::Homebrew, homebrew_package
The provider for the macOS platform.

Example

Install a package

homebrew_package 'name of package' do
  action :install
end

Specify the Homebrew user with a UUID

homebrew_package 'emacs' do
  homebrew_user 1001
end

Specify the Homebrew user with a string

homebrew_package 'vim' do
  homebrew_user 'user1'
end

reboot

Use the reboot resource to reboot a node, a necessary step with some installations on certain platforms. This resource is supported for use on the Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.

Syntax

A reboot resource block reboots a node:

reboot 'app_requires_reboot' do
  action :request_reboot
  reason 'Need to reboot when the run completes successfully.'
  delay_mins 5
end

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the reboot resource is:

reboot 'name' do
  delay_mins                 Fixnum
  notifies                   # see description
  reason                     String
  subscribes                 # see description
  action                     Symbol
end

where

  • reboot is the resource
  • name is the name of the resource block
  • action identifies the steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • delay_mins and reason are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

The reboot resource has the following actions:

:cancel
Cancel a reboot request.
:nothing
Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the Chef Client run.
:reboot_now
Reboot a node so that the chef-client may continue the installation process.
:request_reboot
Reboot a node at the end of a chef-client run.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

delay_mins

Ruby Type: Fixnum

The amount of time (in minutes) to delay a reboot request.

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timer is available:

:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.
reason

Ruby Type: String

A string that describes the reboot action.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timer is available:

:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

Providers

This resource has the following providers:

Chef::Provider::Reboot, reboot
The provider that is used to reboot a node.

Example

Reboot a node immediately

reboot 'now' do
  action :nothing
  reason 'Cannot continue Chef run without a reboot.'
  delay_mins 2
end

execute 'foo' do
  command '...'
  notifies :reboot_now, 'reboot[now]', :immediately
end

Reboot a node at the end of a chef-client run

reboot 'app_requires_reboot' do
  action :request_reboot
  reason 'Need to reboot when the run completes successfully.'
  delay_mins 5
end

Cancel a reboot

reboot 'cancel_reboot_request' do
  action :cancel
  reason 'Cancel a previous end-of-run reboot request.'
end

windows_service

Use the windows_service resource to manage a service on the Microsoft Windows platform.

Syntax

A windows_service resource block manages the state of a service on a machine that is running Microsoft Windows. For example:

windows_service 'BITS' do
  action :configure_startup
  startup_type :manual
end

The full syntax for all of the properties that are available to the windows_service resource is:

windows_service 'name' do
  init_command               String
  notifies                   # see description
  pattern                    String
  provider                   Chef::Provider::Service::Windows
  reload_command             String
  restart_command            String
  run_as_password            String
  run_as_user                String
  service_name               String # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  start_command              String
  startup_type               Symbol
  status_command             String
  stop_command               String
  subscribes                 # see description
  supports                   Hash
  timeout                    Integer
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :nothing if not specified
end

where

  • windows_service is the resource
  • name is the name of the resource block
  • action identifies the steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
  • init_command, pattern, reload_command, restart_command, run_as_password, run_as_user, service_name, start_command, startup_type, status_command, stop_command, supports, and timeout are properties of this resource, with the Ruby type shown. See “Properties” section below for more information about all of the properties that may be used with this resource.

Actions

This resource has the following actions:

:configure_startup
Configure a service based on the value of the startup_type property.
:disable
Disable a service. This action is equivalent to a Disabled startup type on the Microsoft Windows platform.
:enable
Enable a service at boot. This action is equivalent to an Automatic startup type on the Microsoft Windows platform.
:nothing
Default. Do nothing with a service.
:reload
Reload the configuration for this service.
:restart
Restart a service.
:start
Start a service, and keep it running until stopped or disabled.
:stop
Stop a service.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

ignore_failure

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason.

init_command

Ruby Type: String

The path to the init script that is associated with the service. This is typically /etc/init.d/SERVICE_NAME. The init_command property can be used to prevent the need to specify overrides for the start_command, stop_command, and restart_command attributes.

notifies

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may notify another resource to take action when its state changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action that resource should take, and then the :timer for that action. A resource may notify more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for notifies is:

notifies :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
pattern

Ruby Type: String

The pattern to look for in the process table. Default value: service_name.

reload_command

Ruby Type: String

The command used to tell a service to reload its configuration.

restart_command

Ruby Type: String

The command used to restart a service.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The retry delay (in seconds).

run_as_password

Ruby Type: String

The password for the user specified by run_as_user.

run_as_user

Ruby Type: String

The user under which a Microsoft Windows service runs.

service_name

Ruby Type: String

The name of the service. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

start_command

Ruby Type: String

The command used to start a service.

startup_type

Ruby Type: Symbol

Use to specify the startup type for a Microsoft Windows service. Possible values: :automatic, :disabled, or :manual. Default value: :automatic.

status_command

Ruby Type: String

The command used to check the run status for a service.

stop_command

Ruby Type: String

The command used to stop a service.

subscribes

Ruby Type: Symbol, ‘Chef::Resource[String]’

A resource may listen to another resource, and then take action if the state of the resource being listened to changes. Specify a 'resource[name]', the :action to be taken, and then the :timer for that action.

Note that subscribes does not apply the specified action to the resource that it listens to - for example:

file '/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt' do
   mode '0600'
   owner 'root'
end

service 'nginx' do
   subscribes :reload, 'file[/etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt]', :immediately
end

In this case the subscribes property reloads the nginx service whenever its certificate file, located under /etc/nginx/ssl/example.crt, is updated. subscribes does not make any changes to the certificate file itself, it merely listens for a change to the file, and executes the :reload action for its resource (in this example nginx) when a change is detected.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-client run at which a notification is run. The following timers are available:

:delayed
Default. Specifies that a notification should be queued up, and then executed at the very end of the chef-client run.
:immediate, :immediately
Specifies that a notification should be run immediately, per resource notified.

The syntax for subscribes is:

subscribes :action, 'resource[name]', :timer
supports

Ruby Type: Hash

A list of properties that controls how the chef-client is to attempt to manage a service: :restart, :reload, :status. For :restart, the init script or other service provider can use a restart command; if :restart is not specified, the chef-client attempts to stop and then start a service. For :reload, the init script or other service provider can use a reload command. For :status, the init script or other service provider can use a status command to determine if the service is running; if :status is not specified, the chef-client attempts to match the service_name against the process table as a regular expression, unless a pattern is specified as a parameter property. Default value: { :restart => false, :reload => false, :status => false } for all platforms (except for the Red Hat platform family, which defaults to { :restart => false, :reload => false, :status => true }.)

timeout

Ruby Type: Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out. Default value: 60.

Example

Start a service manually

windows_service 'BITS' do
  action :configure_startup
  startup_type :manual
end

knife bootstrap Settings

The following options are new:

--[no-]node-verify-api-cert
Verify the SSL certificate on the Chef server. When true, the chef-client always verifies the SSL certificate. When false, the chef-client uses the value of ssl_verify_mode to determine if the SSL certificate requires verification. If this option is not specified, the setting for verify_api_cert in the configuration file is applied.
--node-ssl-verify-mode PEER_OR_NONE

Set the verify mode for HTTPS requests.

Use none to do no validation of SSL certificates.

Use peer to do validation of all SSL certificates, including the Chef server connections, S3 connections, and any HTTPS remote_file resource URLs used in the chef-client run. This is the recommended setting.

-t TEMPLATE, --bootstrap-template TEMPLATE

The bootstrap template to use. This may be the name of a bootstrap template—chef-full, for example—or it may be the full path to an Embedded Ruby (ERB) template that defines a custom bootstrap. Default value: chef-full, which installs the chef-client using the omnibus installer on all supported platforms.

Note

The --distro and --template-file options are deprecated.

knife status Settings

The following options are new:

-l, --long
Display all attributes in the output and show the output as JSON.
-m, --medium
Display normal attributes in the output and to show the output as JSON.

fsck_device Property

The following property is new for the mount resource:

Property Description
fsck_device The fsck device on the Solaris platform. Default value: -.

metadata.rb Settings

The following settings are new:

Setting Description
issues_url

The URL for the location in which a cookbook’s issue tracking is maintained. This setting is also used by Chef Supermarket. For example:

source_url "https://github.com/chef-cookbooks/chef-client/issues"
source_url

The URL for the location in which a cookbook’s source code is maintained. This setting is also used by Chef Supermarket. For example:

source_url "https://github.com/chef-cookbooks/chef-client"

Warning

The name attribute is now a required setting in the metadata.rb file.

http_request Actions

The :get and :head actions appended a hard-coded query string—?message=resource_name—that cannot be overridden. This hard-coded string is deprecated in the chef-client 12.0 release. Cookbooks that rely on this string need to be updated to manually add it to the URL as it is passed to the resource.

Recipe DSL

The following methods have been added to the Recipe DSL: shell_out, shell_out!, and shell_out_with_systems_locale.

shell_out

The shell_out method can be used to run a command against the node, and then display the output to the console when the log level is set to debug.

The syntax for the shell_out method is as follows:

shell_out(command_args)

where command_args is the command that is run against the node.

shell_out!

The shell_out! method can be used to run a command against the node, display the output to the console when the log level is set to debug, and then raise an error when the method returns false.

The syntax for the shell_out! method is as follows:

shell_out!(command_args)

where command_args is the command that is run against the node. This method will return true or false.

shell_out_with_systems_locale

The shell_out_with_systems_locale method can be used to run a command against the node (via the shell_out method), but using the LC_ALL environment variable.

The syntax for the shell_out_with_systems_locale method is as follows:

shell_out_with_systems_locale(command_args)

where command_args is the command that is run against the node.

value_for_platform

The value_for_platform helper may use version constraints, such as >= and ~> to help resolve situations where version numbers look like 7.0.<buildnumber>. For example:

value_for_platform(
  "redhat" => {
    "~> 7.0" => "version 7.x.y"
    ">= 8.0" => "version 8.0.0 and greater"
  }
}

Note

When two version constraints match it is considered ambiguous and will raise an exception. An exact match, however, will always take precedence over a version constraint.

File Specificity

The pattern for file specificity depends on two things: the lookup path and the source attribute. The first pattern that matches is used:

  1. /host-$fqdn/$source
  2. /$platform-$platform_version/$source
  3. /$platform/$source
  4. /default/$source
  5. /$source

Use an array with the source attribute to define an explicit lookup path. For example:

file '/conf.py' do
  source ["#{node.chef_environment}.py", 'conf.py']
end

or:

template '/test' do
  source ["#{node.chef_environment}.erb", 'default.erb']
end

macOS, Passwords

The following properties are new for the user resource:

Property Description
iterations The number of iterations for a password with a SALTED-SHA512-PBKDF2 shadow hash.
salt The salt value for a password shadow hash. macOS version 10.7 uses SALTED-SHA512 and version 10.8 (and higher) uses SALTED-SHA512-PBKDF2 to calculate password shadow hashes.

Use SALTED-SHA512 passwords

macOS 10.7 calculates the password shadow hash using SALTED-SHA512. The length of the shadow hash value is 68 bytes, the salt value is the first 4 bytes, with the remaining 64 being the shadow hash itself. The following code will calculate password shadow hashes for macOS 10.7:

password = 'my_awesome_password'
salt = OpenSSL::Random.random_bytes(4)
encoded_password = OpenSSL::Digest::SHA512.hexdigest(salt + password)
shadow_hash = salt.unpack('H*').first + encoded_password

Use the calculated password shadow hash with the user resource:

user 'my_awesome_user' do
  password 'c9b3bd....d843'  # Length: 136
end

Use SALTED-SHA512-PBKDF2 passwords

macOS 10.8 (and higher) calculates the password shadow hash using SALTED-SHA512-PBKDF2. The length of the shadow hash value is 128 bytes, the salt value is 32 bytes, and an integer specifies the number of iterations. The following code will calculate password shadow hashes for macOS 10.8 (and higher):

password = 'my_awesome_password'
salt = OpenSSL::Random.random_bytes(32)
iterations = 25000 # Any value above 20k should be fine.

shadow_hash = OpenSSL::PKCS5::pbkdf2_hmac(
  password,
  salt,
  iterations,
  128,
  OpenSSL::Digest::SHA512.new
).unpack('H*').first
salt_value = salt.unpack('H*').first

Use the calculated password shadow hash with the user resource:

user 'my_awesome_user' do
  password 'cbd1a....fc843'  # Length: 256
  salt 'bd1a....fc83'        # Length: 64
  iterations 25000
end

chef-client Options

The following options are updated for the chef-client executable:

--chef-zero-port PORT
The port on which chef-zero listens. If a port is not specified—individually or as range of ports from within the command—the chef-client will scan for ports between 8889-9999 and will pick the first port that is available. This port or port range may also be specified using the chef_zero.port setting in the client.rb file.
-o RUN_LIST_ITEM, --override-runlist RUN_LIST_ITEM
Replace the current run-list with the specified items. This option will not clear the list of cookbooks (and related files) that is cached on the node.

The following configuration settings are updated for the client.rb file and now default to true:

Setting Description
disable_event_logger Enable or disable sending events to the Microsoft Windows “Application” event log. When false, events are sent to the Microsoft Windows “Application” event log at the start and end of a chef-client run, and also if a chef-client run fails. Set to true to disable event logging. Default value: true.
no_lazy_load Download all cookbook files and templates at the beginning of the chef-client run. Default value: true.
file_staging_uses_destdir How file staging (via temporary files) is done. When true, temporary files are created in the directory in which files will reside. When false, temporary files are created under ENV['TMP']. Default value: true.
local_key_generation Use to specify whether the Chef server or chef-client will generate the private/public key pair. When true, the chef-client will generate the key pair, and then send the public key to the Chef server. Default value: true.

Filter Search Results

Use :filter_result as part of a search query to filter the search output based on the pattern specified by a Hash. Only attributes in the Hash will be returned.

Note

Prior to chef-client 12.0, this functionality was available from the partial_search cookbook and was referred to as “partial search”.

The syntax for the search method that uses :filter_result is as follows:

search(:index, 'query',
  :filter_result => { 'foo' => [ 'abc' ],
                      'bar' => [ '123' ],
                      'baz' => [ 'sea', 'power' ]
                    }
      ).each do |result|
  puts result['foo']
  puts result['bar']
  puts result['baz']
end

where:

  • :index is of name of the index on the Chef server against which the search query will run: :client, :data_bag_name, :environment, :node, and :role
  • 'query' is a valid search query against an object on the Chef server
  • :filter_result defines a Hash of values to be returned

For example:

search(:node, 'role:web',
  :filter_result => { 'name' => [ 'name' ],
                      'ip' => [ 'ipaddress' ],
                      'kernel_version' => [ 'kernel', 'version' ]
                    }
      ).each do |result|
  puts result['name']
  puts result['ip']
  puts result['kernel_version']
end

execute Resource, path Property

The path property has been deprecated and will throw an exception in Chef Client 12 or later. We recommend you use the environment property instead.

git Property

The following property is new for the git resource:

Property Description
environment

A Hash of environment variables in the form of ({"ENV_VARIABLE" => "VALUE"}). (These variables must exist for a command to be run successfully.)

Note

The git provider automatically sets the ENV['HOME'] and ENV['GIT_SSH'] environment variables. To override this behavior and provide different values, add ENV['HOME'] and/or ENV['GIT_SSH'] to the environment Hash.

Chef::Provider, Custom Resources

If a custom resource was created in the /libraries directory of a cookbook that also uses a core resource from the chef-client within the custom resource, the base class that is associated with that custom resource must be updated. In previous versions of the chef-client, the Chef::Provider class was all that was necessary because the Recipe DSL was included in the Chef::Provider base class.

For example, the lvm_logical_volume custom resource from the lvm cookbook uses the directory and mount resources:

class Chef
  class Provider
    class LvmLogicalVolume < Chef::Provider
      include Chef::Mixin::ShellOut

      ...
      if new_resource.mount_point
        if new_resource.mount_point.is_a?(String)
          mount_spec = { :location => new_resource.mount_point }
        else
          mount_spec = new_resource.mount_point
        end

        dir_resource = directory mount_spec[:location] do
          mode '0755'
          owner 'root'
          group 'root'
          recursive true
          action :nothing
          not_if { Pathname.new(mount_spec[:location]).mountpoint? }
        end
        dir_resource.run_action(:create)
        updates << dir_resource.updated?

        mount_resource = mount mount_spec[:location] do
          options mount_spec[:options]
          dump mount_spec[:dump]
          pass mount_spec[:pass]
          device device_name
          fstype fs_type
          action :nothing
        end
        mount_resource.run_action(:mount)
        mount_resource.run_action(:enable)
        updates << mount_resource.updated?
      end
      new_resource.updated_by_last_action(updates.any?)
    end

Starting with chef-client 12, the Recipe DSL is removed from the Chef::Provider base class and is only available by using LWRPBase. Cookbooks that contain custom resources authored for the chef-client 11 version should be inspected and updated.

Cookbooks that contain custom resources in the /libraries directory of a cookbook should:

  • Be inspected for instances of a) the Chef::Provider base class, and then b) for the presence of any core resources from the chef-client
  • Be updated to use the LWRPBase base class

For example:

class Chef
  class Provider
    class LvmLogicalVolume < Chef::Provider::LWRPBase
      include Chef::Mixin::ShellOut

      ...
      if new_resource.mount_point
        if new_resource.mount_point.is_a?(String)
          mount_spec = { :location => new_resource.mount_point }
        else
          mount_spec = new_resource.mount_point
        end

        dir_resource = directory mount_spec[:location] do
          mode '0755'
          owner 'root'
          group 'root'
          recursive true
          action :nothing
          not_if { Pathname.new(mount_spec[:location]).mountpoint? }
        end
        dir_resource.run_action(:create)
        updates << dir_resource.updated?

        mount_resource = mount mount_spec[:location] do
          options mount_spec[:options]
          dump mount_spec[:dump]
          pass mount_spec[:pass]
          device device_name
          fstype fs_type
          action :nothing
        end
        mount_resource.run_action(:mount)
        mount_resource.run_action(:enable)
        updates << mount_resource.updated?
      end
      new_resource.updated_by_last_action(updates.any?)
    end

SSL Certificates

Chef server 12 enables SSL verification by default for all requests made to the server, such as those made by knife and the chef-client. The certificate that is generated during the installation of the Chef server is self-signed, which means the certificate is not signed by a trusted certificate authority (CA) that ships with the chef-client. The certificate generated by the Chef server must be downloaded to any machine from which knife and/or the chef-client will make requests to the Chef server.

For example, without downloading the SSL certificate, the following knife command:

$ knife client list

responds with an error similar to:

ERROR: SSL Validation failure connecting to host: chef-server.example.com ...
ERROR: OpenSSL::SSL::SSLError: SSL_connect returned=1 errno=0 state=SSLv3 ...

This is by design and will occur until a verifiable certificate is added to the machine from which the request is sent.

See SSL Certificates for more information about how knife and the chef-client use SSL certificates generated by the Chef server.

Encrypted Databag Version 3

Chef 12.0 includes a new version 3.0 encrypted databag format using the aes-256-gcm cipher for enhanced security. The default version remains 1.0 for compatibility with chef-client version 11.0. The new version can be enabled in environments running Chef 12.0 by setting data_bag_encrypt_version 3 in the client.rb / config.rb files.