client.rb

A client.rb file is used to specify the configuration details for the chef-client.

• This file is loaded every time this executable is run
• On UNIX- and Linux-based machines, the default location for this file is /etc/chef/client.rb; on Microsoft Windows machines, the default location for this file is C:\chef\client.rb; use the --config option from the command line to change this location
• This file is not created by default
• When a client.rb file is present in the default location, the settings contained within that client.rb file will override the default configuration settings

Settings

This configuration file has the following settings:

add_formatter

A 3rd-party formatter. (See nyan-cat for an example of a 3rd-party formatter.) Each formatter requires its own entry.

automatic_attribute_whitelist

A Hash that whitelists automatic attributes, preventing non-whitelisted attributes from being saved.

cache_path

Optional. The home directory for the user that is running the chef-client as a non-root user.

checksum_path

The location in which checksum files are stored. These are used to validate individual cookbook files, such as recipes. The checksum itself is stored in the Chef server database and is then compared to a file in the checksum path that has a filename identical to the checksum.

chef_repo_path

The path to the chef-repo.

chef_server_url

The URL for the Chef server.

chef_zero.enabled

Enable chef-zero. This setting requires local_mode to be set to true. Default value: false.

chef_zero.port

The port on which chef-zero is to listen. This value may be specified as a range; the chef-client will take the first available port in the range. For example 10,20,30 or 10000-20000. Default value: 8889.

client_key

The location of the file that contains the client key. Default value: /etc/chef/client.pem.

client_registration_retries

The number of times a chef-client is to attempt to register with a Chef server. Default value: 5.

cookbook_path

The sub-directory for cookbooks on the chef-client. This value can be a string or an array of file system locations, processed in the specified order. The last cookbook is considered to override local modifications.

cookbook_sync_threads

The number of helper threads available for parallel cookbook synchronization. Increasing this value may increase the frequency of gateway errors from the Chef server (503 and 504 errors). Decreasing this number reduces the frequency of gateway errors, if present. Default value: 10.

data_bag_decrypt_minimum_version

The minimum required version of data bag encryption. Possible values: 0, 1, and 2. When all of the machines in an organization are running chef-client version 11.6 (or higher), it is recommended that this value be set to 2.

data_bag_path

The location from which a data bag is loaded. Default value: /var/chef/data_bags.

default_attribute_whitelist

A Hash that whitelists default attributes, preventing non-whitelisted attributes from being saved.

diff_disabled

Cause the chef-client to create a diff when changes are made to a file. Default value: false.

diff_filesize_threshold

The maximum size (in bytes) of a file for which the chef-client can create a diff. Default value: 10000000.

diff_output_threshold

The maximum size (in bytes) of a diff file created by the chef-client. Default value: 1000000.

enable_reporting

Cause the chef-client to send data to the Chef server for use with Reporting.

enable_reporting_url_fatals

Cause the chef-client run to fail when Reporting data cannot be sent to the Chef server (for any reason).

enable_selinux_file_permission_fixup

SELinux environments only. Cause the chef-client to attempt to apply the correct file permissions to an updated file via the restorecon command. Set this value to false to prevent the chef-client from attempting this action.

encrypted_data_bag_secret

The subdirectory in which encrypted data bag secrets are located.

environment

The name of the environment.

environment_path

The path to the environment. Default value: /var/chef/environments.

file_atomic_update

Apply atomic file updates to all resources. Set to true for global atomic file updates. Set to false for global non-atomic file updates. (Use the atomic_update setting on a per-resource basis to override this setting.) Default value: true.

Warning

Changing this setting to false may cause file corruption, data loss, or instability. Use the atomic_update property on the cookbook_file, file, remote_file, and template resources to tune this behavior at the recipe level.

file_backup_path

The location in which backup files are stored. If this value is empty, backup files are stored in the directory of the target file. Default value: /var/chef/backup.

file_cache_path

The location in which cookbooks (and other transient data) files are stored when they are synchronized. This value can also be used in recipes to download files with the remote_file resource.

file_staging_uses_destdir

How file staging (via temporary files) is done. When true, temporary files are created in the directory in which files will reside. When false, temporary files are created under ENV['TMP']. Default value: false.

ftp_proxy

The proxy server for FTP connections.

ftp_proxy_pass

The password for the proxy server when the proxy server is using an FTP connection. Default value: nil.

ftp_proxy_user

The user name for the proxy server when the proxy server is using an FTP connection. Default value: nil.

group

The group that owns a process. This is required when starting any executable as a daemon. Default value: nil.

http_proxy

The proxy server for HTTP connections. Default value: nil.

http_proxy_pass

The password for the proxy server when the proxy server is using an HTTP connection. Default value: nil.

http_proxy_user

The user name for the proxy server when the proxy server is using an HTTP connection. Default value: nil.

http_retry_count

The number of retry attempts. Default value: 5.

http_retry_delay

The delay (in seconds) between retry attempts. Default value: 5.

https_proxy

The proxy server for HTTPS connections. Default value: nil.

https_proxy_pass

The password for the proxy server when the proxy server is using an HTTPS connection. Default value: nil.

https_proxy_user

The user name for the proxy server when the proxy server is using an HTTPS connection. Default value: nil.

interval

The frequency (in seconds) at which the chef-client runs. Default value: 1800.

json_attribs

The path to a file that contains JSON data.

local_key_generation

Whether the Chef server or chef-client generates the private/public key pair. When true, the chef-client generates the key pair, and then sends the public key to the Chef server.

local_mode

Run the chef-client in local mode. This allows all commands that work against the Chef server to also work against the local chef-repo.

lockfile

The location of the chef-client lock file. This value is typically platform-dependent, so should be a location defined by file_cache_path. The default location of a lock file should not on an NF mount. Default value: a location defined by file_cache_path.

log_level

The level of logging to be stored in a log file. Possible levels: :auto (default), :debug, :info, :warn, :error, or :fatal. Default value: :warn (when a terminal is available) or :info (when a terminal is not available).

log_location

The location of the log file. Possible values: /path/to/log_location, STDOUT or STDERR. The application log will specify the source as Chef. Default value: STDOUT.

no_lazy_load

Download all cookbook files and templates at the beginning of the chef-client run. Default value: false.

no_proxy

A comma-separated list of URLs that do not need a proxy. Default value: nil.

node_name

The name of the node. Determines which configuration should be applied and sets the client_name, which is the name used when authenticating to a Chef server. The default value is the FQDN of the chef-client, as detected by Ohai. In general, Chef recommends that you leave this setting blank and let Ohai assign the FQDN of the node as the node_name during each chef-client run.

node_path

The location in which nodes are stored when the chef-client is run in local mode. Default value: /var/chef/node.

normal_attribute_whitelist

A Hash that whitelists normal attributes, preventing non-whitelisted attributes from being saved.

override_attribute_whitelist

A Hash that whitelists override attributes, preventing non-whitelisted attributes from being saved.

pid_file

The location in which a process identification number (pid) is saved. An executable, when started as a daemon, writes the pid to the specified file. Default value: /tmp/name-of-executable.pid.

rest_timeout

The time (in seconds) after which an HTTP REST request is to time out.

role_path

The location in which role files are located. Default value: /var/chef/roles.

run_lock_timeout

The amount of time (in seconds) to wait for a chef-client lock file to be deleted. A chef-client run will not start when a lock file is present. If a lock file is not deleted before this time expires, the pending chef-client run will exit. Default value: not set (indefinite). Set to 0 to cause a second chef-client to exit immediately.

splay

A random number between zero and splay that is added to interval. Use splay to help balance the load on the Chef server by ensuring that many chef-client runs are not occuring at the same interval. Default value: nil.

ssl_ca_file

The file in which the OpenSSL key is saved. This setting is generated automatically by the chef-client and most users do not need to modify it.

ssl_ca_path

The path to where the OpenSSL key is located. This setting is generated automatically by the chef-client and most users do not need to modify it.

ssl_client_cert

The OpenSSL X.509 certificate used for mutual certificate validation. This setting is only necessary when mutual certificate validation is configured on the Chef server. Default value: nil.

ssl_client_key

The OpenSSL X.509 key used for mutual certificate validation. This setting is only necessary when mutual certificate validation is configured on the Chef server. Default value: nil.

ssl_verify_mode

Set the verify mode for HTTPS requests.

• Use :verify_none to do no validation of SSL certificates.
• Use :verify_peer to do validation of all SSL certificates, including the Chef server connections, S3 connections, and any HTTPS remote_file resource URLs used in the chef-client run. This is the recommended setting.

Depending on how OpenSSL is configured, the ssl_ca_path may need to be specified.

syntax_check_cache_path

All files in a cookbook must contain valid Ruby syntax. Use this setting to specify the location in which knife caches information about files that have been checked for valid Ruby syntax.

umask

The file mode creation mask, or umask. Default value: 0022.

user

The user that owns a process. This is required when starting any executable as a daemon. Default value: nil.

validation_client_name

The name of the chef-validator key that is used by the chef-client to access the Chef server during the initial chef-client run.

validation_key

The location of the file that contains the key used when a chef-client is registered with a Chef server. A validation key is signed using the validation_client_name for authentication. Default value: /etc/chef/validation.pem.

verbose_logging

Set the log level. Options: true, nil, and false. When this is set to false, notifications about individual resources being processed are suppressed (and are output at the :info logging level). Setting this to false can be useful when a chef-client is run as a daemon. Default value: nil.

verify_api_cert

Verify the SSL certificate on the Chef server. When true, the chef-client always verifies the SSL certificate. When false, the chef-client uses the value of ssl_verify_mode to determine if the SSL certificate requires verification. Default value: false.

whitelist

A Hash that contains the whitelist used by Chef push jobs. For example:

whitelist {
  'job-name' => 'command',
  'job-name' => 'command',
  'chef-client' => 'chef-client'
}

A job entry may also be 'job-name' => {:lock => true}, which will check the lockfile setting in the client.rb file before starting the job.

Warning

The whitelist setting is available only when using Chef push jobs, a tool that runs jobs against nodes in an organization.

yum_lock_timeout

The amount of time (in seconds) after which a Yum lock request is to time out. Default value: 30.

Automatic Proxy Config

If http_proxy, https_proxy, ftp_proxy, or no_proxy is set in the client.rb file, the chef-client will configure the ENV variable based on these (and related) settings. For example:

http_proxy 'http://proxy.example.org:8080'
http_proxy_user 'myself'
http_proxy_pass 'Password1'

will be set to:

ENV['http_proxy'] = 'http://myself:[email protected]:8080'

Ohai Settings

Ohai configuration settings can be added to the client.rb file.

Ohai::Config[:directory]

The directory in which Ohai plugins are located.

Ohai::Config[:disabled_plugins]

An array of Ohai plugins to be disabled on a node. The list of plugins included in Ohai can be found in the ohai/lib/ohai/plugins directory. For example, disabling a single plugin:

Ohai::Config[:disabled_plugins] = [
    :MyPlugin
  ]

or disabling multiple plugins:

Ohai::Config[:disabled_plugins] = [
  :MyPlugin,
  :MyPlugin,
  :MyPlugin
]

and to disable multiple plugins, including Ohai 6 plugins:

Ohai::Config[:disabled_plugins] = [
          :MyPlugin,
  :MyPlugin,
  'my_ohai_6_plugin'
]

When a plugin is disabled, the chef-client log file will contain entries similar to:

[2014-06-13T23:49:12+00:00] DEBUG: Skipping disabled plugin MyPlugin

Ohai::Config[:hints_path]

The path to the file that contains hints for Ohai.

Ohai::Config[:log_level]

The level of logging to be stored in a log file.

Ohai::Config[:log_location]

The location of the log file.

Ohai::Config[:plugin_path]

An array of paths at which Ohai plugins are located. Default value: [<CHEF_GEM_PATH>/ohai-9.9.9/lib/ohai/plugins]. When custom Ohai plugins are added, the paths must be added to the array. For example, a single plugin:

Ohai::Config[:plugin_path] << '/etc/chef/ohai_plugins'

and for multiple plugins:

Ohai::Config[:plugin_path] += [
  '/etc/chef/ohai_plugins',
  '/path/to/other/plugins'
  ]

Ohai::Config[:version]

The version of Ohai.

Example

A sample client.rb file that contains the most simple way to connect to https://manage.chef.io:

log_level        :info
log_location     STDOUT
chef_server_url  'https://api.opscode.com/organizations/<orgname>'
validation_client_name '<orgname>-validator'
validation_key '/etc/chef/validator.pem'
client_key '/etc/chef/client.pem'