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A cookbook template is an Embedded Ruby (ERB) template that is used to dynamically generate static text files. Templates may contain Ruby expressions and statements, and are a great way to manage configuration files. Use the template resource to add cookbook templates to recipes; place the corresponding Embedded Ruby (ERB) template file in a cookbook’s /templates directory.

Use the template resource to manage the contents of a file using an Embedded Ruby (ERB) template by transferring files from a sub-directory of COOKBOOK_NAME/templates/ to a specified path located on a host that is running Chef Infra Client. This resource includes actions and properties from the file resource. Template files managed by the template resource follow the same file specificity rules as the remote_file and file resources.

Syntax

A template resource block typically declares the location in which a file is to be created, the source template that will be used to create the file, and the permissions needed on that file. For example:

template '/etc/motd' do
  source 'motd.erb'
  owner 'root'
  group 'root'
  mode '0755'
end

where:

• '/etc/motd' specifies the location in which the file is created
• 'motd.erb' specifies the name of a template that exists in in the /templates folder of a cookbook
• owner, group, and mode define the permissions

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

template 'name' do
  atomic_update              true, false
  backup                     false, Integer
  cookbook                   String
  force_unlink               true, false
  group                      String, Integer
  helper(:method)            Method { String } # see Helpers below
  helpers(module)            Module # see Helpers below
  inherits                   true, false
  local                      true, false
  manage_symlink_source      true, false
  mode                       String, Integer
  owner                      String, Integer
  path                       String # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  rights                     Hash
  sensitive                  true, false
  source                     String, Array
  variables                  Hash
  verify                     String, Block
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :create if not specified
end

where:

• template is the resource
• name is the name of the resource block, typically the path to the location in which a file is created and also the name of the file to be managed. For example: /var/www/html/index.html, where /var/www/html/ is the fully qualified path to the location and index.html is the name of the file
• source is the template file that will be used to create the file on the node, for example: index.html.erb; the template file is located in the /templates directory of a cookbook
• action identifies the steps Chef Infra Client will take to bring the node into the desired state
• atomic_update, backup, cookbook, force_unlink, group, helper, helpers, inherits, local, manage_symlink_source, mode, owner, path, rights, source, variables, and verify 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 template resource has the following actions:

:create

Default. Create a file. If a file already exists (but does not match), update that file to match.

:create_if_missing

Create a file only if the file does not exist. When the file exists, nothing happens.

:delete

Delete a file.

:nothing

This resource block does not act unless notified by another resource to take action. Once notified, this resource block either runs immediately or is queued up to run at the end of a Chef Infra Client run.

:touch

Touch a file. This updates the access (atime) and file modification (mtime) times for a file. (This action may be used with this resource, but is typically only used with the file resource.)

Properties

The template resource has the following properties:

atomic_update

Ruby Type: true, false

Perform atomic file updates on a per-resource basis. Set to true for atomic file updates. Set to false for non-atomic file updates. This setting overrides file_atomic_update, which is a global setting found in the client.rb file.

backup

Ruby Type: Integer, false | Default Value: 5

The number of backups to be kept in /var/chef/backup (for UNIX- and Linux-based platforms) or C:/chef/backup (for the Microsoft Windows platform). Set to false to prevent backups from being kept.

cookbook

Ruby Type: String

The cookbook in which a file is located (if it is not located in the current cookbook). The default value is the current cookbook.

force_unlink

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

How Chef Infra Client handles certain situations when the target file turns out not to be a file. For example, when a target file is actually a symlink. Set to true for Chef Infra Client to delete the non-file target and replace it with the specified file. Set to false for Chef Infra Client to raise an error.

group

Ruby Type: Integer, String

A string or ID that identifies the group owner by group name or SID, including fully qualified group names such as domain\group or group@domain. If this value is not specified, existing groups remain unchanged and new group assignments use the default POSIX group (if available).

helper

Ruby Type: Method | Default Value: {}

Define a helper method inline. For example: helper(:hello_world) { "hello world" } or helper(:app) { node["app"] } or helper(:app_conf) { |setting| node["app"][setting] }.

helpers

Ruby Type: Module | Default Value: []

Define a helper module inline or in a library. For example, an inline module: helpers do, which is then followed by a block of Ruby code. And for a library module: helpers(MyHelperModule).

inherits

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: true

Microsoft Windows only. Whether a file inherits rights from its parent directory.

local

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Load a template from a local path. By default, Chef Infra Client loads templates from a cookbook’s /templates directory. When this property is set to true, use the source property to specify the path to a template on the local node.

manage_symlink_source

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: true

(with warning)

Change the behavior of the file resource if it is pointed at a symlink. When this value is set to true, Chef Infra Client will manage the symlink’s permissions or will replace the symlink with a normal file if the resource has content. When this value is set to false, Chef will follow the symlink and will manage the permissions and content of the symlink’s target file.

The default behavior is true but emits a warning that the default value will be changed to false in a future version; setting this explicitly to true or false suppresses this warning.

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 file already exists, the existing mode on the file is used. If mode is not specified, the file does not exist, and the :create action is specified, Chef Infra Client assumes a mask value of '0777' and then applies the umask for the system on which the file is to be created to the mask value. For example, if the umask on a system is '022', Chef Infra 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.

owner

Ruby Type: Integer, String

A string or ID that identifies the group owner by user name or SID, 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 | Default Value: The resource block's name

The full path to the file, including the file name and its extension.

Microsoft Windows: A path that begins with a forward slash (/) will point to the root of the current working directory of Chef Infra Client process. This path can vary from system to system. Therefore, using a path that begins with a forward slash (/) is not recommended.

rights

Ruby Type: Integer, String

Microsoft Windows only. The permissions for users and groups in a Microsoft Windows environment. For example: rights <permissions>, <principal>, <options> where <permissions> specifies the rights granted to the principal, <principal> is the group or user name, and <options> is a Hash with one (or more) advanced rights options.

source

Ruby Type: String, Array

The location of a template file. By default, Chef Infra Client looks for a template file in the /templates directory of a cookbook. When the local property is set to true, use to specify the path to a template on the local node. This property may also be used to distribute specific files to specific platforms. See “File Specificity” below for more information. Default value: the name of the resource block. See “Syntax” section above for more information.

variables

Ruby Type: Hash

A Hash of variables that are passed into a Ruby template file.

The variables property of the template resource can be used to reference a partial template file by using a Hash. For example:

template '/file/name.txt' do
  variables partials: {
    'partial_name_1.txt.erb' => 'message',
    'partial_name_2.txt.erb' => 'message',
    'partial_name_3.txt.erb' => 'message',
  }
end

where each of the partial template files can then be combined using normal Ruby template patterns within a template file, such as:

<% @partials.each  do |partial, message| %>
  Here is <%= partial %>
  <%= render partial, :variables => {:message => message} %>
<% end %>

verify

Ruby Type: String, Block

A block or a string that returns true or false. A string, when true is executed as a system command.

A block is arbitrary Ruby defined within the resource block by using the verify property. When a block is true, Chef Infra 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

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 Infra Client run will stop and an error is returned.

Atomic File Updates

Atomic updates are used with file-based resources to help ensure that file updates can be made when updating a binary or if disk space runs out.

Atomic updates are enabled by default. They can be managed globally using the file_atomic_update setting in the client.rb file. They can be managed on a per-resource basis using the atomic_update property that is available with the cookbook_file, file, remote_file, and template resources.

Windows File Security

The rights property can be used in a recipe to manage access control lists (ACLs), which allow permissions to be given to multiple users and groups. Use the rights property can be used as many times as necessary; Chef Infra Client will apply them to the file or directory as required. The syntax for the rights property is as follows:

rights permission, principal, option_type => value

where

permission

Use to specify which rights are granted to the principal. The possible values are: :read, :write, read_execute, :modify, :full_control, or an integer.

Integers used for permissions must match the following list FileSystemRights Enum fields.

These permissions are cumulative. If `:write` is specified, then it
includes `:read`. If `:full_control` is specified, then it includes
both `:write` and `:read`.

(For those who know the Microsoft Windows API: `:read` corresponds
to `GENERIC_READ`; `:write` corresponds to `GENERIC_WRITE`;
`:read_execute` corresponds to `GENERIC_READ` and `GENERIC_EXECUTE`;
`:modify` corresponds to `GENERIC_WRITE`, `GENERIC_READ`,
`GENERIC_EXECUTE`, and `DELETE`; `:full_control` corresponds to
`GENERIC_ALL`, which allows a user to change the owner and other
metadata about a file.)

principal

Use to specify a group or user. The principal can be specified by either name or SID. When using name, this is identical to what is entered in the login box for Microsoft Windows, such as user_name, domain\user_name, or user_name@fully_qualified_domain_name. When using a SID, you may use either the standard string representation of a SID (S-R-I-S-S) or one of the SDDL string constants. Chef Infra Client does not need to know if a principal is a user or a group.

option_type

A hash that contains advanced rights options. For example, the rights to a directory that only applies to the first level of children might look something like: rights :write, 'domain\group_name', :one_level_deep => true. Possible option types:

Option Type	Description
:applies_to_children	Specify how permissions are applied to children. Possible values: true to inherit both child directories and files; false to not inherit any child directories or files; :containers_only to inherit only child directories (and not files); :objects_only to recursively inherit files (and not child directories).
:applies_to_self	Indicates whether a permission is applied to the parent directory. Possible values: true to apply to the parent directory or file and its children; false to not apply only to child directories and files.
:one_level_deep	Indicates the depth to which permissions will be applied. Possible values: true to apply only to the first level of children; false to apply to all children.

For example:

resource 'x.txt' do
  rights :read, 'S-1-1-0'
  rights :write, 'domain\group'
  rights :full_control, 'group_name_or_user_name'
  rights :full_control, 'user_name', applies_to_children: true
end

or:

rights :read, %w(Administrators Everyone)
rights :full_control, 'Users', applies_to_children: true
rights :write, 'Sally', applies_to_children: :containers_only, applies_to_self: false, one_level_deep: true

Some other important things to know when using the rights attribute:

• Only inherited rights remain. All existing explicit rights on the object are removed and replaced.
• If rights are not specified, nothing will be changed. Chef Infra Client does not clear out the rights on a file or directory if rights are not specified.
• Changing inherited rights can be expensive. Microsoft Windows will propagate rights to all children recursively due to inheritance. This is a normal aspect of Microsoft Windows, so consider the frequency with which this type of action is necessary and take steps to control this type of action if performance is the primary consideration.

Use the deny_rights property to deny specific rights to specific users. The ordering is independent of using the rights property. For example, it doesn’t matter if rights are granted to everyone is placed before or after deny_rights :read, ['Julian', 'Lewis'], both Julian and Lewis will be unable to read the document. For example:

resource 'x.txt' do
  rights :read, 'Everyone'
  rights :write, 'domain\group'
  rights :full_control, 'group_name_or_user_name'
  rights :full_control, 'user_name', applies_to_children: true
  deny_rights :read, %w(Julian Lewis)
end

or:

deny_rights :full_control, ['Sally']

By default, a file or directory inherits rights from its parent directory. Most of the time this is the preferred behavior, but sometimes it may be necessary to take steps to more specifically control rights. The inherits property can be used to specifically tell Chef Infra Client to apply (or not apply) inherited rights from its parent directory.

For example, the following example specifies the rights for a directory:

directory 'C:\mordor' do
  rights :read, 'MORDOR\Minions'
  rights :full_control, 'MORDOR\Sauron'
end

and then the following example specifies how to use inheritance to deny access to the child directory:

directory 'C:\mordor\mount_doom' do
  rights :full_control, 'MORDOR\Sauron'
  inherits false # Sauron is the only person who should have any sort of access
end

If the deny_rights permission were to be used instead, something could slip through unless all users and groups were denied.

Another example also shows how to specify rights for a directory:

directory 'C:\mordor' do
  rights :read, 'MORDOR\Minions'
  rights :full_control, 'MORDOR\Sauron'
  rights :write, 'SHIRE\Frodo' # Who put that there I didn't put that there
end

but then not use the inherits property to deny those rights on a child directory:

directory 'C:\mordor\mount_doom' do
  deny_rights :read, 'MORDOR\Minions' # Oops, not specific enough
end

Because the inherits property is not specified, Chef Infra Client will default it to true, which will ensure that security settings for existing files remain unchanged.

Using Templates

To use a template, two things must happen:

1. A template resource must be added to a recipe
2. An Embedded Ruby (ERB) template must be added to a cookbook

For example, the following template file and template resource settings can be used to manage a configuration file named /etc/sudoers. Within a cookbook that uses sudo, the following resource could be added to /recipes/default.rb:

template '/etc/sudoers' do
  source 'sudoers.erb'
  mode '0440'
  owner 'root'
  group 'root'
  variables(sudoers_groups: node['authorization']['sudo']['groups'],
            sudoers_users: node['authorization']['sudo']['users'])
end

And then create a template called sudoers.erb and save it to templates/default/sudoers.erb:

#
# /etc/sudoers
#
# Generated by Chef for <%= node['fqdn'] %>
#

Defaults        !lecture,tty_tickets,!fqdn

# User privilege specification
root          ALL=(ALL) ALL

<% @sudoers_users.each  do |user| -%>
<%= user %>   ALL=(ALL) <%= "NOPASSWD:" if @passwordless %>ALL
<% end -%>
# Members of the sysadmin group may gain root privileges
%sysadmin     ALL=(ALL) <%= "NOPASSWD:" if @passwordless %>ALL
<% @sudoers_groups.each do |group| -%>
# Members of the group '<%= group %>' may gain root privileges
<%= group %> ALL=(ALL) <%= "NOPASSWD:" if @passwordless %>ALL
<% end -%>

And then set the default attributes in attributes/default.rb:

default['authorization']['sudo']['groups'] = %w(sysadmin wheel admin)
default['authorization']['sudo']['users'] = %w(jerry greg)

File Specificity

The pattern for template specificity depends on two things: the lookup path and the source. 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 property to define an explicit lookup path. For example:

template '/test' do
  source ["#{node.chef_environment}.erb", 'default.erb']
end

The following example emulates the entire file specificity pattern by defining it as an explicit path:

template '/test' do
  source %W(
    host-#{node['fqdn']}/test.erb
#{node['platform']}-#{node['platform_version']}/test.erb
#{node['platform']}/test.erb
    default/test.erb
  )
end

A cookbook may have a /templates directory structure like this:

/templates/
  windows-10
  windows-6.3
  windows
  default

and a resource that looks something like the following:

template 'C:\path\to\file\text_file.txt' do
  source 'text_file.txt'
  mode '0755'
  owner 'root'
  group 'root'
end

This resource would be matched in the same order as the /templates directory structure. For a node named host-node-desktop that is running Windows 8.1, the second item would be the matching item and the location:

/templates
  windows-10/text_file.txt
  windows-6.3/text_file.txt
  windows/text_file.txt
  default/text_file.txt

Helpers

A helper is a method or a module that can be used to extend a template. There are three approaches:

• An inline helper method
• An inline helper module
• A cookbook library module

Use the helper attribute in a recipe to define an inline helper method. Use the helpers attribute to define an inline helper module or a cookbook library module.

Inline Methods

A template helper method is always defined inline on a per-resource basis. A simple example:

template '/path' do
  helper(:hello_world) { 'hello world' }
end

Another way to define an inline helper method is to reference a node object so that repeated calls to one (or more) cookbook attributes can be done efficiently:

template '/path' do
  helper(:app) { node['app'] }
end

An inline helper method can also take arguments:

template '/path' do
  helper(:app_conf) { |setting| node['app'][setting] }
end

Once declared, a template can then use the helper methods to build a file. For example:

Say hello: <%= hello_world %>

or:

node['app']['listen_port'] is: <%= app['listen_port'] %>

or:

node['app']['log_location'] is: <%= app_conf('log_location') %>

Inline Modules

A template helper module can be defined inline on a per-resource basis. This approach can be useful when a template requires more complex information. For example:

template '/path' do
  helpers do
    def hello_world
      'hello world'
    end

    def app
      node['app']
    end

    def app_conf(setting)
      node['app']['setting']
    end
  end
end

where the hello_world, app, and app_conf(setting) methods comprise the module that extends a template.

Library Modules

A template helper module can be defined in a library. This is useful when extensions need to be reused across recipes or to make it easier to manage code that would otherwise be defined inline on a per-recipe basis.

template '/path/to/template.erb' do
  helpers(MyHelperModule)
end

Host Notation

Partial Templates

A template can be built in a way that allows it to contain references to one (or more) smaller template files. (These smaller template files are also referred to as partials.) A partial can be referenced from a template file in one of the following ways:

• By using the render method in the template file
• By using the template resource and the variables property.

render Method

Use the render method in a template to reference a partial template file:

<%= render 'partial_name.txt.erb', :option => {} %>

where partial_name is the name of the partial template file and :option is one (or more) of the following:

For example:

<%= render 'simple.txt.erb', :variables => {:user => Etc.getlogin }, :local => true %>

Transfer Frequency

Variables

An Embedded Ruby (ERB) template allows Ruby code to be embedded inside a text file within specially formatted tags. Ruby code can be embedded using expressions and statements. An expression is delimited by <%= and %>. For example:

<%= "my name is #{$ruby}" %>

A statement is delimited by a modifier, such as if, elsif, and else. For example:

if false
# this won't happen
elsif nil
      # this won't either
    end

Using a Ruby expression is the most common approach for defining template variables because this is how all variables that are sent to a template are referenced. Whenever a template needs to use an each, if, or end, use a Ruby statement.

When a template is rendered, Ruby expressions and statements are evaluated by Chef Infra Client. The variables listed in the template resource’s variables parameter and in the node object are evaluated. Chef Infra Client then passes these variables to the template, where they will be accessible as instance variables within the template. The node object can be accessed just as if it were part of a recipe, using the same syntax.

For example, a simple template resource like this:

node['fqdn'] = 'latte'
template '/tmp/foo' do
  source 'foo.erb'
  variables(x_men: 'are keen')
end

And a simple Embedded Ruby (ERB) template like this:

The node <%= node[:fqdn] %> thinks the x-men <%= @x_men %>

Would render something like:

The node latte thinks the x-men are keen

Even though this is a very simple example, the full capabilities of Ruby can be used to tackle even the most complex and demanding template requirements.

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 template resource in recipes:

Configure a file from a template

template '/tmp/config.conf' do
  source 'config.conf.erb'
end

Configure a file from a local template

template '/tmp/config.conf' do
  local true
  source '/tmp/config.conf.erb'
end

Configure a file using a variable map

template '/tmp/config.conf' do
  source 'config.conf.erb'
  variables(
    :config_var => node['configs']['config_var']
  )
end

Use the not_if condition

The following example shows how to use the not_if condition to create a file based on a template and using the presence of an attribute value on the node to specify the condition:

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  not_if { node['some_value'] }
end

The following example shows how to use the not_if condition to create a file based on a template and then Ruby code to specify the condition:

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  not_if do
    File.exist?('/etc/passwd')
  end
end

The following example shows how to use the not_if condition to create a file based on a template and using a Ruby block (with curly braces) to specify the condition:

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  not_if { File.exist?('/etc/passwd') }
end

The following example shows how to use the not_if condition to create a file based on a template and using a string to specify the condition:

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  not_if 'test -f /etc/passwd'
end

Use the only_if condition

The following example shows how to use the only_if condition to create a file based on a template and using the presence of an attribute on the node to specify the condition:

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  only_if { node['some_value'] }
end

The following example shows how to use the only_if condition to create a file based on a template, and then use Ruby to specify a condition:

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  only_if { ! ::File.exist?('/etc/passwd') }
end

The following example shows how to use the only_if condition to create a file based on a template and using a string to specify the condition:

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  only_if 'test -f /etc/passwd'
end

Use a whitespace array (%w)

The following example shows how to use a Ruby whitespace array to define a list of configuration tools, and then use that list of tools within the template resource to ensure that all of these configuration tools are using the same RSA key:

%w{openssl.cnf pkitool vars Rakefile}.each do |f|
  template "/etc/openvpn/easy-rsa/#{f}" do
    source "#{f}.erb"
    owner 'root'
    group 'root'
    mode '0755'
  end
end

Use a relative path

template "#{ENV['HOME']}/chef-getting-started.txt" do
  source 'chef-getting-started.txt.erb'
  mode '0755'
end

Delay notifications

template '/etc/nagios3/configures-nagios.conf' do
  # other parameters
  notifies :run, 'execute[test-nagios-config]', :delayed
end

Notify immediately

By default, notifications are :delayed, that is they are queued up as they are triggered, and then executed at the very end of a Chef Infra Client run. To run an action immediately, use :immediately:

template '/etc/nagios3/configures-nagios.conf' do
  # other parameters
  notifies :run, 'execute[test-nagios-config]', :immediately
end

and then Chef Infra Client would immediately run the following:

execute 'test-nagios-config' do
  command 'nagios3 --verify-config'
  action :nothing
end

Notify multiple resources

template '/etc/chef/server.rb' do
  source 'server.rb.erb'
  owner 'root'
  group 'root'
  mode '0755'
  notifies :restart, 'service[chef-solr]', :delayed
  notifies :restart, 'service[chef-solr-indexer]', :delayed
  notifies :restart, 'service[chef-server]', :delayed
end

Reload a service

template '/tmp/somefile' do
  mode '0755'
  source 'somefile.erb'
  notifies :reload, 'service[apache]', :immediately
end

Restart a service when a template is modified

template '/etc/www/configures-apache.conf' do
  notifies :restart, 'service[apache]', :immediately
end

Send notifications to multiple resources

To send notifications to multiple resources, just use multiple attributes. Multiple attributes will get sent to the notified resources in the order specified.

template '/etc/netatalk/netatalk.conf' do
  notifies :restart, 'service[afpd]', :immediately
  notifies :restart, 'service[cnid]', :immediately
end

service 'afpd'
service 'cnid'

Execute a command using a template

The following example shows how to set up IPv4 packet forwarding using the execute resource to run a command named forward_ipv4 that uses a template defined by the template resource:

execute 'forward_ipv4' do
  command 'echo > /proc/.../ipv4/ip_forward'
  action :nothing
end

template '/etc/file_name.conf' do
  source 'routing/file_name.conf.erb'
  notifies :run, 'execute[forward_ipv4]', :delayed
end

where the command property for the execute resource contains the command that is to be run and the source property for the template resource specifies which template to use. The notifies property for the template specifies that the execute[forward_ipv4] (which is defined by the execute resource) should be queued up and run at the end of a Chef Infra Client run.

Set an IP address using variables and a template

The following example shows how the template resource can be used in a recipe to combine settings stored in an attributes file, variables within a recipe, and a template to set the IP addresses that are used by the Nginx service. The attributes file contains the following:

default['nginx']['dir'] = '/etc/nginx'

The recipe then does the following to:

• Declare two variables at the beginning of the recipe, one for the remote IP address and the other for the authorized IP address
• Use the service resource to restart and reload the Nginx service
• Load a template named authorized_ip.erb from the /templates directory that is used to set the IP address values based on the variables specified in the recipe

node.default['nginx']['remote_ip_var'] = 'remote_addr'
node.default['nginx']['authorized_ips'] = ['127.0.0.1/32']

service 'nginx' do
  supports :status => true, :restart => true, :reload => true
end

template 'authorized_ip' do
  path "#{node['nginx']['dir']}/authorized_ip"
  source 'modules/authorized_ip.erb'
  owner 'root'
  group 'root'
  mode '0755'
  variables(
    :remote_ip_var => node['nginx']['remote_ip_var'],
    :authorized_ips => node['nginx']['authorized_ips']
  )

  notifies :reload, 'service[nginx]', :immediately
end

where the variables property tells the template to use the variables set at the beginning of the recipe and the source property is used to call a template file located in the cookbook’s /templates directory. The template file looks similar to:

geo $<%= @remote_ip_var %> $authorized_ip {
  default no;
  <% @authorized_ips.each do |ip| %>
  <%= "#{ip} yes;" %>
  <% end %>
}

Add a rule to an IP table

The following example shows how to add a rule named test_rule to an IP table using the execute resource to run a command using a template that is defined by the template resource:

execute 'test_rule' do
  command 'command_to_run
    --option value
    ...
    --option value
    --source #{node[:name_of_node][:ipsec][:local][:subnet]}
    -j test_rule'
  action :nothing
end

template '/etc/file_name.local' do
  source 'routing/file_name.local.erb'
  notifies :run, 'execute[test_rule]', :delayed
end

where the command property for the execute resource contains the command that is to be run and the source property for the template resource specifies which template to use. The notifies property for the template specifies that the execute[test_rule] (which is defined by the execute resource) should be queued up and run at the end of a Chef Infra Client run.

Apply proxy settings consistently across a Chef organization

The following example shows how a template can be used to apply consistent proxy settings for all nodes of the same type:

template "#{node['matching_node']['dir']}/sites-available/site_proxy.conf" do
  source 'site_proxy.matching_node.conf.erb'
  owner 'root'
  group 'root'
  mode '0755'
  variables(
    :ssl_certificate =>    "#{node['matching_node']['dir']}/shared/certificates/site_proxy.crt",
    :ssl_key =>            "#{node['matching_node']['dir']}/shared/certificates/site_proxy.key",
    :listen_port =>        node['site']['matching_node_proxy']['listen_port'],
    :server_name =>        node['site']['matching_node_proxy']['server_name'],
    :fqdn =>               node['fqdn'],
    :server_options =>     node[:site]['matching_node']['server']['options'],
    :proxy_options =>      node[:site]['matching_node']['proxy']['options']
  )
end

where matching_node represents a type of node (like Nginx) and site_proxy represents the type of proxy being used for that type of node (like Nexus).

Get template settings from a local file

The template resource can be used to render a template based on settings contained in a local file on disk or to get the settings from a template in a cookbook. Most of the time, the settings are retrieved from a template in a cookbook. The following example shows how the template resource can be used to retrieve these settings from a local file.

The following example is based on a few assumptions:

• The environment is a Ruby on Rails application that needs render a file named database.yml
• Information about the application—the user, their password, the server—is stored in a data bag on the Chef server
• The application is already deployed to the system and that only requirement in this example is to render the database.yml file

The application source tree looks something like:

  myapp/
  -> config/
     -> database.yml.erb

The deployment of the app will end up in /srv, so the full path to this template would be something like /srv/myapp/current/config/database.yml.erb.

The content of the template itself may look like this:

<%= @rails_env %>:
   adapter: <%= @adapter %>
   host: <%= @host %>
   database: <%= @database %>
   username: <%= @username %>
   password: <%= @password %>
   encoding: 'utf8'
   reconnect: true

The recipe will be similar to the following:

results = search(:node, "role:myapp_database_master AND chef_environment:#{node.chef_environment}")
db_master = results[0]

template '/srv/myapp/shared/database.yml' do
  source '/srv/myapp/current/config/database.yml.erb'
  local true
  variables(
    :rails_env => node.chef_environment,
    :adapter => db_master['myapp']['db_adapter'],
    :host => db_master['fqdn'],
    :database => "myapp_#{node.chef_environment}",
    :username => "myapp",
    :password => "SUPERSECRET",
  )
end

where:

• the search method in the Chef Infra Language is used to find the first node that is the database master (of which there should only be one)
• the :adapter variable property may also require an attribute to have been set on a role, which then determines the correct adapter

The template will render similar to the following:

production:
  adapter: mysql
  host: domU-12-31-39-14-F1-C3.compute-1.internal
  database: myapp_production
  username: myapp
  password: SUPERSECRET
  encoding: utf8
  reconnect: true

This example showed how to use the template resource to render a template based on settings contained in a local file. Some other issues that should be considered when using this type of approach include:

• Should the database.yml file be in a .gitignore file?
• How do developers run the application locally?
• Does this work with chef-solo?

Pass values from recipe to template

The following example shows how pass a value to a template using the variables property in the template resource. The template file is similar to:

[tcpout]
defaultGroup = splunk_indexers_<%= node['splunk']['receiver_port'] %>
disabled=false

[tcpout:splunk_indexers_<%= node['splunk']['receiver_port'] %>]
server=<% @splunk_servers.map  do |s| -%><%= s['ipaddress'] %>:<%= s['splunk']['receiver_port'] %> <% end.join(', ') -%>
<% @outputs_conf.each_pair do |name, value| -%>
<%= name %> = <%= value %>
<% end  -%>

The recipe then uses the variables attribute to find the values for splunk_servers and outputs_conf, before passing them into the template:

template "#{splunk_dir}/etc/system/local/outputs.conf" do
  source 'outputs.conf.erb'
  mode '0755'
  variables :splunk_servers => splunk_servers, :outputs_conf => node['splunk']['outputs_conf']
  notifies :restart, 'service[splunk]'
end

This example can be found in the client.rb recipe and the outputs.conf.erb template files that are located in the chef-splunk cookbook that is maintained by Chef.