KNIFE-NODE(1) knife node KNIFE-NODE(1)NAMEknife-node - The man page for the knife node subcommand.
A node is any physical, virtual, or cloud machine that is configured to
be maintained by a chef-client.
The knife node subcommand is used to manage the nodes that exist on a
Chef server.
COMMON OPTIONS
The following options may be used with any of the arguments available
to the knife node subcommand:
--chef-zero-port PORT
The port on which chef-zero will listen.
-c CONFIG_FILE, --config CONFIG_FILE
The configuration file to use.
-d, --disable-editing
Use to prevent the $EDITOR from being opened and to accept data
as-is.
--defaults
Use to have Knife 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 com‐
mand, the command will run only against the named environment.
-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 Chef server.
--[no-]color
Use to view colored output.
--print-after
Use to show data after a destructive operation.
-s URL, --server-url URL
The URL for the Chef server.
-u USER, --user USER
The user name used by Knife to sign requests made by the API
client to the Chef server. Authentication will fail if the user
name does not match the private key.
-V, --verbose
Set for more verbose outputs. Use -VV for maximum verbosity.
-v, --version
The version of the chef-client.
-y, --yes
Use to respond to all confirmation prompts with "Yes". Knife
will not ask for confirmation.
-z, --local-mode
Use to run the chef-client in local mode. This allows all com‐
mands that work against the Chef server to also work against the
local chef-repo.
BULK DELETE
The bulk delete argument is used to delete one or more nodes 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 node bulk delete REGEX
Options
This command does not have any specific options.
Examples
Use a regular expression to define the pattern used to bulk delete
nodes:
$ knife node bulk delete "^[0-9]{3}$"
Type Y to confirm a deletion.
CREATE
The create argument is used to add a node to the Chef server. Node data
is stored as JSON on the Chef server.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node create NODE_NAME
Options
This command does not have any specific options.
Examples
To add a node, enter:
$ knife node create node1
In the $EDITOR enter the node data in JSON:
## sample:
{
"normal": {
},
"name": "foobar",
"override": {
},
"default": {
},
"json_class": "Chef::Node",
"automatic": {
},
"run_list": [
"recipe[zsh]",
"role[webserver]"
],
"chef_type": "node"
}
When finished, save it.
DELETE
The delete argument is used to delete a node from the Chef server.
NOTE:
Deleting a node will not delete any corresponding API clients.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node delete NODE_NAME
Options
This command does not have any specific options.
Examples
$ knife node delete node_name
EDIT
The edit argument is used to edit the details of a node on a Chef
server. Node data is stored as JSON on the Chef server.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node edit NODE_NAME (options)
Options
This argument has the following options:
-a, --all
Displays a node in the $EDITOR. By default, attributes that are
default, override, or automatic are not shown.
Examples
To edit the data for a node named "node1", enter:
$ knife node edit node1 -a
Update the role data in JSON:
## sample:
{
"normal": {
},
"name": "node1",
"override": {
},
"default": {
},
"json_class": "Chef::Node",
"automatic": {
},
"run_list": [
"recipe[devops]",
"role[webserver]"
],
"chef_type": "node"
}
When finished, save it.
FROM FILE
The from file argument is used to create a node using existing node
data as a template.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node from file FILE
Options
This command does not have any specific options.
Examples
To add a node using data contained in a JSON file:
$ knife node from file "path to JSON file"
LIST
The list argument is used to view all of the nodes that exist on a Chef
server.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node list (options)
Options
This argument has the following options:
-w, --with-uri
Use to show the corresponding URIs.
Examples
To verify the list of nodes that are registered with the Chef server,
enter:
$ knife node list
to return something similar to:
i-12345678
rs-123456
RUN_LIST ADD
The run_list add argument is used to add run-list items (roles or
recipes) to a node.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node run_list add NODE_NAME RUN_LIST_ITEM (options)
Options
This argument has the following options:
-a ITEM, --after ITEM
Use this to add the run list item after the specified run list
item.
-b ITEM, --before ITEM
Use this to add the run list item before the specified run list
item.
Examples
To add a role to a run list, enter:
$ knife node run_list add node 'role[ROLE_NAME]'
To add roles and recipes to a run list, enter:
$ knife node run_list add node 'recipe[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME],recipe[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME],role[ROLE_NAME]'
To add a recipe to a run list using the fully qualified format, enter:
$ knife node run_list add node 'recipe[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME]'
To add a recipe to a run list using the cookbook format, enter:
$ knife node run_list add node 'COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME'
To add the default recipe of a cookbook to a run list, enter:
$ knife node run_list add node 'COOKBOOK'
RUN_LIST REMOVE
The run_list remove argument is used to remove run-list items (roles or
recipes) from a node. A recipe must be in one of the following formats:
fully qualified, cookbook, or default. Both roles and recipes must be
in quotes, for example: 'role[ROLE_NAME]' or 'recipe[COOK‐
BOOK::RECIPE_NAME]'. Use a comma to separate roles and recipes when
removing more than one, like this: 'recipe[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME],COOK‐
BOOK::RECIPE_NAME,role[ROLE_NAME]'.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node run_list remove NODE_NAME RUN_LIST_ITEM
Options
This command does not have any specific options.
Examples
To remove a role from a run list, enter:
$ knife node run_list remove node 'role[ROLE_NAME]'
To remove a recipe from a run list using the fully qualified format,
enter:
$ knife node run_list remove node 'recipe[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME]'
SHOW
The show argument is used to display information about a node.
Syntax
This argument has the following syntax:
$ knife node show NODE_NAME (options)
Options
This argument has the following options:
-a ATTR, --attribute ATTR
The attribute (or attributes) to show.
-l, --long
Display long output when searching nodes while using the default
summary format.
-m, --medium
Display more, but not all, of a node's data when searching using
the default summary format.
-r, --run-list
Use to show only the run-list.
Examples
To view all data for a node named "build", enter:
$ knife node show build
to return:
Node Name: build
Environment: _default
FQDN:
IP:
Run List:
Roles:
Recipes:
Platform:
To show basic information about a node, truncated and nicely formatted:
knife node show <node_name>
To show all information about a node, nicely formatted:
knife node show -l <node_name>
To list a single node attribute:
knife node show <node_name> -a <attribute_name>
where <attribute_name> is something like kernel or platform. (This
doesn't work for nested attributes like node[kernel][machine] because
knife node show doesn't understand nested attributes.)
To view the FQDN for a node named "i-12345678", enter:
$ knife node show i-12345678 -a fqdn
to return:
fqdn: ip-10-251-75-20.ec2.internal
To view the run list for a node named "dev", enter:
$ knife node show dev -r
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 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>
AUTHOR
Chef
Chef 11.14 KNIFE-NODE(1)
