resource-types.md

Resource Types Reference

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Here are the most commonly used built-in resource types. Think of these as your infrastructure vocabulary.

file — Managing Files and Directories

# Create a file with specific content
file { '/etc/banner.txt':
  ensure  => file,
  content => "Authorized access only.\n",
  owner   => 'root',
  group   => 'root',
  mode    => '0644',
}

# Create a directory
file { '/opt/myapp':
  ensure => directory,
  owner  => 'appuser',
  group  => 'appgroup',
  mode   => '0755',
}

# Create a symlink
file { '/usr/local/bin/myapp':
  ensure => link,
  target => '/opt/myapp/bin/myapp',
}

# Copy a file from a module
file { '/etc/myapp/config.yml':
  ensure => file,
  source => 'puppet:///modules/myapp/config.yml',
  owner  => 'root',
  mode   => '0600',
}

# Use a template
file { '/etc/myapp/app.conf':
  ensure  => file,
  content => epp('myapp/app.conf.epp'),
}

# Recursively manage a directory
file { '/opt/myapp/conf.d':
  ensure  => directory,
  recurse => true,
  purge   => true,    # Remove files not managed by Puppet
  source  => 'puppet:///modules/myapp/conf.d',
}

Key attributes:

Attribute	Description	Values
ensure	What to create	file, directory, link, absent
content	File contents (mutually exclusive with source)	String
source	Copy from source (puppet:// URI, local path, or HTTP)	URI/path
owner	File owner	Username or UID
group	File group	Group name or GID
mode	Permissions	Octal string like '0644'
recurse	Manage directory contents recursively	true, false
purge	Remove unmanaged files in directory	true, false
target	Symlink target	Path

package — Installing Software

# Ensure a package is installed (latest available at install time)
package { 'nginx':
  ensure => installed,
}

# Pin to a specific version
package { 'nodejs':
  ensure => '18.19.0-1.el9',
}

# Ensure latest version (upgrades on every run!)
package { 'security-updates':
  name   => 'openssl',
  ensure => latest,
}

# Remove a package
package { 'telnet':
  ensure => absent,
}

# Install multiple packages at once
$web_packages = ['httpd', 'mod_ssl', 'php', 'php-mysqlnd']
package { $web_packages:
  ensure => installed,
}

Warning: Using ensure => latest means Puppet will upgrade the package on every run if a newer version is available. This can be dangerous in production! Prefer installed or a pinned version.

service — Managing Services

# Ensure a service is running and enabled at boot
service { 'httpd':
  ensure => running,
  enable => true,
}

# Stop and disable a service
service { 'cups':
  ensure => stopped,
  enable => false,
}

# Restart a service when its config file changes
service { 'nginx':
  ensure    => running,
  enable    => true,
  subscribe => File['/etc/nginx/nginx.conf'],
}

user — Managing User Accounts

# Create a user with full details
user { 'deploy':
  ensure     => present,
  uid        => 5000,
  gid        => 'deploy',
  home       => '/home/deploy',
  shell      => '/bin/bash',
  managehome => true,
  comment    => 'Deployment user',
}

# Remove a user
user { 'oldemployee':
  ensure => absent,
}

group — Managing Groups

group { 'deploy':
  ensure => present,
  gid    => 5000,
}

cron — Managing Cron Jobs

cron { 'db_backup':
  command => '/usr/local/bin/backup.sh',
  user    => 'root',
  hour    => 2,
  minute  => 30,
}

exec — Running Commands (Use Sparingly!)

# Only run if the target file doesn't exist
exec { 'initialize_database':
  command => '/usr/local/bin/db-init.sh',
  creates => '/var/lib/myapp/db.sqlite',
  user    => 'appuser',
}

# Only run when a condition is true
exec { 'rebuild_cache':
  command     => '/usr/local/bin/rebuild-cache.sh',
  onlyif      => 'test -f /var/lib/myapp/cache.stale',
  refreshonly => true,
}

Warning: exec is the escape hatch of Puppet. It runs arbitrary commands, which makes it hard to guarantee idempotence. Always use creates, onlyif, unless, or refreshonly to prevent it from running on every Puppet run. If you find yourself writing lots of exec resources, you probably want a custom type or a different approach.

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_{This document was created with the assistance of AI (Grok, xAI). All technical content has been reviewed and verified by human contributors.}