Packer variables hcl2. CredentialsChainVerboseErrors.

Packer variables hcl2 By default packer validate will warn when a var-file contains one or more undeclared variables. A default value can be the empty string. For environment variables we need to set them with a PKR_VAR prefix e. HTTPDir string `mapstructure:"http_directory"` // These are the minimum and maximum port to use for the HTTP server // started to serve the `http_directory`. I tested it and yes, it prepends the name I want, good to know :-) Unfortunately, it is not really what I want, because it forces me to build always all the N image types. Packer HCL2 supports environment variables through input variables. my_var}. Since AMI name must be unique, it's better to put the build timestamp there rather than in a tag. HashiTalks 2025 Learn about unique use cases, homelab setups, and best practices at scale at our 24-hour virtual knowledge shares generated data with provisioners and Contextual Variables; Data Sources; Path Variables; Syntax; Only Except; Expressions; JSON Syntax; JSON Templates. Note: Unlike most other post-processors, the keep_input_artifact option abspath takes a string containing a filesystem path and converts it to an absolute path. The locals block also called the local-variable block defines locals within your Packer configuration. Packer allows to access connection information and basic instance state information from a provisioner. In the legacy JSON Packer templates, any variables we hadn't already defined inthe "variables" stanza of our json template could simply be passed in via thecommand line or a var-file; if a variable was n As of v1. (HCL2) by example. The upgrade went smoothly. Those files need to be # You can read the official Packer documentation covering variables here: Input and Local Variables guide | Packer by HashiCorp; Convert Packer Variables JSON to HCL2 for automated vSphere builds. Closed When doing the HCL2_Upgrade the input variables resulted in the following: variable "git_commit" { type = string default = "${var. variable blocks contain configuration for variables that can either be defaulted in configuration or set by the user at runtime. This builder generates data that are shared with provisioner and post-processor via build function of template engine for JSON and contextual variables for HCL2. Usage The concat function combines two or more lists into a single list. json. With HCL2, Packer has changed the structure of the Packer files so that you can, like Terraform, split off the variable declarations from the actual values set in for the variables. Not doing so helps us remain consistent with Terraform ( Hi @brianpham thanks for reaching out. I stared working with json because I didn’t realize it was deprecated and replaced with hcl2. An inside look at powerful solutions from some of the world’s most innovative companies. Converting Packer templates from json to HCL for Packer version 1. json The actual packer HCL2 config file that I tested first has the . {{ env `my_var` }} becomes ${var. 4. arguments may not refer to named objects such as resources, input variables, etc, and may not use any of the Packer language built-in functions. ubuntu-bionic: Imported Docker image: learn-packer:packer-rocks with tags learn-packer:ubuntu-bionic learn-packer:packer-rock packer build -var-file=variables. Post-Processors. Since ami_prefix is parameterized, you can define your variable before building the image. It's designed to work with CI/CD systems such as Travis CI, CircleCI and Jenkins, or even at your console. Specification Syntax. 0: 651: February 19, 2021 Whilst the question is not very clear I surmise from the title that you wish to run a PowerShell script under packer passing parameters to it. Environment: packer version = v1. In HCL2: source "null" "example1" {communicator = "none"} source "null" "example2" the provisioner automatically defines certain commonly useful environmental variables: PACKER_BUILD_NAME is set to the name of the build that Packer is running. This page covers configuration syntax for variables. 2 target platform = vCenter (vSphere) v7. More specifically, the PKR_VAR prefix is needed to tell Packer that it is an environment variable it should know about, but when you reference the variable you have to drop the PKR_VAR Variables; Upgrade Packer JSON Template to HCL2; Making a plugin HCL2 enabled; Automatic OS Installs. Example: packer validate -var-file=packer-vars. Packer allows to access connection information and basic instance state information from a post-processor. In the documentation it mentions you can change a json varibles file into an hcl2 variables file using hcl2_upgrade. While the variable type and default values are optional, we recommend you define these attributes when creating new variables. It is missing variable declaration. docker. HCL2. We # also recommend treating this file as disposable. Alternatively you can add the auto. If comments are important to you, consider upgrading your JSON template to HCL2 using the packer hcl2_upgrade command. We # recommend double checking that everything is correct before I’m preparing to convert our packer automations from JSON-> HCL. The format specification is a string that includes formatting sequences from the following table. Overview of the Issue I'm trying to build a VM using the HCL2 JSON syntax. HCL2 templates were first introduced as a beta feature into Packer version 1. 2) I am trying to make the variables. For example, the variable blocks could be # moved to their own 'variables. Closed kclinden opened this issue Oct 22, 2020 · 7 comments · Fixed by #10240. . CODEBUILD_SOURCE_VERSION}" } variable "git_repo" { type = string Default Environmental Variables. Packer does support this but only for inline scripts. Potentially allow for a ${env. So, I had a feeling there was some manual work to do here to convert Packer Variables JSON to HCL2 that would not be handled with the HCL2 conversion HCL2 ; Sharing ; Help ; About ; Table of contents . The hcl2_upgrade command will take Explore Packer product documentation, tutorials, and examples. It does not matter if the parameter is an environment variable or direct entry. 2 and have had success building an image with a new configuration file. In the Packer language, timestamps are conventionally represented as strings using RFC 3339 "Date and Time format" syntax, and so timestamp returns a string in this format. data that are shared with provisioner and post-processor via build function of template engine for JSON I’m looking at converting some packer JSON configuration files to HCL2. join produces a string by concatenating together all elements of a given list of strings with the given delimiter. When trying to express network_adapters and storage blocks using variables in a file named var. These text files are called Packer _configurations_ and are written in the HCL2 HashiCorp Configuration Language. -> Note: Any remote_user defined in tasks will be ignored. Here is packer code: The `packer console` command allows you to experiment with Packer variable interpolations. We # recommend double checking that everything is correct before going forward. i’m trying to pass multi string variable in variable file (var. We know that HCL2 will be of limited use until variables and interpolation work, so expect this support to follow relatively soon. I’m completely new to Packer and I need a way to replace kickstart injection on kvm based hypervisor to vSphere, and I can’t use pxe boot. Provisioners. Just want to test your HCL2 reviewing skills? No Packer knowledge is needed to take this lab. 7. In the legacy JSON Packer templates, any variables we hadn't already defined in the "variables" stanza of our json template could simply be passed in via the command line or a var-file; if a variable was never defined it would generally be interpolated to an empty string. rajeshkodali January 22, 2021, All this said, I’d recommend using the hcl2_upgrade command to move to using HCL and then refer to the document that Published: Sep 8, 2021 by Isaac Johnson. json template. HTTPIP and . Objective is my provision. Build Contextual Variables. I manage to get the build working for Azure ARM builder for Windows and Powershell provisioner. I use this simplified version to stress that the problem is at the template file parsing phase, not to distract that fact with glory details. I need that script to do the following: Get a Windows AVD image from the Azure Marketplace; Run a PowerShell script (uploaded to the temporary VM with a file provisioner) that has 2 mandatory parameters: Using variables groups in Azure pieplines for Packer HCL2. However, the output of the newly stored local variable will be filtered from the Packer build output, and replaced with the value <sensitive>. Even if you want a user variable to default to an empty string, it must be defined. Reload to refresh your session. packer build -var-file ubuntu. This page describes the features of HCL2 exhaustively. Json worked, hcl2 doesn’t. pkvars. HCL HCP Packer Environment Variables. There is a milestone tracker for full HCL2 support going on in the Github repo's issue tracker. This talk will wal Type: ansible The ansible Packer provisioner runs Ansible playbooks. packer build base. However, to secure my variables and make things automated for the end client, I need to use Azure DevOps Pipelines. 2, you can convert your legacy JSON template into an HCL2 config file using the hcl2 Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. json** Is a great alternative if you want to define variables in a seperate file. Communicators. azure. With HCL2 and for parity with Terraform, Packer will be using the RFC 3339 "Date and Time This repository provides a collection of opinionated examples that demonstrate how you can use both HashiCorp Packer and the Packer Plugin for VMware vSphere (vsphere-iso builder) to automate the creation of virtual machine images for VMware vSphere environments. Whilst I don't have strong opinions agains porting {{env SOME_ENV_VAR}} to HCL2. I'm going to lock this issue because it has been closed for 30 days ⏳. 5. x; Auto Generate the HCL2 code of a plugin. This is most useful when Packer is making multiple builds and you want to distinguish them slightly from a Type: file The file Packer provisioner uploads files to machines built by Packer. Upgrade a Packer JSON template that builds a Docker image to HCL2, then add provisioners and post processors to the upgraded HCL2 template. Glad to hear that you're thinking about it! Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. packer version — Displays the Packer version currently installed. Default Extra Variables. You will get lifetime access to a wealth of content plus all of the labs for your own use. Packer has started adding in support for HCL2, this means that @include 'from-1. For example packer build -var-file=variables. x; v1. Convert a Packer JSON configuration template to its formatted HCL2 counterpart. The generated variables available for this builder are: SourceImageName - The full name of the source image used in the deployment. I am suggesting adding some syntax to mark user variables as required, while preserving the possibility to set them Assuming roles isn't yet supported directly in Packers EBS builder syntax, so for now there are two well established external methods for using assumed roles: Via scripts. I'll work on getting this resolved shortly. See Local Values for more details. HashiTalks 2025 Learn about unique , we have written an hcl2_upgrade command command. When I try to input a variable file (which is still in JSON format) none of the commands work. Packer will always connect with the I am new to Packer and went straight with HCL2 rather than json. This bug is tracked upstream as hashicorp/packer#9430. 5/HCL2 (in the hope so I can split up the single monolithic scripts and share the provisioners between my other scripts building ami images). json looks like: Any environmental Variable can be used in the template, to get AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: You can Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. The following environment variables let you configure Packer to push artifact metadata to an active registry without changing your template. I would be surprised of the precedence rules changed from 1. This explicitness helps reduce the time it takes for newcomers to understand what can be modified using variables in your template. We will work on updating the documentation to help make things less confusing for other folks. When I attempt this I just get errors. If Go template functions. 2. {script {// Run Packer build and pass your variables file Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. The basic run was. Source Variables. Deprecated. Using Variables. By default packer build will not warn when a var-file contains one or more undeclared variables. hcl . Where the env. Because Packer has so many builders, For HCL2 template defining a value for a variable in a var-file is not enough on its own for Packer to function, as there also needs to be a variable block definition in the template files pkr. Whether you're a developer, systems administrator, or site reliability engineer, this project is designed Build Shared Information Variables. Foo} setting within the variable block, such as: zfouts changed the title Support environment variables in HCL2 Better Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. hcl extension to have the variable file auto-loaded upon running packer build . In Azure pipelines I am struggling to use variables from the library group and pass "variables" { "ami_name": "xx-amazon-windows-2022-full-{{isotime \"2006-01-02T03-04-05Z\"}}" } Upgrade your version of Packer to the latest version and convert the JSON template to HCL using the packer hcl2_upgrade command. In reality, you don't need to do that and you simply need to use . Explore Packer product documentation, tutorials, and examples. Don't forget that this course also comes You signed in with another tab or window. HCL2 templates were first introduced as a beta timeout (duration) - If the provisioner takes more than for example 1h10m1s or 10m to finish, the provisioner will timeout and fail. Support for all features found in Packer file is Converting Packer templates from json to HCL for Packer version 1. I would like to be able to use the {{ env }} function with a default value defined in the packer template, such that if the environment variable is empty/unset then the default value is assigned to the variable. Hi @brianpham thanks for reaching out. hcl file. g. exe instead of powershell. In legacy JSON templates, build names default to the types of their builders (e. Variable names must each start with a letter, followed by zero or more letters, digits, or underscores. This helps our maintainers find and focus on the active issues. User variables allow your templates to be further configured with variables from the command-line, environment variables, Vault, or files. main file (packer. This is so you can dynamically pick the correct boot_config files. hcl' file, etc. They're not dropping support for json. This is a feature request (unless it exists and I just can't figure out how it works). What's different and what's better. Im looking at examples and my own variables (optional) is an object of one or more key/value strings that defines user variables contained in the template. Input variables may have defaults, but those defaults can be overridden using command line options, environment variables, or variable definitions files. -- when you're using HCL and want to split your image and variables files, you need to call the packer build command against the whole project directory, not against the image file. The variable file: **variables. The variables section is a key/value mapping of the user variable name to a default value. I am trying to migrate my docker builds to Packer 1. hcl variables file contains all the variable values for your vSphere environment to build the virtual The local block example accesses the Vault path secrets/foo and returns the value stored at the key foo, storing it as the local variable local. HashiTalks 2025 Learn about unique use cases, homelab setups, and best practices at scale at our 24-hour virtual knowledge sharing event. This is most useful when Packer is making multiple builds and you I am struggling to pass input parameter to packer provisioning script. Run packer hcl2_upgrade Run packer build upgraded. Installing Packer; Configuring Packer; Release notes. packer is recommending that a string like "{{isotime \\"2006-01-02\\"}}" be changed to make use of the timestamp and formatdate It uses the variables and other information from the files we created above. From cmd line. After these two big things we'll start on improving HCL2 even more. You can use one such function, the templatefile function to build multiple operating systems with less duplication The locals block also called the local-variable block defines locals within your Packer configuration. hcl It acts like I used --help and doesn’t try to validate the file. --> learn-packer. 7, HCL2 support is no longer in beta, and is the preferred way to write Packer configuration. The easiest thing to do is try the automated conversion: packer hcl2_upgrade -output-file=template-converted. As I said, Packer HCL2 is also giving us a lot of opportunities to improve other things. For the old-style stable configuration language see template docs. This is covered in more detail below. In HCL2 templates, things are different, as the configuration language allows you to specify builders through sources, and weave them in build blocks. It released 1. So hang in there 🙂 . json, the values are not being correctly interpreted; I believe To declare variable "docker_image", place this block in one of your . I’m excited to use HCL2 styled configs since HCL2: allow calling env as input var default value by azr · Pull Request #10240 · hashicorp/packer · GitHub, I’m using environment variables like his in the HCL config – variable “aws_az” { type = string default = env(“AWZ_AZ”) } variable “aws_profile” { type = string default = env(“AWS_PROFILE”) } variable “aws_region” { in my original json for packer it was easy to assemble variables which reference other variables. In the meantime, the approach you want to take here is the datasource with a HCL2 template, as JSON templates are considered legacy and because the datasource is the preferred way to access secretsmanager in HCL2 Hi, thanks for reaching out. hcl2_upgrade will do its best to transform your Go template calls to HCL2, here is the list of calls that should get transformed: {{ user `my_var` }} becomes ${var. The use of environment variables with HCL can be a little tricky because they are referenced differently from what they are named. For verbose messaging see aws. json). Hey @ravenium sorry you had this issue and that this was confusing for you ! Checkout Packer the docs on input variables & env - the prefix is PKR_VAR_ - I'm not sure if it was a problem you had 🙂. 7+) Different Builders. json) is refereeing the variable file but facing problem that multiline strings are not parsing var file :-1: { “changes”: " “US The offset and length are both counted in unicode characters rather than bytes: > substr("🤔🤷", 0, 1) 🤔 Packer is a tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. I am trying to pass variable values to a Packer script. use_pwsh (boolean) - Run pwsh. hcl more readable besides having 25-30 variables def HCL2 templates were first introduced as a beta feature into Packer version 1. For HCL2 template builds defining a value for a variable in a var-file is not enough on its own for Packer to function, as there also needs to be a variable block definition in the template files pkr. timestamp returns the current date and time. The template may also use any other function available in Packer, except that recursive calls to templatefile are not permitted. exe. Config. As you see below, the pkvars. In the HCL2 Packer templates, we must always pre-define our variables in the HCL equivalent of the HashiCorp Packer can use variables to define defaults during a build; Variables can be declared in a . Edit: I was able to recreate the issue, but it was when I had used a secrets. The recommended usage of the file provisioner is to use it to upload files, and then use shell provisioner to move them to the proper place, set permissions, The values are empty because ${variable_name} is HCLs, but also PowerShells' variable syntax. One workaround if you are not ready to upgrade to HCL is to use jq to strip All strings within templates are processed by a common Packer templating engine, where variables and functions can be used to modify the value of a configuration parameter at runtime. I prefer to use the JSON syntax variant as I find it easier and cleaner to manipulate programmatically. To upgrade your Packer build JSON file to HCL2, Hasicorp has Packer-by-example is a collection of Scripts, Ansible, Makefiles and Packer files to help build images in the Public Cloud. hcl vs my-vars. It is not suitable for truly human-oriented date formatting because it is not locale-aware. There are two kinds of variables in HCL Packer templates: Input variables, sometimes simply called "variables", and As of v1. 5, Packer can be configured using HCL2. This is most Being able to utilize standard env vars from your system without having to set some packer specific environment variable such as PKR_VAR_BLAH would be more than beneficial. And if the variable is assigned a value using -var or -var-file, that would take It looks like the new logic for auto creating variable blocks for referenced variables coming from an external variables file is failing because there is no existing variables block in the source JSON template. When using a variables file the file must contain the file extension . # This file was autogenerated by the 'packer hcl2_upgrade' command. x plugins = vsphere(v1. Add the following to your packer-build. You signed out in another tab or window. as a context More specifically, the PKR_VAR prefix is needed to tell Packer that it is an environment variable it should know about, but when you reference the variable you have to Let’s look at how to convert Packer variables JSON to HCL2 for automated vSphere builds and see what needs to go where. The final implementation looks something like this, in case anyone runs into the same issue in the future: Currently to use var files you need to put them in the same folder as the build files you are using and to run packer build folder/, packer will detect var files. I wish I could tell Packer: "This variable can be set through command line, or environment, but it has to be set one way or another!" Just to recap, I am not suggesting changing Packer's way of handling user variables in a backward incompatible way. Data Sources. Otherwise Packer will not try to load the other files in the directory. Packer HCL Environment Variables without PKR_VAR_ #10152. var} -- reddit" You'll see that undefined variables are replaced with nothingness. you may use user variables and template functions in this field. As of v1. This function is intended for producing common machine-oriented timestamp formats such as those defined in RFC822, RFC850, and RFC1123. There are two kinds of variables in HCL Packer templates: Input variables, sometimes simply called "variables", and It looks like you are using -var-file because you think you need to tell packer where to find that file. So when you ask PowerShell to print or save something like: Write-Output "Hello ${undefined. Integrations such as automation pipelines, secrets management, Terraform, and more. docker or amazon-ebs or virtualbox-iso), unless a specific Writing Packer Templates using HCL2 (the new standard for Packer 1. This is useful for quickly overriding variables without modifying the template. Templates: Variables can be defined directly in the Packer template file, typically in a “variables” section at the top of the The Windows Server 2022 auto. This document aims to explain the parallels HCL2 templates were first introduced as a beta feature into Packer version 1. These default values would all need to be overridden during actual HCL2 templates were first introduced as a beta feature into Packer version 1. Dismiss alert When you just want to play around without a config file you can set the --config-type=hcl2 option and Packer will start in HCL2 mode: This syntax in question is not HCL2 syntax. I have been playing with the packer hcl2_upgrade command with release 1. json -var 'region=eu-west-1' Packer uses text files to describe infrastructure and to set variables. 5, but only for build, and with certain caveats. Within the template file, each of the keys in the map is available as a variable for interpolation. pr. 5/beta-hcl2-note. hcl and get passed into the build command using the var-file flag. Code Organization. policy_name} Ok, I just found that output_image property works fine inside source block, but I still can not specify the temporary container name for an image building. However the user variables do not seem to w Hi @terramax thanks for such a great question. HashiConf 2024 Now streaming live from Boston! Attend for free. Short answer is you can't call methods for Default values, or any kind of calculation / interpolation to result in the value passed. Customer stories. You can use environment variables with both JSON and HCL2 templates. the key thing is to ensure that the script runs from the building These are named as to be targeted by the packer variables os_family and os_version. 2, you can convert your legacy JSON template into an HCL2 config file using the hcl2 packer fix — Updates an HCL1 Packer template to HCL2 format. In the HCL2 Packer templates, we must always pre-define our variables in the HCL equivalent of the "variables" stanza. I'd prefer not to need the variable files at all but some values must be supplied. com/resources/hashicorp-packer-with-hcl-configsThe Packer team recently implemented HCL2 templates. Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. In this lab, we'll test our HCL2 skills by fixing and otherwise neaten up an inaccurately written HCL2 Packer template. This page covers all existing special variables. hcl template. Thanks @ravenium, and apologies @azr for the noise. 11. This is a template engine. The order of ascending precedence is: variable defaults, Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. Packer. Automating our way out of federal datacenters and into the cloud: Automated Full Transcript: https://www. I am able to get the user variable in json file however I am unable to pass it provision script. Defaults to false. Potential configuration. There are multiple ways to assign variables. 2, you can convert your legacy JSON template into an HCL2 config file using the hcl2_upgrade command. The result of this function will change every second, so using this function directly with resource attributes will cause a diff to be detected on every I'm trying to use packer with the "profile" variable (without needing to supply static access keys) which I am configuring using the aws configure sso command - but when trying to run the packer command I get the error: Error: NoCredentialProviders: no valid providers in chain. In HashiCorp Packer 1. You can reuse variables, then it's easier on the eyes. Of course, the templates are much smaller. required_version min_packer_version JSON key not supported as argument in HCL syntax #9284; I just started using Packer + HCL2 for the first time in the last few days and came across the need for for_each. pkr files, such as variables. Currently, build-specific and “user” variables (see below) are not working for Packer with HCL2. I did recently write some new docs for this here: #9743 but haven't pushed them to the prod site yet; do these approximately cover what you were thinking? I suspect the reason strings/integers fail where maps and lists don't is that strings/integers could be interpreted as variable names whereas maps clearly aren't variable Overview Packer uses the HashiCorp Configuration Language - HCL - designed to allow concise descriptions of the required steps to get to a build file. foo. In legacy JSON templates, you would declare a series of builders, provisioners and post-processors to build images. basename returns only the last portion of a filesystem path, discarding the portion that would be returned by dirname. See docs for more info. Resources; Tutorial Library; Community Forum (opens in new tab) v1. Upgrade Packer JSON template to HCL2. Default Environmental Variables. timestamp}, the local The environment files hold variables and the packfiles are the packer json templates. hcl for the variable. json packer build -var-file fedora. It is possible to access the name and type of your source from provisioners and post-processors: source "null" "first-example" define a variable definition file and specify the path to it in the build command with -var-file. Build image with variables. To help you upgrade your templates, we have written an hcl2_upgrade command command. While it is one of the older tools yet to be commercialized (along with Vagrant), it is still actively supported In Hashicorp Packer, variables can be set in several locations: Command-line: Variables can be passed as command-line arguments to the Packer build command. variable "instance_type" {} # and base_ami_region if you want to use it in hcl file variable "base_ami_region" {} HCL2 variables, terraform like ( input vars and locals ) HCL2 dynamic stanza; min_packer_version becomes packer. Is there a specific command switch to upgrade a variables fil Packer has support for HCL2 since 1. HTTPPort), but I’m not sure how to My bad, I'm also using 1. Vars }}. auto. Then you can use the formatdate and timestamp functions, along with the latest HCL features. packer Usage: packer [--version] [--help] <command> [<args>] Available commands are: build build image(s) from template console creates a console for testing variable interpolation fix fixes templates from old versions of packer fmt Rewrites HCL2 config files to canonical format hcl2_upgrade transform a JSON template into an HCL2 configuration init HCL2 has stabilized recently, and we — the Packer team — have started to feel much more comfortable using Packer HCL2 because it feels so much better. json packer-build-. The generated variables available for this builder are: BuildRegion - The region (for example eu-central-1) where Packer is building the AMI. After rewriting it (since I reverted the changes), it is indeed working, so I guess I had a typo. can be used multiple times-var-file=path JSON or HCL2 file containing user Hi, We’ve just updated to packer 1. This option supports the usage of the template engine for JSON and the contextual variables Packer allows us to create templates for generating cross-platform machine images, and HashiCorp provides its own configuration language for this task. If it is not specified, then no variables are defined. Hashi Packer is the primary tool we use for creating virtual machine images and is one of the few tools at Hashi that is purely OSS (has no “Enterprise” offering). Just want to clarify: I'm not sure that this is correct to make the output image name in the source block, because it is the source of the image or this is the parent image which we would like to change somehow to // variables in `boot_command`. According to the following comment, -var-file isn't yet supported but In terms of supporting that feature we are currently working on bringing Packer HCL2 to feature parity with Packer JSON, we're very close here and then we'd like to split out the plugins from the repo. {{ timestamp }} becomes ${local. Create images by referring to variable and source blocks. In addition to being able to specify extra arguments using the extra_arguments Note the addition of env before {{ . The quick answer is that Packer files will a look more like Terraform and so it looks more like code than data- json. export PKR_VAR_IAM_ROLE=jonny-test This builder generates data that are shared with provisioner and post-processor via build function of template engine for JSON and contextual variables for HCL2. 7, we tagged HCL2 as stable and implemented HCL2-only functions. 6. Build Immutable Infrastructure with Packer in CI/CD. CredentialsChainVerboseErrors. pkrvars. You switched accounts on another tab or window. Hello @azr, thanks for the suggestion. Treat Packer variables as constants — you cannot update them during run time. Input variables are parameters for Packer modules. Calling the shell script which calls the provisioner scripts: Packer injects some environmental variables by default into the environment, as well, which are covered in the section below. 0 in 2017 but has versions going back to 2013. Currently passing the var-file option is making packer use JSON variables which is not exactly what we need. When using You signed in with another tab or window. I have tried various options but no joy. 0, and took the opportunity to migrate our JSON templates to HCL using packer hcl2_upgrade. Special variables provide connection information and basic instance state information. The manifest post-processor writes a JSON file with the build artifacts and IDs from a packer run. My json was working until I converted it to hcl2 and now I’m at a loss. Here is a list of template helpers that do and do not yet work in HCL configs: Description Continues a issue described in Packer forum thread. More specifically, the PKR_VAR prefix is needed to tell Packer that it is an environment variable it should know about, but when you reference the variable you have to drop the PKR_VAR prefix. The syntax of templates uses the following conventions: Anything template related happens Learn how to push artifact metadata into buckets in the HCP Packer registry using either environment variables or by configuring the Packer template. 2, you can convert your legacy JSON template into an HCL2 config file using the hcl2 # This file was autogenerated by the 'packer hcl2_upgrade' command. hcl extension and there is docker builder in it, and it fails the same way. Because Packer often runs in // parallel, Packer will choose a randomly available port in this range to // run the » Variables & Variable Interpolation. Dismiss alert You can use environment variables with both JSON HCL2 templates were first introduced as a beta feature into Packer version 1. hcl creates a console for testing variable interpolation fix fixes templates from old versions of packer fmt Rewrites HCL2 Packer does not yet support defaults in variables, so it's not possible to get a consistent timestamp to use as part of the AMI and a tag. mdx' There are two kinds of variables in HCL Packer templates: Input variables, sometimes simply called "variables", and Local variables, also known as "locals". At the Beginning of Feb 2020 Hashicorp announced that they were supporting HCL2 for Packer files. If you are building a Windows VM on AWS, Azure, Google Compute, or OpenStack and would like to access the generated password that Packer uses to connect to the instance via WinRM, In HCL2: source "null" "example1" {communicator = Packer uses templates to orchestrate builds for one or more images. the next important point is how to actually set these variables. 5, but we should defer to the maintainer. Register. Now that packer recommends to use hcl2 i am wondering how to use this pattern (or antipattern in hcl2) . This is a specific convention that the previous person apparently used to stub default arguments with useless values for whatever reason (perhaps to validate Packer templates without inputting variables or variable files, or for some other reason). hcl Observe the error: Error: Variable Create images by referring to variable and source blocks. 5. Refer to Basic Configuration With Environment Variables in the HCP Packer documentation for complete Try packer validate -var 'zone=us-east1-b' -var 'source_image_family=centos-7' -var 'project_id=mcc-digital-lab' . Usage: packer [--version] [--help] < command > [< args >]\n\nAvailable commands are:\n build build image(s) from template\n console creates a console for testing variable interpolation\n fix fixes templates from old versions of packer\n fmt Rewrites HCL2 config files to canonical format\n hcl2_upgrade transform a JSON template into an HCL2 configuration\n init Install missing Explore Packer product documentation, tutorials, and examples. In addition to being able to specify custom environmental variables using the environment_vars configuration, the provisioner automatically defines certain commonly useful environmental variables: PACKER_BUILD_NAME is set to the name of the build that Packer is running. pkr. Packer exposes two methods for setting user variables Create Linux VPN server image with Packer; Pull config files from S3 bucket and configure StrongSwan, BGPD, keepalive etc; The troubles starts with pulling files from S3 bucket, where i need to set variable in order for bash script to connect to AWS and transfer the mentioned files. . HCL2 upgrade process. If you have found a problem that seems similar to this, please open a new issue and complete the issue template so we can capture all the details necessary to investigate further. HashiTalks 2025 Learn about unique use cases, Note: This page is about HCL2 Packer templates. Notice how the Packer creates an AMI where its name consists of learn-packer-linux-aws-redis, the default value for the ami_prefix variable, and a timestamp. { type = string default = "my-demo-packer" } variable "subnet_id" { type = string } Then use plain-text file to load the values: my-vars. Take a working Packer template (JSON), with a "variables" section defined below. Defaults must be constants. From cmd line ; From a file ; From Environmental Variables ; From Consul ; From Vault ; Variables. I cannot use the packer flags -only or -except, because they apply to a build name, and this approach has only 1 build (rightly so, the whole point is to avoid Explore Packer product documentation, tutorials, and examples. drivers - VMware Tools drivers for Windows pvscsi driver and VMXNET3 Packer user variables allow your templates to be further configured with variables from the command-line, environment variables, Vault, or files. dirname returns all of the segments of a filesystem path except the last, discarding the portion The other answer is instructive in explaining why the type is incorrect as a variable input to Ansible through the CLI. hashicorp. { "using_provision_system": "puppet" } 2. Variable blocks declare the variable name (docker_image), the data type (string), and the default value (ubuntu:jammy). fileset enumerates a set of regular file names given a path and pattern. There are two kinds of variables in HCL Packer templates: Input Input variables are parameters for Packer modules. 4 to 1. Yes I understand I’m a bit behind the times. There are multiple ways use variables with Packer Templates. - hashicorp/packer After a little bit of tinkering, I was able to get the suggestion made by SwampDragons here to work. Upgrades. tfvars: template_name = "my I'm going to lock this issue because it has been closed for 30 days ⏳. Unfortunately our build now breaks with this error: Error: Variables not allowed It appears that this is no longer allowed: variable "template" { type = string default = "${var. This lets you parameterize your templates so that you can keep secret tokens, environment-specific data, and other types of information out of your templates. Builders. hcl file instead of setting via the -var flag. I know Packer has a couple magic variables for serving up things like Hey all, does anyone know if there is any documentation or examples for plugging user variables into a boot_command using the VirtualBox provisioner? I know Packer has a couple magic variables for serving up things like kickstart files (. 2, you can convert your legacy JSON template into an HCL2 config file using the hcl2 You signed in with another tab or window. sh should accept input parameter which I send during packer build. From v1. export PKR_VAR_IAM_ROLE=jonny-test Packer injects some environmental variables by default into the environment, as well, which are covered in the section below. The HCL2 blocks in this # file can be moved to other files. packer build -var role=abc test. All arguments inside variable blocks have non-standard mappings to JSON: type: a string containing a type expression, like "string" or "list(string)". It dynamically creates an Ansible inventory file configured to use SSH, runs an SSH server, executes ansible-playbook, and marshals Ansible plays through the SSH server to the machine being provisioned by Packer. Plugins. The update to the Packer HCL2 template to satisfy this requirement and solve your problem would be: only and except are keywords used to filter what runs in your Packer build, they can be seen as a command line argument:-except=foo,bar,baz - Run all the builds and post-processors except those with the given comma-separated names. hcl variables file. You can create your AWS credentials on-the-fly by calling this Powershell or a bash function and then create the environment variables to run Packer. zwvlqf hxire swrjee tzn vqavj mmc elsgyro gulinvi hjavjd jygcnlrzw