chef-solo (executable)
chef-solo is a command that executes Chef Infra Client in a way that does not require the Chef Infra Server to converge cookbooks. chef-solo uses Chef Infra Client’s Chef local mode, and does not support the following functionality present in Chef Infra Client / server configurations:
- Centralized distribution of cookbooks
- A centralized API that interacts with and integrates infrastructure components
- Authentication or authorization
Note
chef-solo can be run as a daemon.
The chef-solo executable is run as a command-line tool.
Options
This command has the following syntax:
chef-solo OPTION VALUE OPTION VALUE ...
This command has the following options:
-c CONFIG
,--config CONFIG
The configuration file to use.
-d
,--daemonize
Run the executable as a daemon. This option may not be used in the same command with the
--[no-]fork
option. This option is only available on machines that run in UNIX or Linux environments. For machines that are running Windows that require similar functionality, use thechef-client::service
recipe in thechef-client
cookbook: https://supermarket.chef.io/cookbooks/chef-client. This will install a Chef Infra Client service under Windows using the Windows Service Wrapper.-E ENVIRONMENT_NAME
,--environment ENVIRONMENT_NAME
The name of the environment.
-f
,--[no-]fork
Contains Chef Infra Client runs in a secondary process with dedicated RAM. When a Chef Infra Client run is complete, the RAM is returned to the master process. This option helps ensure that a Chef Infra Client uses a steady amount of RAM over time because the master process does not run recipes. This option also helps prevent memory leaks such as those that can be introduced by the code contained within a poorly designed cookbook. Use
--no-fork
to disable running Chef Infra Client in fork node. Default value:--fork
. This option may not be used in the same command with the--daemonize
and--interval
options.-F FORMAT
,--format FORMAT
The output format:
doc
(default) ormin
.- Use
doc
to print the progress of a Chef Infra Client run using full strings that display a summary of updates as they occur. - Use
min
to print the progress of a Chef Infra Client run using single characters.
A summary of updates is printed at the end of a Chef Infra Client run. A dot (
.
) is printed for events that do not have meaningful status information, such as loading a file or synchronizing a cookbook. For resources, a dot (.
) is printed when the resource is up to date, anS
is printed when the resource is skipped bynot_if
oronly_if
, and aU
is printed when the resource is updated.Other formatting options are available when those formatters are configured in the client.rb file using the
add_formatter
option.- Use
--force-formatter
Show formatter output instead of logger output.
--force-logger
Show logger output instead of formatter output.
-g GROUP
,--group GROUP
The name of the group that owns a process. This is required when starting any executable as a daemon.
-h
,--help
Show help for the command.
-i SECONDS
,--interval SECONDS
The frequency (in seconds) at which Chef Infra Client runs. When running Chef Infra Client at intervals, apply
--splay
and--interval
values before a Chef Infra Client run. This option may not be used in the same command with the--[no-]fork
option.-j PATH
,--json-attributes PATH
The path to a file that contains JSON data.
Use this option to define a
run_list
object. For example, a JSON file similar to:"run_list": [ "recipe[base]", "recipe[foo]", "recipe[bar]", "role[webserver]" ],
may be used by running
chef-client -j path/to/file.json
.In certain situations this option may be used to update
normal
attributes.Warning
Any other attribute type that is contained in this JSON file will be treated as a
normal
attribute. Setting attributes at other precedence levels is not possible. For example, attempting to updateoverride
attributes using the-j
option:{ "name": "dev-99", "description": "Install some stuff", "override_attributes": { "apptastic": { "enable_apptastic": "false", "apptastic_tier_name": "dev-99.bomb.com" } } }
will result in a node object similar to:
{ "name": "maybe-dev-99", "normal": { "name": "dev-99", "description": "Install some stuff", "override_attributes": { "apptastic": { "enable_apptastic": "false", "apptastic_tier_name": "dev-99.bomb.com" } } } }
-l LEVEL
,--log_level LEVEL
The level of logging to be stored in a log file. Possible levels:
auto
(default),debug
,error
,fatal
,info
,trace
, orwarn
. Default value:warn
(when a terminal is available) orinfo
(when a terminal is not available).-L LOGLOCATION
,--logfile c
The location of the log file. This is recommended when starting any executable as a daemon.
--legacy-mode
Cause Chef Infra Client to use the original chef-solo mode instead of chef local mode. This is not recommended. Removed in Chef Infra Client 14.
--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.--[no-]color
View colored output. Default setting:
--color
.-N NODE_NAME
,--node-name NODE_NAME
The unique identifier of the node.
-o RUN_LIST_ITEM
,--override-runlist RUN_LIST_ITEM
Replace the current run-list with the specified items.
-r RECIPE_URL
,--recipe-url RECIPE_URL
The URL of the remote cookbook
tar.gz
file that you want to download.In Chef Infra Client 14, the short
-r
form will be removed, as it conflicts with the ability to specify a run list.--run-lock-timeout SECONDS
The amount of time (in seconds) to wait for a Chef Infra Client lock file to be deleted. Default value: not set (indefinite). Set to
0
to cause a second Chef Infra Client to exit immediately.-s SECONDS
,--splay SECONDS
A random number between zero and
splay
that is added tointerval
. Use splay to help balance the load on the Chef Infra Server by ensuring that many Chef Infra Client runs are not occurring at the same interval. When running Chef Infra Client at intervals, apply--splay
and--interval
values before a Chef Infra Client run.-u USER
,--user USER
The user that owns a process. This is required when starting any executable as a daemon.
-v
,--version
The Chef Infra Client version.
-W
,--why-run
Run the executable in why-run mode, which is a type of Chef Infra Client run that does everything except modify the system. Use why-run mode to understand the decisions that Chef Infra Client makes during a run and to learn more about the current and proposed state of the system.
Run as Non-root User
Warning
This configuration for the chef
user provides root-level access through Chef script files that call system commands with sudo
privileges.
Use an alternative approach if your security profile forbids the chef
user from having built-in root level access.
chef-solo may be run as a non-root user. For example, you can update the sudoers
file:
# chef-solo privilege specification
chef ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/chef-solo
where chef
is the name of the non-root user. This would allow chef-solo to run any command on the node without requiring a password.
Examples
Run chef-solo using solo.rb settings
chef-solo -c ~/chef/solo.rb
Use a URL
chef-solo -c ~/solo.rb -j ~/node.json -r http://www.example.com/chef-solo.tar.gz
The tar.gz is archived into the file_cache_path
, and then extracted to
cookbooks_path
.
Use a directory
chef-solo -c ~/solo.rb -j ~/node.json
chef-solo will look in the solo.rb
file to determine the directory in which cookbooks are located.
Use a URL for cookbook and JSON data
chef-solo -c ~/solo.rb -j http://www.example.com/node.json --recipe-url http://www.example.com/chef-solo.tar.gz
where --recipe-url
corresponds to recipe_url
and -j
corresponds to json_attribs
, both of which are configuration options in solo.rb
.