homebrew_package resource¶

Use the homebrew_package resource to manage packages for the macOS 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 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:

: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¶

The following examples demonstrate various approaches for using resources in recipes. If you want to see examples of how Chef uses resources in recipes, take a closer look at the cookbooks that Chef authors and maintains: https://github.com/chef-cookbooks.

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