chef-server-ctl

The open source Chef server includes a command-line utility named chef-server-ctl, which is used to start and stop individual services, reconfigure the Chef server, and tail Chef server log files.

Options

This command has the following syntax:

chef-server-ctl OPTION

This command has the following options:

help

Shows help for the command.

reconfigure

Use to reconfigure the Chef server. This option will read from the /etc/chef-server/chef-server.rb file and apply that configuration to the Chef server. Any time changes are made to the chef-server.rb file, the chef-server-ctl command should be run with this option.

restart [SERVICE_NAME]

Use to restart all enabled services or to restart a single service.

start [SERVICE_NAME]

Use to start all enabled services or to start a single service.

status [SERVICE_NAME]

Use to view the status of all services or to view the status of a single service.

stop [SERVICE_NAME]

Use to stop all enabled services or to stop a single service.

tail [SERVICE_NAME]

Use to follow the Chef server logs for all services or for a single service.

test --all

Use to execute chef-pedant, an integration test suite for the Chef server installation. By default, only a subset of the available test are run. Add the --all flag to run the full test suite.

upgrade --all

Use for in-place upgrades of the Open Source Chef server, version 11.0.4 (or higher). This subcommand will apply the necessary SQL changes without having to back up data and install the server from scratch. (Data should still be backed up before performing the upgrade, just to ensure that it is available, should it be needed.) This subcommand may only be used when the Open Source Chef server is configured for a standalone topology and it assumes that all services used by Open Source Chef are enabled.

Warning

The upgrade option applies only to upgrading standalone configurations of the Open Source Chef server.

Examples

The following examples show how to use chef-server-ctl to manage services.

View the status of a service

$ ctl-chef-server status name_of_service

For example, to view the status for a service named erchef, enter:

$ ctl-chef-server status erchef

Restart a service

$ ctl-chef-server restart name_of_service

For example, to restart a service named erchef, enter:

$ ctl-chef-server restart erchef

Restart all services

$ ctl-chef-server restart