This page lists the operating system platforms supported by Chef Infra Client 19.
Support definitions
Refer to the following sections for definitions of the certification tiers, installer types, and agent and agentless modes.
Certification tiers
Validated and supported
These platforms are fully tested on every release. These platforms run through the complete Chef automated test suite in Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) prior to each release.
Supported (untested)
These platforms are fully supported, but not tested in our CI/CD pipelines. Chef supports these platforms and will address any reported bugs.
User-reported
These platforms are validated by users. Support is provided on a best-effort basis.
Installer types
Native
Chef is installed using the platform’s native package manager - (Microsoft Installer (MSI)) on Windows, Debian package (DEB) on Debian/Ubuntu, RPM Package Manager (RPM) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)/SUSE, or PKG (macOS installer package).
Habitat
Chef is installed and run using Chef Habitat commands (hab pkg install) or by extracting a Habitat artifact (.hart or .tar.gz). Used for platforms where a native package isn’t available or where a self-contained runtime is preferred.
Agent and agentless modes
Agent-based mode
Agent-based mode includes all software that runs directly on the managed node:
Chef Infra Client
Chef InSpec
Chef Habitat supervisor
Chef 360 Platform skills running in agent mode, including Courier job execution and Node Management
Agentless mode
Agentless mode includes all software that manages a node remotely without an agent present on the node:
Chef Infra Client agentless mode (formerly Target Mode)—connects using SSH (Linux) or WinRM/SSH (Windows)