NAME

       chef-solo - The man page for the chef-solo command line tool.

       chef-solo  is  an  open source version of the chef-client that allows using cookbooks with
       nodes without requiring access to a server. chef-solo runs locally  and  requires  that  a
       cookbook (and any of its dependencies) be on the same physical disk as the node. chef-solo
       is a limited-functionality version of the chef-client and does not support the following:

       • Node data storage

       • Search indexes

       • Centralized distribution of cookbooks

       • A centralized API that interacts with and integrates infrastructure components

       • Authentication or authorization

       • Persistent attributes

       The chef-solo executable can be run as a command-line tool.

OPTIONS

       This command has the following syntax:

       chef-solo OPTION VALUE OPTION VALUE ...

       This command has the following options:

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

       -d, --daemonize
              Indicates that the executable will  be  run  as  a  daemon.  This  option  is  only
              available on machines that run in UNIX or Linux environments. For machines that are
              running  Microsoft  Windows   that   require   similar   functionality,   use   the
              chef-client::service       recipe       in      the      chef-client      cookbook:
              http://community.opscode.com/cookbooks/chef-client. This will install a chef-client
              service under Microsoft Windows using the Windows Service Wrapper.

       -f, --[no-]fork
              Indicates  that  a  chef-client  run  will be contained in a secondary process with
              dedicated RAM. When the chef-client run is complete the RAM will be returned to the
              master  process.  This  option  helps  ensure  that a chef-client will use a steady
              amount of RAM over time because the master  process  will  not  run  recipes.  This
              option will also help prevent memory leaks (such as those that can be introduced by
              the code contained within a poorly designed cookbook).  Use  --no-fork  to  disable
              running the chef-client in fork node. Default value: --fork.

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

       --force-formatter
              Indicates that formatter output will be used instead of logger output.

       --force-logger
              Indicates that logger output will be used instead of formatter output.

       -g GROUP, --group GROUP
              The  name  of  the  group  that  owns a process. This is required when starting any
              executable as a daemon.

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

       -i SECONDS, --interval SECONDS
              The frequency (in seconds) at which the chef-client runs. This value is  configured
              for the chef-client application run time, rather than in Chef::Config.

       -j PATH, --json-attributes PATH
              The  path to a file that contains JSON data. Use this option to override attributes
              that are set from other locations, such as from within a cookbook or by a role.

       -l LEVEL, --log_level LEVEL
              The level of logging that will be stored in a log file: debug, info,  warn,  error,
              or fatal.

       -L LOGLOCATION, --logfile c
              The  location in which log file output files will be saved. If this location is set
              to something other than STDOUT, standard output logging  will  still  be  performed
              (otherwise there would be no output other than to a file). This is recommended when
              starting any executable as a daemon.

       --[no-]color
              Indicates that color will not be used in the output. Default setting: --color.

       -N NODE_NAME, --node-name NODE_NAME
              The name of the node.

       -o RUN_LIST_ITEM, --override-runlist RUN_LIST_ITEM
              Replace the current run list with the specified items.

       -r RECIPE_URL, --recipe-url RECIPE_URL
              The URL location from which a remote cookbook tar.gz will be downloaded.

       -s SECONDS, --splay SECONDS
              A number (in seconds) to add  to  the  interval  that  is  used  to  determine  the
              frequency  of chef-client runs. This number can help prevent server load when there
              are many clients running at the same time.

       -u USER, --user USER
              The user that owns a process. This is required when starting any  executable  as  a
              daemon.

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

       -W, --why-run
              Indicates  that  the  executable  will  be  run in why-run mode, which is a type of
              chef-client run that does everything except modify the system. Use why-run mode  to
              understand  why the chef-client makes the decisions that it makes and to learn more
              about the current and proposed state of the system.

EXAMPLES

       Use a URL

       $ chef-solo -c ~/solo.rb -j ~/node.json -r http://www.example.com/chef-solo.tar.gz

       where  -r  uses  the  remote_file  resource  to  retrieve  the  tar.gz  archive  into  the
       file_cache_path, and then extract it to cookbooks_path.

       Use a directory

       $ chef-solo -c ~/solo.rb -j ~/node.json

       where  the -r URL option is not used. chef-solo will look in the solo.rb file to determine
       the directory in which cookbooks are located.

       Use a URL for cookbook and JSON data

       $ chef-solo -c ~/solo.rb -j http://www.example.com/node.json -r http://www.example.com/chef-solo.tar.gz

       where -r corresponds to recipe_url and -j corresponds to json_attribs, both of  which  are
       configuration options in solo.rb.

AUTHOR

       Opscode

                                           Chef 11.8.0                               CHEF-SOLO(8)