NAME

       knife-diff - The man page for the knife diff subcommand.

       The knife diff subcommand is used to compare the differences between files and directories
       on the Chef server and in the chef-repo. For example, to compare files on the Chef  server
       prior  to  an  uploading  or  downloading  files using the knife download and knife upload
       subcommands, or to ensure that certain files in multiple production environments  are  the
       same.  This subcommand is similar to the git diff command that can be used to diff what is
       in the chef-repo with what is synced to a git repository.

       Syntax

       This subcommand has the following syntax:

          $ knife diff [PATTERN...] (options)

       Options

       This subcommand has the following options:

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

       --chef-repo-path PATH
              The path to the chef-repo. This setting will  override  the  default  path  to  the
              chef-repo. Default: same as specified by chef_repo_path in config.rb.

       --chef-zero-port PORT
              The port on which chef-zero will listen.

       --[no-]color
              Use to view colored output.

       --cookbook-version VERSION
              The version of a cookbook to be downloaded.

       --concurrency
              The number of allowed concurrent connections. Default: 10.

       -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.

       --diff-filter=[(A|D|M|T)...[*]]
              Use  to  select  only  files  that  have been added (A), deleted (D), modified (M),
              and/or have had their type changed (T). Any combination of filter characters may be
              used,  including  no filter characters. Use * to select all paths if a file matches
              other criteria in the comparison. Default value: nil.

       -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 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.

       --name-only
              Use to show only the names of modified files.

       --name-status
              Use to show only the names of files with a status of Added, Deleted,  Modified,  or
              Type Changed.

       --no-recurse
              Use --no-recurse to disable listing a directory recursively. Default: --recurse.

       --print-after
              Use to show data after a destructive operation.

       --repo-mode MODE
              The  layout  of  the  local  chef-repo.  Possible  values:  static,  everything, or
              hosted_everything. Use static for just roles,  environments,  cookbooks,  and  data
              bags.  By  default,  everything  and  hosted_everything  are  dynamically  selected
              depending on the server type. Default: everything / hosted_everything.

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

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

       -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  commands  that  work
              against the Chef server to also work against the local chef-repo.

       knife.rb File Settings

       In   addition   to   the   default   settings   in   a  knife.rb  file,  there  are  other
       subcommand-specific settings that can be added. When a subcommand is run, knife will use:

       1. A value passed via the command-line

       2. A value contained in the knife.rb file

       3. The default value

       A value passed via the command line will override a value in the knife.rb file; a value in
       a knife.rb file will override a default value.

       The following knife diff settings can be added to the knife.rb file:

       knife[:chef_repo_path]
              Use to add the --chef-repo-path option.

       knife[:concurrency]
              Use to add the --concurrency option.

       knife[:name_only]
              Use to add the --name-only option.

       knife[:name_status]
              Use to add the --name-status option.

       knife[:recurse]
              Use to add the --recurse option.

       knife[:repo_mode]
              Use to add the --repo-mode option.

       Examples

       To compare the base.json role to a webserver.json role, enter:

          $ knife diff roles/base.json roles/webserver.json

       To  compare the differences between the local chef-repo and the files that are on the Chef
       server, enter:

          $ knife diff

       To diff a node named node-lb and then only return files that  have  been  added,  deleted,
       modified, or changed, enter:

          $ knife diff --name-status node-lb

       to return something like:

          node-lb/recipes/eip.rb
          node-lb/recipes/heartbeat-int.rb
          node-lb/templates/default/corpsite.conf.erb
          node-lb/files/default/wildcard.node.com.crt
          node-lb/files/default/wildcard.node.com.crt-2009
          node-lb/files/default/wildcard.node.com.key
          node-lb/.gitignore
          node-lb/Rakefile

AUTHOR

       Chef

                                            Chef 12.0                               KNIFE-DIFF(1)