yum_package

Use the yum_package resource to install, upgrade, and remove packages with Yum for the Red Hat and CentOS platforms. The yum_package resource is able to resolve provides data for packages much like Yum can do when it is run from the command line. This allows a variety of options for installing packages, like minimum versions, virtual provides, and library names.

Syntax

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

yum_package 'package_name'

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

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

yum_package 'name' do
  allow_downgrade            TrueClass, FalseClass
  arch                       String, Array
  flush_cache                Array
  notifies                   # see description
  options                    String
  package_name               String, Array # defaults to 'name' if not specified
  provider                   Chef::Provider::Package::Yum
  source                     String
  subscribes                 # see description
  timeout                    String, Integer
  version                    String, Array
  action                     Symbol # defaults to :install if not specified
end

where

• yum_package tells the chef-client to manage a package
• 'name' is the name of the package
• :action identifies which steps the chef-client will take to bring the node into the desired state
• allow_downgrade, arch, flush_cache, options, package_name, provider, source, timeout, and version 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

This resource has the following actions:

:install

Default. Install a package. If a version is specified, install the specified version of the package.

:nothing

Define this resource block to do nothing until notified by another resource to take action. When this resource is notified, this resource block is either run immediately or it is queued up to be run at the end of the chef-client run.

:purge

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

:remove

Remove a package.

:upgrade

Install a package and/or ensure that a package is the latest version. This action will ignore the version attribute.

Properties

This resource has the following properties:

allow_downgrade

Ruby Types: TrueClass, FalseClass

Downgrade a package to satisfy requested version requirements.

arch

Ruby Types: String

The architecture of the package to be installed or upgraded. This value can also be passed as part of the package name.

flush_cache

Ruby Type: Array

Flush the in-memory cache before or after a Yum operation that installs, upgrades, or removes a package. Default value: [ :before, :after ]. The value may also be a Hash: ( { :before => true/false, :after => true/false } ).

Yum automatically synchronizes remote metadata to a local cache. The chef-client creates a copy of the local cache, and then stores it in-memory during the chef-client run. The in-memory cache allows packages to be installed during the chef-client run without the need to continue synchronizing the remote metadata to the local cache while the chef-client run is in-progress.

As an array:

yum_package 'some-package' do
  #...
  flush_cache [ :before ]
  #...
end

and as a Hash:

yum_package 'some-package' do
  #...
  flush_cache( { :after => true } )
  #...
end

Note

The flush_cache property does not flush the local Yum cache! Use Yum tools—yum clean headers, yum clean packages, yum clean all—to clean the local Yum cache.

ignore_failure

Ruby Types: TrueClass, FalseClass

Continue running a recipe if a resource fails for any reason. Default value: false.

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 notifiy more than one resource; use a notifies statement for each resource to be notified.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-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 very end of the chef-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

options

Ruby Type: String

One (or more) additional options that are passed to the command.

package_name

Ruby Types: String, Array

One of the following: the name of a package, the name of a package and its architecture, the name of a dependency. Default value: the name of the resource block See “Syntax” section above for more information.

provider

Ruby Type: Chef Class

Optional. Explicitly specifies a provider. See “Providers” section below for more information.

retries

Ruby Type: Integer

The number of times to catch exceptions and retry the resource. Default value: 0.

retry_delay

Ruby Type: Integer

The retry delay (in seconds). Default value: 2.

source

Ruby Type: String

Optional. The path to a package in the local file system.

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.

A timer specifies the point during the chef-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 very end of the chef-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

timeout

Ruby Types: String, Integer

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

version

Ruby Types: String, Array

The version of a package to be installed or upgraded. This attribute is ignored when using the :upgrade action.

Multiple Packages

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

• Download the specified packages and versions via a single HTTP transaction
• Update or install multiple packages with a single resource during the chef-client run

For example, installing multiple packages:

package ['package1', 'package2']

Upgrading multiple packages:

package ['package1', 'package2']  do
  action :upgrade
end

Removing multiple packages:

package ['package1', 'package2']  do
  action :remove
end

Purging multiple packages:

package ['package1', 'package2']  do
  action :purge
end

Notifications, via an implicit name:

package ['package1', 'package2']  do
  action :nothing
end

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

Providers

Where a resource represents a piece of the system (and its desired state), a provider defines the steps that are needed to bring that piece of the system from its current state into the desired state.

The chef-client will determine the correct provider based on configuration data collected by Ohai at the start of the chef-client run. This configuration data is then mapped to a platform and an associated list of providers.

Generally, it’s best to let the chef-client choose the provider, and this is (by far) the most common approach. However, in some cases, specifying a provider may be desirable. There are two approaches:

• Use a more specific short name—yum_package "foo" do instead of package "foo" do, script "foo" do instead of bash "foo" do, and so on—when available
• Use the provider property within the resource block to specify the long name of the provider as a property of a resource. For example: provider Chef::Provider::Long::Name

This resource has the following providers:

Chef::Provider::Package, package

When this short name is used, the chef-client will attempt to determine the correct provider during the chef-client run.

Chef::Provider::Package::Yum, yum_package

The provider for the Yum package provider.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate various approaches for using resources in recipes. If you want to see examples of how Chef uses resources in recipes, take a closer look at the cookbooks that Chef authors and maintains: https://github.com/chef-cookbooks.

Install an exact version

yum_package 'netpbm = 10.35.58-8.el5'

Install a minimum version

yum_package 'netpbm >= 10.35.58-8.el5'

Install a minimum version using the default action

yum_package 'netpbm'

To install a package

yum_package 'netpbm' do
  action :install
end

To install a partial minimum version

yum_package 'netpbm >= 10'

To install a specific architecture

yum_package 'netpbm' do
  arch 'i386'
end

or:

yum_package 'netpbm.x86_64'

To install a specific version-release

yum_package 'netpbm' do
  version '10.35.58-8.el5'
end

To install a specific version (even when older than the current)

yum_package 'tzdata' do
  version '2011b-1.el5'
  allow_downgrade true
end

Handle cookbook_file and yum_package resources in the same recipe

When a cookbook_file resource and a yum_package resource are both called from within the same recipe, use the flush_cache attribute to dump the in-memory Yum cache, and then use the repository immediately to ensure that the correct package is installed:

cookbook_file '/etc/yum.repos.d/custom.repo' do
  source 'custom'
  mode '0755'
end

yum_package 'only-in-custom-repo' do
  action :install
  flush_cache [ :before ]
end