# knife cookbook

A cookbook is the fundamental unit of configuration and policy distribution. Each cookbook defines a scenario, such as everything needed to install and configure MySQL, and then it contains all of the components that are required to support that scenario, including:

- Attribute values that are set on nodes
- Definitions that allow the creation of reusable collections of resources
- File distributions
- Libraries that extend the chef-client and/or provide helpers to Ruby code
- Recipes that specify which resources to manage and the order in which those resources will be applied
- Custom resources and providers
- Templates
- Versions
- Metadata about recipes (including dependencies), version constraints, supported platforms, and so on

The knife cookbook subcommand is used to interact with cookbooks that are located on the Chef server or the local chef-repo.

Note

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

## bulk delete

The `bulk delete` argument is used to delete cookbook files 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 cookbook bulk delete REGEX (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-p`, `--purge`
  Use to entirely remove a cookbook (or cookbook version) from the Chef server. This action should be used carefully because only one copy of any single file is stored on the Chef server. Consequently, purging a cookbook will disable any other cookbook that references one or more files from a cookbook that has been purged.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Bulk delete many cookbooks

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

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

## create

The `create` argument is used to create a new cookbook directory on the local machine, including the following directories and files:

> - cookbook/attributes
> - cookbook/CHANGELOG.md
> - cookbook/definitions
> - cookbook/files/default
> - cookbook/libraries
> - cookbook/metadata.rb
> - cookbook/providers
> - cookbook/README.md (or .rdoc)
> - cookbook/recipes/default.rb
> - cookbook/resources
> - cookbook/templates/default

After the cookbook is created, it can be uploaded to the Chef server using the `knife upload` argument.

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook create COOKBOOK_NAME (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-C COPYRIGHT_HOLDER`, `--copyright COPYRIGHT_HOLDER`
  The name of the copyright holder. This option will place a copyright notice that contains the name of the copyright holder in each of the pre-created files. If this option is not specified, a copyright name of “your_company_name” will be used instead; it can be easily modified later.
`-I LICENSE`, `--license LICENSE`
  The type of license under which a cookbook is distributed: `apachev2`, `gplv2`, `gplv3`, `mit`, or `none` (default). This option will place the appropriate license notice in the pre-created files: `Apache v2.0` (for `apachev2`), `GPL v2` (for `gplv2`), `GPL v3` (for `gplv3`), `MIT` (for `mit`), or `license 'Proprietary - All Rights Reserved` (for `none`). Be aware of the licenses for files inside of a cookbook and be sure to follow any restrictions they describe.
`-m EMAIL`, `--email EMAIL`
  The email address for the individual who maintains the cookbook. This option will place an email address in each of the pre-created files. If this option is not specified, an email name of “your_email” will be used instead; it can be easily modified later.
`-o PATH`, `--cookbook-path PATH`
  The directory in which cookbooks are created. This can be a colon-separated path.
`-r FORMAT`, `--readme-format FORMAT`
  The document format of the readme file: `md` (markdown) and `rdoc` (Ruby docs).

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Create a cookbook

To create a cookbook named “my_cookbook” with copyright, email, license, and readme format options specified, enter:

    $ knife cookbook create my_cookbook -C "My Name" -m "my@email.com" -I apachev2 -r md

to return something like:

    ** Creating cookbook my_cookbook
    ** Creating README for cookbook: my_cookbook
    ** Creating metadata for cookbook: my_cookbook

## delete

The `delete` argument is used to delete a specified cookbook or cookbook version on the Chef server (and not locally).

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook delete COOKBOOK_NAME [COOKBOOK_VERSION] (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-a`, `--all`
  Use to delete all cookbooks (and cookbook versions).
`COOKBOOK_VERSION`
  The version of a cookbook to be deleted. If a cookbook has only one version, this option does not need to be specified. If a cookbook has more than one version and this option is not specified, knife will prompt for a version.
`-p`, `--purge`
  Use to entirely remove a cookbook (or cookbook version) from the Chef server. This action should be used carefully because only one copy of any single file is stored on the Chef server. Consequently, purging a cookbook will disable any other cookbook that references one or more files from a cookbook that has been purged.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Delete a cookbook

    $ knife cookbook delete cookbook_name version

For example:

    $ knife cookbook delete smartmon 0.8

Type `Y` to confirm a deletion.

## download

The `download` argument is used to download a cookbook from the Chef server to the current working directory.

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook download COOKBOOK_NAME [COOKBOOK_VERSION] (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-d DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY`, `--dir DOWNLOAD_DIRECTORY`
  The directory in which cookbooks are located.
`-f`, `--force`
  Use to overwrite an existing directory.
`-N`, `--latest`
  Use to download the most recent version of a cookbook.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Download a cookbook

To download a cookbook named “smartmon”, enter:

    $ knife cookbook download smartmon

## list

The `list` argument is used to view a list of cookbooks that are currently available on the Chef server. The list will contain only the most recent version for each cookbook by default.

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook list (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-a`, `--all`
  Use to return all available versions for every cookbook.
`-w`, `--with-uri`
  Use to show the corresponding URIs.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

View a list of cookbooks

To view a list of cookbooks:

    $ knife cookbook list

## metadata

The `metadata` argument is used to generate the metadata for one or more cookbooks.

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook metadata (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-a`, `--all`
  Use to generate metadata for all cookbooks.
`-o PATH:PATH`, `--cookbook-path PATH:PATH`
  The directory in which cookbooks are created. This can be a colon-separated path.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Generate metadata

    $ knife cookbook metadata -a

## metadata from file

The `metadata from file` argument is used to load the metadata for a cookbook from a file.

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook metadata from file FILE

### Options

This command does not have any specific options.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

View metadata

    $ knife cookbook metadata from file /path/to/file

## show

The `show` argument is used to view information about a cookbook, parts of a cookbook (attributes, definitions, files, libraries, providers, recipes, resources, and templates), or a file that is associated with a cookbook (including attributes such as checksum or specificity).

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook show COOKBOOK_NAME [COOKBOOK_VERSION] [PART...] [FILE_NAME] (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`COOKBOOK_VERSION`
  The version of a cookbook to be shown. If a cookbook has only one version, this option does not need to be specified. If a cookbook has more than one version and this option is not specified, a list of cookbook versions will be returned.
`-f FQDN`, `--fqdn FQDN`
  The FQDN of the host.
`FILE_NAME`
  The name of a file that is associated with a cookbook.
`-p PLATFORM`, `--platform PLATFORM`
  The platform for which a cookbook is designed.
`PART`
  The part of the cookbook to show: `attributes`, `definitions`, `files`, `libraries`, `providers`, `recipes`, `resources`, or `templates`. More than one part can be specified.
`-V PLATFORM_VERSION`, `--platform-version PLATFORM_VERSION`
  The version of the platform.
`-w`, `--with-uri`
  Use to show the corresponding URIs.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Show cookbook data

To get the list of available versions of a cookbook named “getting-started”, enter:

    $ knife cookbook show getting-started

to return something like:

    getting-started   0.3.0  0.2.0

Show cookbook versions

To show a list of data about a cookbook using the name of the cookbook and the version, enter:

    $ knife cookbook show getting-started 0.3.0

to return something like:

    attributes:
      checksum:     fa0fc4abf3f6787aeb5c3c5c35de667c
      name:         default.rb
      path:         attributes/default.rb
      specificity:  default
      url:          https://somelongurlhere.com
    chef_type:      cookbook_version
    cookbook_name:  getting-started
    definitions:    []
    files:          []
    frozen?:        false
    json_class:     Chef::CookbookVersion
    libraries:      []

Show a cookbook version

To only view data about “templates”, enter:

    $ knife cookbook show getting-started 0.3.0 templates

to return something like:

    checksum:     a29d6f254577b830091f140c3a78b1fe
    name:         chef-getting-started.txt.erb
    path:         templates/default/chef-getting-started.txt.erb
    specificity:  default
    url:          https://someurlhere.com

Show cookbook data as JSON

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`.

## test

The `test` argument is used to test a cookbook for syntax errors. This argument uses Ruby syntax checking to verify every file in a cookbook that ends in .rb and Embedded Ruby (ERB). This argument will respect .chefignore files when determining which cookbooks to test for syntax errors.

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook test COOKBOOK_NAME (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-a`, `--all`
  Use to test all cookbooks.
`-o PATH:PATH`, `--cookbook-path PATH:PATH`
  The directory in which cookbooks are created. This can be a colon-separated path.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Test a cookbook

    $ knife cookbook test cookbook_name

## upload

The `upload` argument is used to upload one or more cookbooks (and any files that are associated with those cookbooks) from a local repository to the Chef server. Only files that do not already exist on the Chef server will be uploaded.

Note

Use a .chefignore file to prevent the upload of specific files and file types, such as temporary files or files placed in folders by version control systems. The .chefignore file must be located in the root of the cookbook repository and must use rules similar to filename globbing (as defined by the Ruby `File.fnmatch` syntax).

Note

Empty directories are not uploaded to the Chef server. To upload an empty directory, create a “dot” file—e.g. `.keep`—in that directory to ensure that the directory itself is not empty.

### Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

    $ knife cookbook upload [COOKBOOK_NAME...] (options)

### Options

This argument has the following options:

`-a`, `--all`
  Use to upload all cookbooks.
`--concurrency`
  The number of allowed concurrent connections. Default: `10`.
`-d`, `--include-dependencies`
  Use to ensure that when a cookbook has a dependency on one (or more) cookbooks, those cookbooks will also be uploaded.
`-E ENVIRONMENT`, `--environment ENVIRONMENT`
  Use to set the environment version dependency to the cookbook version being uploaded.
`--force`
  Use to update a cookbook even if the `--freeze` flag has been set.
`--freeze`
  Use to require changes to a cookbook be included as a new version. Only the `--force` option can override this setting.
`-o PATH:PATH`, `--cookbook-path PATH:PATH`
  The directory in which cookbooks are created. This can be a colon-separated path.

### Examples

The following examples show how to use this knife subcommand:

Upload a cookbook

    $ knife cookbook upload cookbook_name

Freeze a cookbook

To upload a cookbook, and then prevent other users from being able to make changes to it, enter:

    $ knife cookbook upload redis --freeze

to return something like:

    Uploading redis...
    Upload completed

If a cookbook is frozen and the `--force` option is not specified, knife will return an error message similar to the following:

    Uploading redis...
    ERROR: Version 0.1.6 of cookbook redis is frozen. Use --force to override.