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-client runs, it merges its own attributes and run lists with those contained within each assigned role.
The knife role subcommand is used to manage the roles that are associated with one or more nodes on a server.
Note
To add a role to a node and then build out the run-list for that node, use the knife node sub-command and its run_list add argument.
Note
Review the list of common options available to this (and all) Knife subcommands and plugins.
The bulk delete argument is used 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 (/).
This command does not have any specific options.
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}$"
The create argument is used to add a role to the server. Role data is saved as JSON on the server.
This argument has the following options:
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:
## sample:
{
"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.
The delete argument is used to delete a role from the server.
This command does not have any specific options.
The following examples show how to use this Knife subcommand:
Delete a role
$ knife role delete devops
Type Y to confirm a deletion.
The edit argument is used to edit role details on the server.
This command does not have any specific options.
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:
## sample:
{
"name": "role1",
"default_attributes": {
},
"json_class": "Chef::Role",
"run_list": ['recipe[cookbook_name::recipe_name],
role[role_name]'
],
"description": "This is the description for the role1 role.",
"chef_type": "role",
"override_attributes": {
}
}
When finished, save it.
The from file argument is used to create a role using existing JSON data as a template.
This command does not have any specific options.
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"
The list argument is used to view a list of roles that are currently available on the server.
This argument has the following options:
The following examples show how to use this Knife subcommand:
View a list of roles
To view a list of roles on the server and display the URI for each role returned, enter:
$ knife role list -w
The show argument is used to view the details of a role.
This argument has the following options:
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 node show -l -F json <node_name>
and/or:
knife node show -l --format=json <node_name>