apt_package Resource

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Use the apt_package resource to manage packages on Debian, Ubuntu, and other platforms that use the APT package system.

Note

In many cases, it’s better to use the package resource instead of this one. This is because when the package resource is used in a recipe, Chef Infra Client will use details that are collected by Ohai at the start of a Chef Infra Client run to determine the correct package application. Using the package resource allows a recipe to be authored in a way that allows it to be used across many platforms.

Syntax

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

apt_package 'package_name'

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

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

apt_package 'name' do
  anchor_package_regex       true, false # default value: false
  default_release            String
  options                    String, Array
  overwrite_config_files     true, false # default value: false
  package_name               String, Array
  response_file              String
  response_file_variables    Hash # default value: {}
  source                     String
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where:

apt_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.
anchor_package_regex, default_release, options, overwrite_config_files, package_name, response_file, response_file_variables, source, timeout, and version are the properties available to this resource.

Actions

The apt_package resource has the following actions:

:install: Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package. (default)
:lock: Locks the apt package to a specific version.
: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 package. This action typically removes the configuration files as well as the package.
:reconfig: Change the installed package.
:remove: Remove a package.
:unlock: Unlocks the apt package so that it can be upgraded to a newer version.
:upgrade: Install a package and ensure that a package is the latest version.

Properties

The apt_package resource has the following properties:

anchor_package_regex

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

A Boolean flag that allows (false) or prevents (true) apt_package from matching the named package with packages by regular expression if it can’t find a package with the exact same name.

New in Chef Infra Client 18.3

default_release

Ruby Type: String

The default release. For example: stable.

options

Ruby Type: String, Array

One (or more) additional options that are passed to the command. For example, common apt-get directives, such as --no-install-recommends. See the apt-get man page for the full list.

overwrite_config_files

Ruby Type: true, false | Default Value: false

Overwrite existing configuration files with those supplied by the package, if prompted by APT.

New in Chef Client 14.0

package_name

Ruby Type: String, Array

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

response_file

Ruby Type: String

The direct path to the file used to pre-seed a package.

response_file_variables

Ruby Type: Hash | Default Value: {}

A Hash of response file variables in the form of {‘VARIABLE’ => ‘VALUE’}.

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.

Multiple Packages

A resource may specify multiple packages and/or versions for platforms that use Apt, Chocolatey, DNF, Homebrew, Pacman, or Zypper package managers. Specifying multiple packages and/or versions allows a single transaction to:

Download the specified packages and versions using a single HTTP transaction
Update or install multiple packages with a single resource during a Chef Infra Client run

For example, installing multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2)

Installing multiple packages with versions:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  version [ '1.3.4-2', '4.3.6-1']
end

Upgrading multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :upgrade
end

Removing multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :remove
end

Purging multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :purge
end

Notifications, using an implicit name:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :nothing
end

log 'call a notification' do
  notifies :install, 'package[package1, package2]', :immediately
end

Note

Notifications and subscriptions don’t need to be updated when packages and versions are added or removed from the package_name or version properties.

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.

Properties

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.

Multiple Packages

Download the specified packages and versions using a single HTTP transaction
Update or install multiple packages with a single resource during a Chef Infra Client run

For example, installing multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2)

Installing multiple packages with versions:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  version [ '1.3.4-2', '4.3.6-1']
end

Upgrading multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :upgrade
end

Removing multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :remove
end

Purging multiple packages:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :purge
end

Notifications, using an implicit name:

package %w(package1 package2) do
  action :nothing
end

log 'call a notification' do
  notifies :install, 'package[package1, package2]', :immediately
end

Note

Notifications and subscriptions don’t need to be updated when packages and versions are added or removed from the package_name or version properties.

Examples

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

Install a package using package manager:

apt_package 'name of package' do
  action :install
end

Install a package without specifying the default action:

apt_package 'name of package'

Install multiple packages at once:

apt_package %w(package1 package2 package3)

Install without using recommend packages as a dependency:

package 'apache2' do
  options '--no-install-recommends'
end

Prevent the apt_package resource from installing packages with pattern matching names:

By default, the apt_package resource will install the named package. If it can’t find a package with the exact same name, it will treat the package name as regular expression string and match with any package that matches that regular expression. This may lead Chef Infra Client to install one or more packages with names that match that regular expression.

In this example, anchor_package_regex true prevents the apt_package resource from installing matching packages if it can’t find the lua5.3 package.

apt_package 'lua5.3' do
  version '5.3.3-1.1ubuntu2'
  anchor_package_regex true
end