This is the documentation for Puppet, the industry-leading configuration management toolkit. Most of the content here applies equally to Puppet Enterprise and open source releases of Puppet.

Drive-Thru

Small documents for getting help fast.

• Core Types Cheat Sheet — A double-sided reference to the most common resource types. (HTML version)
• Module Cheat Sheet — A one-page reference to Puppet module layout, covering classes and defined types, files, templates, and plugins. (HTML version)
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Glossary

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Learning Puppet

Learn to use Puppet! New users: start here.

• Introduction and Index

Part one: Serverless Puppet

• Resources and the RAL — Learn about the fundamental building blocks of system configuration.
• Manifests — Start controlling your system by writing actual Puppet code.
• Ordering — Learn about dependencies and refresh events, manage the relationships between resources, and discover the fundamental Puppet design pattern.
• Variables, Conditionals, and Facts — Make your manifests versatile by reading system information.
• Modules and Classes (Part One) — Start building your manifests into self-contained modules.
• Templates — Use ERB to make your config files as flexible as your Puppet manifests.
• Parameterized Classes (Modules, Part Two) — Learn how to pass parameters to classes and make your modules more adaptable.
• Defined Types — Model repeatable chunks of configuration by grouping basic resources into super-resources.

Part two: Master/Agent Puppet

• Preparing an Agent VM — Prepare your tools for the next few chapters with our step-by-step walkthrough.
• Basic Agent/Master Puppet — Tour the agent/master workflow: sign an agent node’s certificate, pick which classes a node will get, and pull and apply a catalog.
• More coming soon!

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Reference Shelf

Puppet 3 Reference Manual

A concise reference to Puppet 3’s usage and internals. Use the left sidebar of any reference manual page to navigate between pages.

• Overview
• Language
• Modules

Puppet 2.7 Reference Manual

A concise reference to Puppet 2.7’s usage and internals. Use the left sidebar of any reference manual page to navigate between pages.

• Table of Contents
• Language — A complete reference to the Puppet language.
• Modules

Miscellaneous References

• REST API — reference of API-accessible resources
• Puppet Language Guide — an older version of the Puppet reference manual’s language reference
• Puppet Manpages — detailed help for each Puppet application

Generated References

Complete and up-to-date references for Puppet’s resource types, functions, metaparameters, configuration options, indirection termini, and reports, served piping hot directly from the source code.

• Resource Types — all default types
• Functions — all built in functions
• Metaparameters — all type-independent resource attributes
• Configuration — all configuration file settings
• Report — all available report handlers

These references are automatically generated from the inline documentation in Puppet’s source code. References generated from each version of Puppet are archived here:

• Versioned References — inline reference docs from Puppet’s past and present

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Puppet Guides

Learn about different areas of Puppet, fix problems, and design solutions.

Components

Learn more about major working parts of the Puppet system.

• Puppet commands: master, agent, apply, resource, and more — components of the system

Installing and Configuring

Get Puppet up and running at your site.

• An Introduction to Puppet
• Supported Platforms
• Installing Puppet — from packages, source, or gems
• Configuring Puppet — use puppet.conf to configure Puppet’s behavior
• Setting Up Puppet — includes server setup & testing

Basic Features and Use

• Puppet Language Guide — all the language details
• Module Fundamentals — nearly all Puppet code should be in modules.
• Installing Modules from the Puppet Forge — save time by using pre-existing modules
• Techniques — common design patterns, tips, and tricks
• Troubleshooting — avoid common problems and confusions
• Parameterized Classes — use parameterized classes to write more effective, versatile, and encapsulated code
• Module Smoke Testing — write and run basic smoke tests for your modules
• Scope and Puppet — understand and banish dynamic lookup warnings with Puppet 2.7
• Puppet File Serving — serving files with Puppet
• Style Guide — Puppet community conventions
• Best Practices — use Puppet effectively

Puppet on Windows

Manage Windows nodes side by side with your *nix infrastructure, with Puppet 2.7 and higher (including Puppet Enterprise ≥ 2.5).

• Overview
• Installing Puppet on Windows
• Running Puppet on Windows
• Writing Manifests for Windows
• Troubleshooting Puppet on Windows
• Developers Only: Running Puppet from Source on Windows

Tuning and Scaling

Puppet’s default configuration is meant for prototyping and designing a site. Once you’re ready for production deployment, learn how to adjust Puppet for peak performance.

• Scaling Puppet — general tips & tricks
• Using Multiple Puppet Masters — a guide to deployments with multiple Puppet masters
• Scaling With Passenger — for Puppet 0.24.6 and later
• Scaling With Mongrel — for older versions of Puppet

Advanced Features

Go beyond basic manifests.

• Templating — template out config files using ERB
• Virtual Resources
• Exported Resources — share data between hosts
• Environments — separate dev, stage, & production
• Reporting — learn what your nodes are up to
• Getting Started With Cloud Provisioner — create and bootstrap new nodes with the experimental cloud provisioner extension
• Publishing Modules on the Puppet Forge — preparing your best modules to go public

Hacking and Extending

Build your own tools and workflows on top of Puppet.

Using the Puppet Data Library

• Puppet Data Library: Overview — Puppet automatically gathers reams of data about your infrastructure. Learn where that data is, how to access it, and how to mine it for knowledge.
• Inventory Service — use Puppet’s inventory of nodes at your site in your own custom applications

Using APIs and Interfaces

• REST Access Control — secure API access with auth.conf
• External Nodes — specify what your machines do using external data sources

Using Ruby Plugins

• Plugins In Modules — where to put plugins, how to sync to clients
• Writing Custom Facts
• Writing Custom Functions
• Writing Custom Types & Providers
• Complete Resource Example — more information on custom types & providers
• Provider Development — more about providers

Developing Puppet

• Running Puppet from Source — preview the leading edge
• Development Life Cycle — learn how to contribute code
• Puppet Internals — understand how Puppet works internally

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Other Resources

• Puppet Wiki & Bug Tracker
• Puppet Patterns (Recipes)

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