Provided by: chef_12.3.0-3ubuntu1_all 
NAME
knife-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 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.
--[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 commands 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[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME]'. Use a comma to
separate roles and recipes when removing more than one, like this:
'recipe[COOKBOOK::RECIPE_NAME],COOKBOOK::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
Use to display all attributes in the output and to show the output as JSON.
-m, --medium
Use to display normal attributes in the output and to show the output as JSON.
-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 12.0 KNIFE-NODE(1)