NAME¶

knife-bootstrap - The man page for the knife bootstrap subcommand. A bootstrap is a process that installs the chef-client on a target system so that it can run as a chef-client and communicate with a server. The knife bootstrap subcommand is used run a bootstrap operation that installs the chef-client on the target system. The bootstrap operation must specify the IP address or FQDN of the target system. Syntax This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife bootstrap FQDN_or_IP_ADDRESS (options)

Options This subcommand has the following options: The template file to be used during a bootstrap operation. The following distributions are supported: chef-full (the default bootstrap), centos5-gems, fedora13-gems, ubuntu10.04-gems, ubuntu10.04-apt, ubuntu12.04-gems, and the name of a custom bootstrap template file. When this option is used, Knife will search for the template file in the following order: the bootstrap/ folder in the current working directory, the bootstrap/ folder in the chef-repo, the bootstrap/ folder in the ~/.chef/ directory, or a default bootstrap file. Do not use the --template-file option when --distro is specified.

--defaults

Indicates that Knife will use the default value, instead of asking a user to provide one.

--disable-editing

Indicates that $EDITOR will not be opened; data will be accepted as-is.

-e EDITOR, --editor EDITOR

The $EDITOR that is used for all interactive commands.

-E ENVIRONMENT, --environment ENVIRONMENT

The name of the environment. When this option is added to a command, the command will run only against the named environment.

-F FORMAT, --format FORMAT

The output format: summary (default), text, json, yaml, and pp.

-G GATEWAY, --ssh-gateway GATEWAY

The SSH tunnel or gateway that is used to run a bootstrap action on a machine that is not accessible from the workstation.

-h, --help

Shows help for the command.

--hint HINT_NAME[=HINT_FILE]

An Ohai hint to be set on the target of the bootstrap. The hint is contained in a file and is formatted as JSON: {"attribute":"value","attribute":"value"...}. HINT_NAME is the name of the hint and HINT_FILE is the name of the hint file located at /etc/chef/ohai/hints/HINT_FILE.json. Use multiple --hint options in the command to specify multiple hints.

--[no-]host-key-verify

Use --no-host-key-verify to disable host key verification. Default setting: --host-key-verify.

-i IDENTITY_FILE, --identity-file IDENTITY_FILE

The SSH identity file used for authentication. Key-based authentication is recommended.

-j JSON_ATTRIBS, --json-attributes JSON_ATTRIBS

A JSON string that is added to the first run of a chef-client.

-k KEY, --key KEY

The private key that Knife will use to sign requests made by the API client to the server.

-N NAME, --node-name NAME

The name of the node.

-p PORT, --ssh-port PORT

The SSH port.

-P PASSWORD, --ssh-password PASSWORD

The SSH password. This can be used to pass the password directly on the command line. If this option is not specified (and a password is required) Knife will prompt for the password.

--prerelease

Indicates that pre-release gems should be installed.

--print-after

Indicates that data will be shown after a destructive operation.

-r RUN_LIST, --run-list RUN_LIST

A comma-separated list of roles and/or recipes to be applied.

-s URL, --server-url URL

The URL for the server.

--secret SECRET

The encryption key that is used for values contained within a data bag item.

--secret-file FILE

The path to the file that contains the encryption key.

--sudo

Indicates that a bootstrap operation should be executed using sudo.

--template-file TEMPLATE

The path to a template file that will be used during a bootstrap operation. Do not use the --distro option when --template-file is specified.

-u USER, --user USER

The user name used by Knife to sign requests made by the API client to the server. Authentication will fail if the user name does not match the private key.

--use-sudo-password

Indicates that a bootstrap operation is done using sudo, with the password specified by the -P (or --ssh-password) option.

-v, --version

The version of the chef-client.

-V, --verbose

Set for more verbose outputs. Use -VV for maximum verbosity.

-x USERNAME, --ssh-user USERNAME

The SSH user name.

-y, --yes

Indicates that the response to all confirmation prompts will be "Yes" (and that Knife will not ask for confirmation).

-z, --local-mode

Indicates that the chef-client will be run in local mode, which allows all commands that work against the server to also work against the local chef-repo.

Examples

$ knife bootstrap 192.168.1.1 -x username -P PASSWORD --sudo

$ knife bootstrap 192.168.1.1 -x username -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa --sudo

AUTHOR¶

Chef