salt.states.file¶

Operations on regular files, special files, directories, and symlinks¶

Salt States can aggressively manipulate files on a system. There are a number of ways in which files can be managed.

Regular files can be enforced with the file.managed state. This state downloads files from the salt master and places them on the target system. Managed files can be rendered as a jinja, mako, or wempy template, adding a dynamic component to file management. An example of file.managed which makes use of the jinja templating system would look like this:

/etc/http/conf/http.conf:
  file.managed:
    - source: salt://apache/http.conf
    - user: root
    - group: root
    - mode: 644
    - template: jinja
    - defaults:
        custom_var: "default value"
        other_var: 123
{% if grains['os'] == 'Ubuntu' %}
    - context:
        custom_var: "override"
{% endif %}

It is also possible to use the py renderer as a templating option. The template would be a Python script which would need to contain a function called run(), which returns a string. All arguments to the state will be made available to the Python script as globals. The returned string will be the contents of the managed file. For example:

def run():
    lines = ['foo', 'bar', 'baz']
    lines.extend([source, name, user, context])  # Arguments as globals
    return '\n\n'.join(lines)

If using a template, any user-defined template variables in the file defined in source must be passed in using the defaults and/or context arguments. The general best practice is to place default values in defaults, with conditional overrides going into context, as seen above.

The template will receive a variable custom_var, which would be accessed in the template using {{ custom_var }}. If the operating system is Ubuntu, the value of the variable custom_var would be override, otherwise it is the default default value

The source parameter can be specified as a list. If this is done, then the first file to be matched will be the one that is used. This allows you to have a default file on which to fall back if the desired file does not exist on the salt fileserver. Here's an example:

/etc/foo.conf:
  file.managed:
    - source:
      - salt://foo.conf.{{ grains['fqdn'] }}
      - salt://foo.conf.fallback
    - user: foo
    - group: users
    - mode: 644
    - backup: minion

The source parameter can also specify a file in another Salt environment. In this example foo.conf in the dev environment will be used instead.

/etc/foo.conf:
  file.managed:
    - source:
      - salt://foo.conf?saltenv=dev
    - user: foo
    - group: users
    - mode: '0644'

Special files can be managed via the mknod function. This function will create and enforce the permissions on a special file. The function supports the creation of character devices, block devices, and fifo pipes. The function will create the directory structure up to the special file if it is needed on the minion. The function will not overwrite or operate on (change major/minor numbers) existing special files with the exception of user, group, and permissions. In most cases the creation of some special files require root permisisons on the minion. This would require that the minion to be run as the root user. Here is an example of a character device:

/var/named/chroot/dev/random:
  file.mknod:
    - ntype: c
    - major: 1
    - minor: 8
    - user: named
    - group: named
    - mode: 660

Here is an example of a block device:

/var/named/chroot/dev/loop0:
  file.mknod:
    - ntype: b
    - major: 7
    - minor: 0
    - user: named
    - group: named
    - mode: 660

Here is an example of a fifo pipe:

/var/named/chroot/var/log/logfifo:
  file.mknod:
    - ntype: p
    - user: named
    - group: named
    - mode: 660

Directories can be managed via the directory function. This function can create and enforce the permissions on a directory. A directory statement will look like this:

/srv/stuff/substuf:
  file.directory:
    - user: fred
    - group: users
    - mode: 755
    - makedirs: True

If you need to enforce user and/or group ownership or permissions recursively on the directory's contents, you can do so by adding a recurse directive:

/srv/stuff/substuf:
  file.directory:
    - user: fred
    - group: users
    - mode: 755
    - makedirs: True
    - recurse:
      - user
      - group
      - mode

As a default, mode will resolve to dir_mode and file_mode, to specify both directory and file permissions, use this form:

/srv/stuff/substuf:
  file.directory:
    - user: fred
    - group: users
    - file_mode: 744
    - dir_mode: 755
    - makedirs: True
    - recurse:
      - user
      - group
      - mode

Symlinks can be easily created; the symlink function is very simple and only takes a few arguments:

/etc/grub.conf:
  file.symlink:
    - target: /boot/grub/grub.conf

Recursive directory management can also be set via the recurse function. Recursive directory management allows for a directory on the salt master to be recursively copied down to the minion. This is a great tool for deploying large code and configuration systems. A state using recurse would look something like this:

/opt/code/flask:
  file.recurse:
    - source: salt://code/flask
    - include_empty: True

A more complex recurse example:

{% set site_user = 'testuser' %}
{% set site_name = 'test_site' %}
{% set project_name = 'test_proj' %}
{% set sites_dir = 'test_dir' %}

django-project:
  file.recurse:
    - name: {{ sites_dir }}/{{ site_name }}/{{ project_name }}
    - user: {{ site_user }}
    - dir_mode: 2775
    - file_mode: '0644'
    - template: jinja
    - source: salt://project/templates_dir
    - include_empty: True

salt.states.file.absent(name)¶

Make sure that the named file or directory is absent. If it exists, it will be deleted. This will work to reverse any of the functions in the file state module.

name

The path which should be deleted

salt.states.file.accumulated(name, filename, text, **kwargs)¶

Prepare accumulator which can be used in template in file.managed state. Accumulator dictionary becomes available in template. It can also be used in file.blockreplace.

name

Accumulator name

filename

Filename which would receive this accumulator (see file.managed state documentation about name)

text

String or list for adding in accumulator

require_in / watch_in

One of them required for sure we fill up accumulator before we manage the file. Probably the same as filename

Example:

Given the following:

animals_doing_things:
  file.accumulated:
    - filename: /tmp/animal_file.txt
    - text: ' jumps over the lazy dog.'
    - require_in:
      - file: animal_file

animal_file:
  file.managed:
    - name: /tmp/animal_file.txt
    - source: salt://animal_file.txt
    - template: jinja

One might write a template for animal_file.txt like the following:

The quick brown fox{% for animal in accumulator['animals_doing_things'] %}{{ animal }}{% endfor %}

Collectively, the above states and template file will produce:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Multiple accumulators can be "chained" together.

Note

The 'accumulator' data structure is a Python dictionary. Do not expect any loop over the keys in a deterministic order!

salt.states.file.append(name, text=None, makedirs=False, source=None, source_hash=None, template='jinja', sources=None, source_hashes=None, defaults=None, context=None)¶

Ensure that some text appears at the end of a file.

The text will not be appended if it already exists in the file. A single string of text or a list of strings may be appended.

name

The location of the file to append to.

text

The text to be appended, which can be a single string or a list of strings.

makedirs

If the file is located in a path without a parent directory, then the state will fail. If makedirs is set to True, then the parent directories will be created to facilitate the creation of the named file. Defaults to False.

source

A single source file to append. This source file can be hosted on either the salt master server, or on an HTTP or FTP server. Both HTTPS and HTTP are supported as well as downloading directly from Amazon S3 compatible URLs with both pre-configured and automatic IAM credentials (see s3.get state documentation). File retrieval from Openstack Swift object storage is supported via swift://container/object_path URLs (see swift.get documentation).

For files hosted on the salt file server, if the file is located on the master in the directory named spam, and is called eggs, the source string is salt://spam/eggs.

If the file is hosted on an HTTP or FTP server, the source_hash argument is also required.

source_hash

This can be one of the following:

1. a source hash string
2. the URI of a file that contains source hash strings

The function accepts the first encountered long unbroken alphanumeric string of correct length as a valid hash, in order from most secure to least secure:

Type    Length
======  ======
sha512     128
sha384      96
sha256      64
sha224      56
sha1        40
md5         32

The file can contain several checksums for several files. Each line must contain both the file name and the hash. If no file name is matched, the first hash encountered will be used, otherwise the most secure hash with the correct source file name will be used.

Debian file type *.dsc is supported.

Examples:

/etc/rc.conf ef6e82e4006dee563d98ada2a2a80a27
sha254c8525aee419eb649f0233be91c151178b30f0dff8ebbdcc8de71b1d5c8bcc06a  /etc/resolv.conf
ead48423703509d37c4a90e6a0d53e143b6fc268

Known issues:

If the remote server URL has the hash file as an apparent sub-directory of the source file, the module will discover that it has already cached a directory where a file should be cached. For example:

tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz:
  file.managed:
    - name: /tmp/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source_hash: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz/+md5

template : jinja

The named templating engine will be used to render the appended-to file. Defaults to jinja.

sources

A list of source files to append. If the files are hosted on an HTTP or FTP server, the source_hashes argument is also required.

source_hashes

A list of source_hashes corresponding to the sources list specified in the sources argument.

defaults

Default context passed to the template.

context

Overrides default context variables passed to the template.

Multi-line example:

/etc/motd:
  file.append:
    - text: |
        Thou hadst better eat salt with the Philosophers of Greece,
        than sugar with the Courtiers of Italy.
        - Benjamin Franklin

Multiple lines of text:

/etc/motd:
  file.append:
    - text:
      - Trust no one unless you have eaten much salt with him.
      - "Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea."

Gather text from multiple template files:

/etc/motd:
  file:
      - append
      - template: jinja
      - sources:
          - salt://motd/devops-messages.tmpl
          - salt://motd/hr-messages.tmpl
          - salt://motd/general-messages.tmpl

New in version 0.9.5.

salt.states.file.blockreplace(name, marker_start='#-- start managed zone --', marker_end='#-- end managed zone --', source=None, source_hash=None, template='jinja', sources=None, source_hashes=None, defaults=None, context=None, content='', append_if_not_found=False, prepend_if_not_found=False, backup='.bak', show_changes=True)¶

Maintain an edit in a file in a zone delimited by two line markers

New in version 2014.1.0.

A block of content delimited by comments can help you manage several lines entries without worrying about old entries removal. This can help you maintaining an un-managed file containing manual edits. Note: this function will store two copies of the file in-memory (the original version and the edited version) in order to detect changes and only edit the targeted file if necessary.

name

Filesystem path to the file to be edited

marker_start

The line content identifying a line as the start of the content block. Note that the whole line containing this marker will be considered, so whitespace or extra content before or after the marker is included in final output

marker_end

The line content identifying a line as the end of the content block. Note that the whole line containing this marker will be considered, so whitespace or extra content before or after the marker is included in final output. Note: you can use file.accumulated and target this state. All accumulated data dictionaries content will be added as new lines in the content

content

The content to be used between the two lines identified by marker_start and marker_stop

source

The source file to download to the minion, this source file can be hosted on either the salt master server, or on an HTTP or FTP server. Both HTTPS and HTTP are supported as well as downloading directly from Amazon S3 compatible URLs with both pre-configured and automatic IAM credentials. (see s3.get state documentation) File retrieval from Openstack Swift object storage is supported via swift://container/object_path URLs, see swift.get documentation. For files hosted on the salt file server, if the file is located on the master in the directory named spam, and is called eggs, the source string is salt://spam/eggs. If source is left blank or None (use ~ in YAML), the file will be created as an empty file and the content will not be managed

If the file is hosted on a HTTP or FTP server then the source_hash argument is also required

A list of sources can also be passed in to provide a default source and a set of fallbacks. The first source in the list that is found to exist will be used and subsequent entries in the list will be ignored.

file_override_example:
  file.managed:
    - source:
      - salt://file_that_does_not_exist
      - salt://file_that_exists

source_hash

This can be one of the following:

1. a source hash string
2. the URI of a file that contains source hash strings

The function accepts the first encountered long unbroken alphanumeric string of correct length as a valid hash, in order from most secure to least secure:

Type    Length
======  ======
sha512     128
sha384      96
sha256      64
sha224      56
sha1        40
md5         32

Using a Source Hash File

The file can contain several checksums for several files. Each line must contain both the file name and the hash. If no file name is matched, the first hash encountered will be used, otherwise the most secure hash with the correct source file name will be used.

When using a source hash file the source_hash argument needs to be a url, the standard download urls are supported, ftp, http, salt etc:

Example:

tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz:
  file.managed:
    - name: /tmp/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source_hash: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.hash

The following is an example of the supported source_hash format:

/etc/rc.conf ef6e82e4006dee563d98ada2a2a80a27
sha254c8525aee419eb649f0233be91c151178b30f0dff8ebbdcc8de71b1d5c8bcc06a  /etc/resolv.conf
ead48423703509d37c4a90e6a0d53e143b6fc268

Debian file type *.dsc files are also supported.

Inserting the Source Hash in the sls Data

Examples:

tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz:
  file.managed:
    - name: /tmp/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source_hash: md5=79eef25f9b0b2c642c62b7f737d4f53f

template

If this setting is applied then the named templating engine will be used to render the downloaded file, currently jinja, mako, and wempy are supported

context

Overrides default context variables passed to the template.

defaults

Default context passed to the template.

append_if_not_found

If markers are not found and set to True then the markers and content will be appended to the file. Default is False

prepend_if_not_found

If markers are not found and set to True then the markers and content will be prepended to the file. Default is False

backup

The file extension to use for a backup of the file if any edit is made. Set this to False to skip making a backup.

dry_run

Don't make any edits to the file

show_changes

Output a unified diff of the old file and the new file. If False return a boolean if any changes were made

Example of usage with an accumulator and with a variable:

{% set myvar = 42 %}
hosts-config-block-{{ myvar }}:
  file.blockreplace:
    - name: /etc/hosts
    - marker_start: "# START managed zone {{ myvar }} -DO-NOT-EDIT-"
    - marker_end: "# END managed zone {{ myvar }} --"
    - content: 'First line of content'
    - append_if_not_found: True
    - backup: '.bak'
    - show_changes: True

hosts-config-block-{{ myvar }}-accumulated1:
  file.accumulated:
    - filename: /etc/hosts
    - name: my-accumulator-{{ myvar }}
    - text: "text 2"
    - require_in:
      - file: hosts-config-block-{{ myvar }}

hosts-config-block-{{ myvar }}-accumulated2:
  file.accumulated:
    - filename: /etc/hosts
    - name: my-accumulator-{{ myvar }}
    - text: |
         text 3
         text 4
    - require_in:
      - file: hosts-config-block-{{ myvar }}

will generate and maintain a block of content in /etc/hosts:

# START managed zone 42 -DO-NOT-EDIT-
First line of content
text 2
text 3
text 4
# END managed zone 42 --

salt.states.file.comment(name, regex, char='#', backup='.bak')¶

Comment out specified lines in a file.

name

The full path to the file to be edited

regex

A regular expression used to find the lines that are to be commented; this pattern will be wrapped in parenthesis and will move any preceding/trailing ^ or $ characters outside the parenthesis (e.g., the pattern ^foo$ will be rewritten as ^(foo)$) Note that you _need_ the leading ^, otherwise each time you run highstate, another comment char will be inserted.

char : #

The character to be inserted at the beginning of a line in order to comment it out

backup : .bak

The file will be backed up before edit with this file extension

Warning

This backup will be overwritten each time sed / comment / uncomment is called. Meaning the backup will only be useful after the first invocation.

Usage:

/etc/fstab:
  file.comment:
    - regex: ^bind 127.0.0.1

New in version 0.9.5.

salt.states.file.copy(name, source, force=False, makedirs=False, preserve=False, user=None, group=None, mode=None, subdir=False, **kwargs)¶

If the source file exists on the system, copy it to the named file. The named file will not be overwritten if it already exists unless the force option is set to True.

name

The location of the file to copy to

source

The location of the file to copy to the location specified with name

force

If the target location is present then the file will not be moved, specify "force: True" to overwrite the target file

makedirs

If the target subdirectories don't exist create them

preserve

New in version 2015.5.0.

Set preserve: True to preserve user/group ownership and mode after copying. Default is False. If preseve is set to True, then user/group/mode attributes will be ignored.

user

New in version 2015.5.0.

The user to own the copied file, this defaults to the user salt is running as on the minion. If preserve is set to True, then this will be ignored

group

New in version 2015.5.0.

The group to own the copied file, this defaults to the group salt is running as on the minion. If preserve is set to True or on Windows this will be ignored

mode

New in version 2015.5.0.

The permissions to set on the copied file, aka 644, '0775', '4664'. If preserve is set to True, then this will be ignored. Not supported on Windows

subdir

New in version 2015.5.0.

If the name is a directory then place the file inside the named directory

salt.states.file.directory(name, user=None, group=None, recurse=None, dir_mode=None, file_mode=None, makedirs=False, clean=False, require=None, exclude_pat=None, follow_symlinks=False, force=False, backupname=None, allow_symlink=True, **kwargs)¶

Ensure that a named directory is present and has the right perms

name

The location to create or manage a directory

user

The user to own the directory; this defaults to the user salt is running as on the minion

group

The group ownership set for the directory; this defaults to the group salt is running as on the minion. On Windows, this is ignored

recurse

Enforce user/group ownership and mode of directory recursively. Accepts a list of strings representing what you would like to recurse. If mode is defined, will recurse on both file_mode and dir_mode if they are defined. If ignore_files or ignore_dirs is included, files or directories will be left unchanged respectively. Example:

/var/log/httpd:
    file.directory:
    - user: root
    - group: root
    - dir_mode: 755
    - file_mode: 644
    - recurse:
        - user
        - group
        - mode

Leave files or directories unchanged:

/var/log/httpd:
    file.directory:
    - user: root
    - group: root
    - dir_mode: 755
    - file_mode: 644
    - recurse:
        - user
        - group
        - mode
        - ignore_files

/var/log/httpd:
    file.directory:
    - user: root
    - group: root
    - dir_mode: 755
    - file_mode: 644
    - recurse:
        - user
        - group
        - mode
        - ignore_dirs

New in version 2015.5.0.

dir_mode / mode

The permissions mode to set any directories created. Not supported on Windows

file_mode

The permissions mode to set any files created if 'mode' is run in 'recurse'. This defaults to dir_mode. Not supported on Windows

makedirs

If the directory is located in a path without a parent directory, then the state will fail. If makedirs is set to True, then the parent directories will be created to facilitate the creation of the named file.

clean

Make sure that only files that are set up by salt and required by this function are kept. If this option is set then everything in this directory will be deleted unless it is required.

require

Require other resources such as packages or files

exclude_pat

When 'clean' is set to True, exclude this pattern from removal list and preserve in the destination.

follow_symlinks : False

If the desired path is a symlink (or recurse is defined and a symlink is encountered while recursing), follow it and check the permissions of the directory/file to which the symlink points.

New in version 2014.1.4.

force

If the name of the directory exists and is not a directory and force is set to False, the state will fail. If force is set to True, the file in the way of the directory will be deleted to make room for the directory, unless backupname is set, then it will be renamed.

New in version 2014.7.0.

backupname

If the name of the directory exists and is not a directory, it will be renamed to the backupname. If the backupname already exists and force is False, the state will fail. Otherwise, the backupname will be removed first.

New in version 2014.7.0.

allow_symlink : True

If allow_symlink is True and the specified path is a symlink, it will be allowed to remain if it points to a directory. If allow_symlink is False then the state will fail, unless force is also set to True, in which case it will be removed or renamed, depending on the value of the backupname argument.

New in version 2014.7.0.

salt.states.file.exists(name)¶

Verify that the named file or directory is present or exists. Ensures pre-requisites outside of Salt's purview (e.g., keytabs, private keys, etc.) have been previously satisfied before deployment.

name

Absolute path which must exist

salt.states.file.line(name, content, match=None, mode=None, location=None, before=None, after=None, show_changes=True, backup=False, quiet=False, indent=True)¶

Line-based editing of a file.

New in version Beryllium.

Params are identical to the remote execution function file.line.

salt.states.file.managed(name, source=None, source_hash='', user=None, group=None, mode=None, template=None, makedirs=False, dir_mode=None, context=None, replace=True, defaults=None, env=None, backup='', show_diff=True, create=True, contents=None, contents_pillar=None, contents_grains=None, contents_newline=True, follow_symlinks=True, check_cmd=None, **kwargs)¶

Manage a given file, this function allows for a file to be downloaded from the salt master and potentially run through a templating system.

name

The location of the file to manage

source

The source file to download to the minion, this source file can be hosted on either the salt master server, or on an HTTP or FTP server. Both HTTPS and HTTP are supported as well as downloading directly from Amazon S3 compatible URLs with both pre-configured and automatic IAM credentials. (see s3.get state documentation) File retrieval from Openstack Swift object storage is supported via swift://container/object_path URLs, see swift.get documentation. For files hosted on the salt file server, if the file is located on the master in the directory named spam, and is called eggs, the source string is salt://spam/eggs. If source is left blank or None (use ~ in YAML), the file will be created as an empty file and the content will not be managed

If the file is hosted on a HTTP or FTP server then the source_hash argument is also required

A list of sources can also be passed in to provide a default source and a set of fallbacks. The first source in the list that is found to exist will be used and subsequent entries in the list will be ignored.

file_override_example:
  file.managed:
    - source:
      - salt://file_that_does_not_exist
      - salt://file_that_exists

source_hash

This can be one of the following:

1. a source hash string
2. the URI of a file that contains source hash strings

The function accepts the first encountered long unbroken alphanumeric string of correct length as a valid hash, in order from most secure to least secure:

Type    Length
======  ======
sha512     128
sha384      96
sha256      64
sha224      56
sha1        40
md5         32

Using a Source Hash File

The file can contain several checksums for several files. Each line must contain both the file name and the hash. If no file name is matched, the first hash encountered will be used, otherwise the most secure hash with the correct source file name will be used.

When using a source hash file the source_hash argument needs to be a url, the standard download urls are supported, ftp, http, salt etc:

Example:

tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz:
  file.managed:
    - name: /tmp/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source_hash: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.hash

The following is an example of the supported source_hash format:

/etc/rc.conf ef6e82e4006dee563d98ada2a2a80a27
sha254c8525aee419eb649f0233be91c151178b30f0dff8ebbdcc8de71b1d5c8bcc06a  /etc/resolv.conf
ead48423703509d37c4a90e6a0d53e143b6fc268

Debian file type *.dsc files are also supported.

Inserting the Source Hash in the sls Data

Examples:

tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz:
  file.managed:
    - name: /tmp/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source_hash: md5=79eef25f9b0b2c642c62b7f737d4f53f

Known issues:

If the remote server URL has the hash file as an apparent sub-directory of the source file, the module will discover that it has already cached a directory where a file should be cached. For example:

tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz:
  file.managed:
    - name: /tmp/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz
    - source_hash: https://launchpad.net/tomdroid/beta/0.7.3/+download/tomdroid-src-0.7.3.tar.gz/+md5

user

The user to own the file, this defaults to the user salt is running as on the minion

group

The group ownership set for the file, this defaults to the group salt is running as on the minion On Windows, this is ignored

mode

The permissions to set on this file, aka 644, 0775, 4664. Not supported on Windows

template

If this setting is applied then the named templating engine will be used to render the downloaded file, currently jinja, mako, and wempy are supported

makedirs

If the file is located in a path without a parent directory, then the state will fail. If makedirs is set to True, then the parent directories will be created to facilitate the creation of the named file.

dir_mode

If directories are to be created, passing this option specifies the permissions for those directories. If this is not set, directories will be assigned permissions from the 'mode' argument.

replace

If this file should be replaced. If false, this command will not overwrite file contents but will enforce permissions if the file exists already. Default is True.

context

Overrides default context variables passed to the template.

defaults

Default context passed to the template.

backup

Overrides the default backup mode for this specific file.

show_diff

If set to False, the diff will not be shown.

create

Default is True, if create is set to False then the file will only be managed if the file already exists on the system.

contents

Default is None. If specified, will use the given string as the contents of the file. Should not be used in conjunction with a source file of any kind. Ignores hashes and does not use a templating engine.

contents_pillar

New in version 0.17.0.

Operates like contents, but draws from a value stored in pillar, using the pillar path syntax used in pillar.get. This is useful when the pillar value contains newlines, as referencing a pillar variable using a jinja/mako template can result in YAML formatting issues due to the newlines causing indentation mismatches.

For example, the following could be used to deploy an SSH private key:

/home/deployer/.ssh/id_rsa:
  file.managed:
    - user: deployer
    - group: deployer
    - mode: 600
    - contents_pillar: userdata:deployer:id_rsa

This would populate /home/deployer/.ssh/id_rsa with the contents of pillar['userdata']['deployer']['id_rsa']. An example of this pillar setup would be like so:

userdata:
  deployer:
    id_rsa: |
      -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
      MIIEowIBAAKCAQEAoQiwO3JhBquPAalQF9qP1lLZNXVjYMIswrMe2HcWUVBgh+vY
      U7sCwx/dH6+VvNwmCoqmNnP+8gTPKGl1vgAObJAnMT623dMXjVKwnEagZPRJIxDy
      B/HaAre9euNiY3LvIzBTWRSeMfT+rWvIKVBpvwlgGrfgz70m0pqxu+UyFbAGLin+
      GpxzZAMaFpZw4sSbIlRuissXZj/sHpQb8p9M5IeO4Z3rjkCP1cxI
      -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

Note

The private key above is shortened to keep the example brief, but shows how to do multiline string in YAML. The key is followed by a pipe character, and the mutliline string is indented two more spaces.

contents_grains

New in version 2014.7.0.

Same as contents_pillar, but with grains

contents_newline

New in version 2014.7.0.

When using contents, contents_pillar, or contents_grains, this option ensures the file will have a newline at the end. When loading some data this newline is better left off. Setting contents_newline to False will omit this final newline.

follow_symlinks : True

New in version 2014.7.0.

If the desired path is a symlink follow it and make changes to the file to which the symlink points.

check_cmd

New in version 2014.7.0.

The specified command will be run with the managed file as an argument. If the command exits with a nonzero exit code, the command will not be run.

salt.states.file.missing(name)¶

Verify that the named file or directory is missing, this returns True only if the named file is missing but does not remove the file if it is present.

name

Absolute path which must NOT exist

salt.states.file.mknod(name, ntype, major=0, minor=0, user=None, group=None, mode='0600')¶

Create a special file similar to the 'nix mknod command. The supported device types are p (fifo pipe), c (character device), and b (block device). Provide the major and minor numbers when specifying a character device or block device. A fifo pipe does not require this information. The command will create the necessary dirs if needed. If a file of the same name not of the same type/major/minor exists, it will not be overwritten or unlinked (deleted). This is logically in place as a safety measure because you can really shoot yourself in the foot here and it is the behavior of 'nix mknod. It is also important to note that not just anyone can create special devices. Usually this is only done as root. If the state is executed as none other than root on a minion, you may receive a permission error.

name

name of the file

ntype

node type 'p' (fifo pipe), 'c' (character device), or 'b' (block device)

major

major number of the device does not apply to a fifo pipe

minor

minor number of the device does not apply to a fifo pipe

user

owning user of the device/pipe

group

owning group of the device/pipe

mode

permissions on the device/pipe

Usage:

 /dev/chr:
   file.mknod:
     - ntype: c
     - major: 180
     - minor: 31
     - user: root
     - group: root
     - mode: 660

 /dev/blk:
   file.mknod:
     - ntype: b
     - major: 8
     - minor: 999
     - user: root
     - group: root
     - mode: 660

/dev/fifo:
  file.mknod:
    - ntype: p
    - user: root
    - group: root
    - mode: 660

New in version 0.17.0.

salt.states.file.mod_run_check_cmd(cmd, filename, **check_cmd_opts)¶

Execute the check_cmd logic.

Return a result dict if check_cmd succeeds (check_cmd == 0) otherwise return True

salt.states.file.patch(name, source=None, hash=None, options='', dry_run_first=True, env=None, **kwargs)¶

Apply a patch to a file.

Note

A suitable patch executable must be available on the minion when using this state function.

name

The file to with the patch will be applied.

source

The source patch to download to the minion, this source file must be hosted on the salt master server. If the file is located in the directory named spam, and is called eggs, the source string is salt://spam/eggs. A source is required.

hash

Hash of the patched file. If the hash of the target file matches this value then the patch is assumed to have been applied. The hash string is the hash algorithm followed by the hash of the file: md5=e138491e9d5b97023cea823fe17bac22

options

Extra options to pass to patch.

dry_run_first : True

Run patch with --dry-run first to check if it will apply cleanly.

env

Specify the environment from which to retrieve the patch file indicated by the source parameter. If not provided, this defaults to the environment from which the state is being executed.

Usage:

# Equivalent to ``patch --forward /opt/file.txt file.patch``
/opt/file.txt:
  file.patch:
    - source: salt://file.patch
    - hash: md5=e138491e9d5b97023cea823fe17bac22

salt.states.file.prepend(name, text=None, makedirs=False, source=None, source_hash=None, template='jinja', sources=None, source_hashes=None, defaults=None, context=None)¶

Ensure that some text appears at the beginning of a file

The text will not be prepended again if it already exists in the file. You may specify a single line of text or a list of lines to append.

Multi-line example:

/etc/motd:
  file.prepend:
    - text: |
        Thou hadst better eat salt with the Philosophers of Greece,
        than sugar with the Courtiers of Italy.
        - Benjamin Franklin

Multiple lines of text:

/etc/motd:
  file.prepend:
    - text:
      - Trust no one unless you have eaten much salt with him.
      - "Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea."

Gather text from multiple template files:

/etc/motd:
  file:
      - prepend
      - template: jinja
      - sources:
          - salt://motd/devops-messages.tmpl
          - salt://motd/hr-messages.tmpl
          - salt://motd/general-messages.tmpl

New in version 2014.7.0.

salt.states.file.recurse(name, source, clean=False, require=None, user=None, group=None, dir_mode=None, file_mode=None, sym_mode=None, template=None, context=None, defaults=None, env=None, include_empty=False, backup='', include_pat=None, exclude_pat=None, maxdepth=None, keep_symlinks=False, force_symlinks=False, **kwargs)¶

Recurse through a subdirectory on the master and copy said subdirectory over to the specified path.

name

The directory to set the recursion in

source

The source directory, this directory is located on the salt master file server and is specified with the salt:// protocol. If the directory is located on the master in the directory named spam, and is called eggs, the source string is salt://spam/eggs

clean

Make sure that only files that are set up by salt and required by this function are kept. If this option is set then everything in this directory will be deleted unless it is required.

require

Require other resources such as packages or files

user

The user to own the directory. This defaults to the user salt is running as on the minion

group

The group ownership set for the directory. This defaults to the group salt is running as on the minion. On Windows, this is ignored

dir_mode

The permissions mode to set on any directories created. Not supported on Windows

file_mode

The permissions mode to set on any files created. Not supported on Windows

sym_mode

The permissions mode to set on any symlink created. Not supported on Windows

template

If this setting is applied then the named templating engine will be used to render the downloaded file. Supported templates are: jinja, mako and wempy.

Note

The template option is required when recursively applying templates.

context

Overrides default context variables passed to the template.

defaults

Default context passed to the template.

include_empty

Set this to True if empty directories should also be created (default is False)

include_pat

When copying, include only this pattern from the source. Default is glob match; if prefixed with 'E@', then regexp match. Example:

- include_pat: hello*       :: glob matches 'hello01', 'hello02'
                               ... but not 'otherhello'
- include_pat: E@hello      :: regexp matches 'otherhello',
                               'hello01' ...

exclude_pat

Exclude this pattern from the source when copying. If both include_pat and exclude_pat are supplied, then it will apply conditions cumulatively. i.e. first select based on include_pat, and then within that result apply exclude_pat.

Also, when 'clean=True', exclude this pattern from the removal list and preserve in the destination. Example:

- exclude_pat: APPDATA*               :: glob matches APPDATA.01,
                                         APPDATA.02,.. for exclusion
- exclude_pat: E@(APPDATA)|(TEMPDATA) :: regexp matches APPDATA
                                         or TEMPDATA for exclusion

maxdepth

When copying, only copy paths which are of depth maxdepth from the source path. Example:

- maxdepth: 0      :: Only include files located in the source
                      directory
- maxdepth: 1      :: Only include files located in the source
                      or immediate subdirectories

keep_symlinks

Keep symlinks when copying from the source. This option will cause the copy operation to terminate at the symlink. If desire behavior similar to rsync, then set this to True.

force_symlinks

Force symlink creation. This option will force the symlink creation. If a file or directory is obstructing symlink creation it will be recursively removed so that symlink creation can proceed. This option is usually not needed except in special circumstances.

salt.states.file.rename(name, source, force=False, makedirs=False)¶

If the source file exists on the system, rename it to the named file. The named file will not be overwritten if it already exists unless the force option is set to True.

name

The location of the file to rename to

source

The location of the file to move to the location specified with name

force

If the target location is present then the file will not be moved, specify "force: True" to overwrite the target file

makedirs

If the target subdirectories don't exist create them

salt.states.file.replace(name, pattern, repl, count=0, flags=0, bufsize=1, append_if_not_found=False, prepend_if_not_found=False, not_found_content=None, backup='.bak', show_changes=True)¶

Maintain an edit in a file.

New in version 0.17.0.

name

Filesystem path to the file to be edited.

pattern

Python's regular expression search.

repl

The replacement text.

count

Maximum number of pattern occurrences to be replaced.

flags

A list of flags defined in the re module documentation. Each list item should be a string that will correlate to the human-friendly flag name. E.g., ['IGNORECASE', 'MULTILINE']. Note: multiline searches must specify file as the bufsize argument below. Defaults to 0 and can be a list or an int.

bufsize

How much of the file to buffer into memory at once. The default value 1 processes one line at a time. The special value file may be specified which will read the entire file into memory before processing. Note: multiline searches must specify file buffering. Can be an int or a str.

append_if_not_found

If pattern is not found and set to True then, the content will be appended to the file.

New in version 2014.7.0.

prepend_if_not_found

If pattern is not found and set to True then, the content will be prepended to the file.

New in version 2014.7.0.

not_found_content

Content to use for append/prepend if not found. If None (default), uses repl. Useful when repl uses references to group in pattern.

New in version 2014.7.0.

backup

The file extension to use for a backup of the file before editing. Set to False to skip making a backup.

show_changes

Output a unified diff of the old file and the new file. If False return a boolean if any changes were made. Returns a boolean or a string.

For complex regex patterns it can be useful to avoid the need for complex quoting and escape sequences by making use of YAML's multiline string syntax.

complex_search_and_replace:
  file.replace:
    # <...snip...>
    - pattern: |
        CentOS \(2.6.32[^\n]+\n\s+root[^\n]+\n\)+

salt.states.file.serialize(name, dataset=None, dataset_pillar=None, user=None, group=None, mode=None, env=None, backup='', makedirs=False, show_diff=True, create=True, merge_if_exists=False, **kwargs)¶

Serializes dataset and store it into managed file. Useful for sharing simple configuration files.

name

The location of the file to create

dataset

The dataset that will be serialized

dataset_pillar

Operates like dataset, but draws from a value stored in pillar, using the pillar path syntax used in pillar.get. This is useful when the pillar value contains newlines, as referencing a pillar variable using a jinja/mako template can result in YAML formatting issues due to the newlines causing indentation mismatches.

New in version FIXME.

formatter

Write the data as this format. Supported output formats:

• JSON
• YAML
• Python (via pprint.pformat)

user

The user to own the directory, this defaults to the user salt is running as on the minion

group

The group ownership set for the directory, this defaults to the group salt is running as on the minion

mode

The permissions to set on this file, aka 644, 0775, 4664

backup

Overrides the default backup mode for this specific file.

makedirs

Create parent directories for destination file.

New in version 2014.1.3.

show_diff

If set to False, the diff will not be shown.

create

Default is True, if create is set to False then the file will only be managed if the file already exists on the system.

merge_if_exists

Default is False, if merge_if_exists is True then the existing file will be parsed and the dataset passed in will be merged with the existing content

New in version 2014.7.0.

For example, this state:

/etc/dummy/package.json:
  file.serialize:
    - dataset:
        name: naive
        description: A package using naive versioning
        author: A confused individual <iam@confused.com>
        dependencies:
            express: >= 1.2.0
            optimist: >= 0.1.0
        engine: node 0.4.1
    - formatter: json

will manage the file /etc/dummy/package.json:

{
  "author": "A confused individual <iam@confused.com>",
  "dependencies": {
    "express": ">= 1.2.0",
    "optimist": ">= 0.1.0"
  },
  "description": "A package using naive versioning",
  "engine": "node 0.4.1",
  "name": "naive"
}

salt.states.file.symlink(name, target, force=False, backupname=None, makedirs=False, user=None, group=None, mode=None, **kwargs)¶

Create a symlink

If the file already exists and is a symlink pointing to any location other than the specified target, the symlink will be replaced. If the symlink is a regular file or directory then the state will return False. If the regular file or directory is desired to be replaced with a symlink pass force: True, if it is to be renamed, pass a backupname.

name

The location of the symlink to create

target

The location that the symlink points to

force

If the name of the symlink exists and is not a symlink and force is set to False, the state will fail. If force is set to True, the file or directory in the way of the symlink file will be deleted to make room for the symlink, unless backupname is set, when it will be renamed

backupname

If the name of the symlink exists and is not a symlink, it will be renamed to the backupname. If the backupname already exists and force is False, the state will fail. Otherwise, the backupname will be removed first.

makedirs

If the location of the symlink does not already have a parent directory then the state will fail, setting makedirs to True will allow Salt to create the parent directory

user

The user to own the file, this defaults to the user salt is running as on the minion

group

The group ownership set for the file, this defaults to the group salt is running as on the minion. On Windows, this is ignored

mode

The permissions to set on this file, aka 644, 0775, 4664. Not supported on Windows

salt.states.file.touch(name, atime=None, mtime=None, makedirs=False)¶

Replicate the 'nix "touch" command to create a new empty file or update the atime and mtime of an existing file.

Note that if you just want to create a file and don't care about atime or mtime, you should use file.managed instead, as it is more feature-complete. (Just leave out the source/template/contents arguments, and it will just create the file and/or check its permissions, without messing with contents)

name

name of the file

atime

atime of the file

mtime

mtime of the file

makedirs

whether we should create the parent directory/directories in order to touch the file

Usage:

/var/log/httpd/logrotate.empty:
  file.touch

New in version 0.9.5.

salt.states.file.uncomment(name, regex, char='#', backup='.bak')¶

Uncomment specified commented lines in a file

name

The full path to the file to be edited

regex

A regular expression used to find the lines that are to be uncommented. This regex should not include the comment character. A leading ^ character will be stripped for convenience (for easily switching between comment() and uncomment()). The regex will be searched for from the beginning of the line, ignoring leading spaces (we prepend '^[ t]*')

char : #

The character to remove in order to uncomment a line

backup : .bak

The file will be backed up before edit with this file extension;

Warning

This backup will be overwritten each time sed / comment / uncomment is called. Meaning the backup will only be useful after the first invocation.

Usage:

/etc/adduser.conf:
  file.uncomment:
    - regex: EXTRA_GROUPS

New in version 0.9.5.