KNIFE-ROLE(1)

NAME
knife-role - The man page for the knife role subcommand.

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.

This subcommand has the following syntax:

$ knife role [ARGUMENT] (options)

Note
    Use the knife node subcommand (and the run_list add node argument) to add a role to a node on the server.

COMMON OPTIONS

The following options can be run with all Knife sub-commands and plug-ins:

-c CONFIG, --config CONFIG
    The configuration file to use.

--color
    Indicates that colored output will be used.

-d, --disable-editing
    Indicates that $EDITOR will not be opened; data will be accepted as-is.

--defaults
    Indicates that Knife will use the default value, instead of asking a user to provide one.

-e EDITOR, --editor EDITOR
    The $EDITOR that is used for all interactive commands.

-E ENVIRONMENT, --environment ENVIRONMENT
    The name of the environment. When this option is added to a command, the command will run only against the named environment.

-f FILE_NAME, --file FILE_NAME
    Indicates that the private key will be saved to a specified file name.

-F FORMAT, --format FORMAT
    The output format: summary (default), text, json, yaml, and pp.

-h, --help
    Shows help for the command.

-k KEY, --key KEY
    The private key that Knife will use to sign requests made by the API client to the server.

--no-color
    Indicates that color will not be used in the output.

-p PASSWORD, --password PASSWORD
    The user password.

--print-after
    Indicates that data will be shown after a destructive operation.

-s URL, --server-url URL
    The URL for the server.

-u USER, --user USER
    The user name used by Knife to sign requests made by the API client to the server. Authentication will fail if the user name does not match the private key.

-v, --version
    The version of the chef-client.

-V, --verbose
    Set for more verbose outputs. Use -VV for maximum verbosity.

-y, --yes
    Indicates that the response to all confirmation prompts will be "Yes" (and that Knife will not ask for confirmation).

BULK DELETE

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 (/).

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife role bulk delete REGEX

Options

This command does not have any specific options.

Examples

To bulk delete roles using a regular expression:

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

CREATE

The create argument is used to add a role to the server. To add a role to a node, you must use the node sub-command and the run-list add argument. Role data is saved as JSON on the server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife role create ROLE_NAME (options)

Options

This argument has the following options:

-d DESCRIPTION, --description DESCRIPTION
    The description of the role. This value will populate the description field for the role on the server.

    Examples

    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": [
       ],
       "description": "",
       "chef_type": "role",
       "override_attributes": {
       }
    }

    When finished, save it.

DELETE

The delete argument is used to delete a role from the server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife role delete ROLE_NAME

Options

This command does not have any specific options.

Examples

To delete a role:

$ knife role delete devops

Type Y to confirm a deletion.

EDIT

The edit argument is used to edit role details on the server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife role edit ROLE_NAME

Options

This command does not have any specific options.

Examples

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": [
   ],
   "description": "This is the description for the role1 role.",
   "chef_type": "role",
   "override_attributes": {
   }
}

When finished, save it.

FROM FILE

The from file argument is used 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.

Examples

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

$ knife role from file "path to JSON file"

LIST

The list argument is used to view a list of roles that are currently available on the server.

Syntax

This argument has the following syntax:

$ knife role list

Options

This argument has the following options:

-w, --with-uri
    Indicates that the corresponding URIs will be shown.

    Examples

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

    $ knife role list -w

SHOW

The show argument is used 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.

    Examples

    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.

    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.

AUTHOR
Opscode