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Use the powershell_package resource to install and manage packages via the PowerShell Package Manager for the Microsoft Windows platform. The powershell_package resource requires administrative access, and a source must be configured in the PowerShell Package Manager via the Register-PackageSource command or the powershell_package_source resource.

New in Chef Infra Client 12.16.

Syntax

A powershell_package resource block manages a package on a node, typically by installing it. The simplest use of the powershell_package resource is:

powershell_package 'package_name'

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

The powershell_package resource has the following syntax:

powershell_package 'name' do
  options                   String, Array
  package_name              String, Array
  skip_publisher_check      true, false # default value: false
  source                    String
  timeout                   String, Integer
  version                   String, Array
  action                    Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where:

• powershell_package is the resource.
• name is the name given to the resource block.
• action identifies which steps Chef Infra Client will take to bring the node into the desired state.
• options, package_name, skip_publisher_check, source, timeout, and version are the properties available to this resource.

Actions

The powershell_package resource has the following actions:

:install

Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.

:remove

Remove a package.

Properties

The powershell_package resource has the following properties:

options

Ruby Type: String, Array

One (or more) additional command 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.

skip_publisher_check

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Skip validating module author.

New in Chef Client 14.3

source

Ruby Type: String

Specify the source of the package.

New in Chef Client 14.0

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.

Common Resource Functionality

Chef resources include common properties, notifications, and resource guards.

Common Properties

The following properties are common to every resource:

compile_time

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Control the phase during which the resource is run on the node. Set to true to run while the resource collection is being built (the compile phase). Set to false to run while Chef Infra Client is configuring the node (the converge phase).

ignore_failure

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

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason. :quiet will not display the full stack trace and the recipe will continue to run if a resource fails.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 0

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

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer | Default Value: 2

The delay in seconds between retry attempts.

sensitive

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Ensure that sensitive resource data is not logged by Chef Infra Client.

Notifications

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.

If the referenced resource does not exist, an error is raised. In contrast, subscribes will not fail if the source resource is not found.

A timer specifies the point during a Chef Infra 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 a Chef Infra 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

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.

If the other resource does not exist, the subscription will not raise an error. Contrast this with the stricter semantics of notifies, which will raise an error if the other resource does not exist.

A timer specifies the point during a Chef Infra 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 a Chef Infra 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

Guards

A guard property can be used to evaluate the state of a node during the execution phase of a Chef Infra Client run. Based on the results of this evaluation, a guard property is then used to tell Chef Infra Client if it should continue executing a resource. A guard property accepts either a string value or a Ruby block value:

• A string is executed as a shell command. If the command returns 0, the guard is applied. If the command returns any other value, then the guard property is not applied. String guards in a powershell_script run Windows PowerShell commands and may return true in addition to 0.
• A block is executed as Ruby code that must return either true or false. If the block returns true, the guard property is applied. If the block returns false, the guard property is not applied.

A guard property is useful for ensuring that a resource is idempotent by allowing that resource to test for the desired state as it is being executed, and then if the desired state is present, for Chef Infra Client to do nothing.

The following properties can be used to define a guard that is evaluated during the execution phase of a Chef Infra Client run:

not_if

Prevent a resource from executing when the condition returns true.

only_if

Allow a resource to execute only if the condition returns true.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate various approaches for using the powershell_package resource in recipes:

Install a specific version of a package:

powershell_package 'xCertificate' do
  action :install
  version '1.1.0.0'
end

Install multiple packages:

powershell_package 'Install Multiple Packages' do
  action :install
  package_name %w(xCertificate xNetworking)
end

Install a package from a custom source:

powershell_package 'xCertificate' do
  action :install
  source 'MyGallery'
end

Install multiple packages, and specify package versions:

powershell_package 'Install Multiple Packages' do
  action :install
  package_name %w(xCertificate xNetworking)
  version ['2.0.0.0', '2.12.0.0']
end

Install multiple packages, specifying the package version for one package but not the other:

powershell_package 'Install Multiple Packages' do
   action :install
   package_name %w(xCertificate xNetworking)
   version [nil, '2.12.0.0']
 end

In this example, the nil tells powershell_package to install the most up to date version of xCertificate that is available, while pinning xNetworking to version 2.12.0.0.

Remove a package:

powershell_package 'xCertificate' do
  action :remove
end