chef_gem Resource

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Use the chef_gem resource to install a gem only for the instance of Ruby that is dedicated to the Chef Infra Client. When a gem is installed from a local file, it must be added to the node using the remote_file or cookbook_file resources.

The chef_gem resource works with all of the same properties and options as the gem_package resource, but does not accept the gem_binary property because it always uses the CurrentGemEnvironment under which the chef-client is running. In addition to performing actions similar to the gem_package resource, the chef_gem resource does the following:

• Runs its actions immediately, before convergence, allowing a gem to be used in a recipe immediately after it is installed.
• Runs Gem.clear_paths after the action, ensuring that gem is aware of changes so that it can be required immediately after it is installed.

Syntax

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

chef_gem 'name' do
  clear_sources               true, false
  gem_binary                  String
  include_default_source      true, false
  options                     String, Hash, Array
  package_name                String
  source                      String, Array
  timeout                     String, Integer
  version                     String
  action                      Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where:

• chef_gem 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.
• clear_sources, gem_binary, include_default_source, options, package_name, source, timeout, and version are the properties available to this resource.

Actions

The chef_gem resource has the following actions:

:install

Install a gem. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the gem. (default)

:nothing

This resource block doesn’t 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.

:purge

Purge a gem. This action typically removes the configuration files as well as the gem.

:reconfig

Reconfigure a gem. This action requires a response file.

:remove

Remove a gem.

:upgrade

Install a gem and ensure that a gem is the latest version.

Properties

The chef_gem resource has the following properties:

clear_sources

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false unless `clear_gem_sources` set to true in the `client.rb` config.

Set to true to download a gem from the path specified by the source property (and not from RubyGems).

gem_binary

Ruby Type: String | Default Value: The `gem` binary included with Chef Infra Client.

The path of a gem binary to use for the installation. By default, the same version of Ruby that is used by Chef Infra Client will be used.

include_default_source

Ruby Type: true, false

Set to false to not include Chef::Config[:rubygems_url] in the sources.

New in Chef Client 13.0

options

Ruby Type: String, Hash, Array

Options for the gem install, either a Hash or a String. When a hash is given, the options are passed to Gem::DependencyInstaller.new, and the gem will be installed via the gems API. When a String is given, the gem will be installed by shelling out to the gem command. Using a Hash of options with an explicit gem_binary will result in undefined behavior.

package_name

Ruby Type: String

An optional property to set the package name if it differs from the resource block’s name.

source

Ruby Type: String, Array

Optional. The URL, or list of URLs, at which the gem package is located. This list is added to the source configured in Chef::Config[:rubygems_url] (see also include_default_source) to construct the complete list of rubygems sources. Users in an ‘airgapped’ environment should set Chef::Config[:rubygems_url] to their local RubyGems mirror.

timeout

Ruby Type: String, Integer

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait before timing out.

version

Ruby Type: String

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 won’t 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 isn’t 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 doesn’t exist, an error is raised. In contrast, subscribes won’t fail if the source resource isn’t 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, for each 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 doesn’t 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 doesn’t 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 doesn’t exist, the subscription won’t raise an error. Contrast this with the stricter semantics of notifies, which will raise an error if the other resource doesn’t 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, for each 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 isn’t 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 isn’t 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’s being executed, and then if the desired state is present, for Chef Infra Client to don’thing.

The following properties can be used to define a guard that’s 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 chef_gem resource in recipes:

Compile time vs. converge time installation of gems

To install a gem while Chef Infra Client is configuring the node (the converge phase), set the compile_time property to false:

chef_gem 'loofah' do
  compile_time false
  action :install
end

To install a gem while the resource collection is being built (the compile phase), set the compile_time property to true:

chef_gem 'loofah' do
  compile_time true
  action :install
end

Install MySQL gem into Chef Infra Client

apt_update

build_essential 'install compilation tools' do
  compile_time true
end

chef_gem 'mysql'