knife role

A role is a way to define certain patterns and processes that exist across nodes in an organization as belonging to a single job function. Each role consists of zero (or more) attributes and a run-list. Each node can have zero (or more) roles assigned to it. When a role is run against a node, the configuration details of that node are compared against the attributes of the role, and then the contents of that role’s run-list are applied to the node’s configuration details. When a Chef Infra Client runs, it merges its own attributes and run-lists with those contained within each assigned role. Use the knife role subcommand to manage the roles that are associated with one or more nodes on a Chef Infra Server.

Note

To add a role to a node and then build out the run-list for that node, use the knife node subcommand and its run_list add argument.

Note

Review the list of common options available to this (and all) knife subcommands and plugins.

bulk delete

Use the bulk delete argument to delete one or more roles that match a pattern defined by a regular expression. The regular expression must be within quotes and not be surrounded by forward slashes (/).

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

knife role bulk delete REGEX

Options

This command does not have any specific options.

Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Bulk delete roles

Use a regular expression to define the pattern used to bulk delete roles:

knife role bulk delete "^[0-9]{3}$"

create

Use the create argument to add a role to the Chef Infra Server. Role data is saved as JSON on the Chef Infra Server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

knife role create ROLE_NAME (options)

Options

This argument has the following options:

--description DESCRIPTION: The description of the role. This value populates the description field for the role on the Chef Infra Server.

Note

See config.rb for more information about how to add certain knife options as settings in the config.rb file.

Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Create a role

To add a role named role1, enter:

knife role create role1

In the $EDITOR enter the role data in JSON:

{
   "name": "role1",
   "default_attributes": {
   },
   "json_class": "Chef::Role",
   "run_list": ["recipe[cookbook_name::recipe_name]",
                 "role[role_name]"
   ],
   "description": "",
   "chef_type": "role",
   "override_attributes": {
   }
}

When finished, save it.

delete

Use the delete argument to delete a role from the Chef Infra Server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

knife role delete ROLE_NAME

Options

This command does not have any specific options.

Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Delete a role

knife role delete devops

Type Y to confirm a deletion.

edit

Use the edit argument to edit role details on the Chef Infra Server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

knife role edit ROLE_NAME

Options

This command does not have any specific options.

Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Edit a role

To edit the data for a role named role1, enter:

knife role edit role1

Update the role data in JSON:

{
   "name": "role1",
   "description": "This is the description for the role1 role.",
   "json_class": "Chef::Role",
   "default_attributes": {
   },
   "override_attributes": {
   },
   "chef_type": "role",
   "run_list": ["recipe[cookbook_name::recipe_name]",
                "role[role_name]"
   ],
   "env_run_lists": {
   },
}

When finished, save it.

from file

Use the from file argument to create a role using existing JSON data as a template.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

knife role from file FILE

Options

This command does not have any specific options.

Note

See config.rb for more information about how to add certain knife options as settings in the config.rb file.

Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Create a role using JSON data

To view role details based on the values contained in a JSON file:

knife role from file "path to JSON file"

list

Use the list argument to view a list of roles that are currently available on the Chef Infra Server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

knife role list

Options

This argument has the following options:

-w, --with-uri: Show the corresponding URIs.

Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

View a list of roles

To view a list of roles on the Chef Infra Server and display the URI for each role returned, enter:

knife role list -w

show

Use the show argument to view the details of a role.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

knife role show ROLE_NAME

Options

This argument has the following options:

-a ATTR, --attribute ATTR: The attribute (or attributes) to show.

Note

See config.rb for more information about how to add certain knife options as settings in the config.rb file.

Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Show as JSON data

To view information in JSON format, use the -F common option as part of the command like this:

knife role show devops -F json

Other formats available include text, yaml, and pp.

Show as raw JSON data

To view node information in raw JSON, use the -l or --long option:

knife role show -l -F json <role_name>

and/or:

knife role show -l --format=json <role_name>