Cookbooks are fundamental working units of Chef, which consists of all the details related to working units, having the capability to modify configuration and the state of any system configured as a node on Chef infrastructure. Cookbooks can perform multiple tasks. Cookbooks contain values about the desired state of node. This is achieved in Chef by using the desired external libraries.

Key Components of a Cookbook

• Recipes
• Metadata
• Attributes
• Resources
• Templates
• Libraries
• Anything else that helps to create a system

Creating a Cookbook

There are two ways to dynamically create a cookbook.
• Using chef command
• Using knife utility

Using Chef Command

To create an empty cookbook using Chef command, run the following command.
C:\Users\vipinkumarm>chef generate cookbook <Cookbook Name>
C:\Users\vipinkumarm>chef generate cookbook VTest
Installing Cookbook Gems:
Compiling Cookbooks...
Recipe: code_generator::cookbook
* directory[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest] action create
- create new directory C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest
* template[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/metadata.rb] action create_if_missing
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/metadata.rb
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/metadata.rb
from none to 4b9435 (diff output suppressed by config)

* template[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/README.md] action create_if_missing
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/README.md
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/README.md
from none to 482077 (diff output suppressed by config)

* cookbook_file[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/chefignore] action create
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/chefignore
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/chefignore
from none to 15fac5 (diff output suppressed by config)

* cookbook_file[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/Berksfile] action create_if_missing
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/Berksfile
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/Berksfile
from none to 9f08dc (diff output suppressed by config)

* template[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/.kitchen.yml] action create_if_missing
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/.kitchen.yml
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/.kitchen.yml
from none to 93c5bd (diff output suppressed by config)

* directory[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/default/serverspec]
action create
- create new directory
C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/default/serverspec

* directory[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/helpers/serverspec]
action create
- create new directory
C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/helpers/serverspec

* cookbook_file
[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/helpers/serverspec/sp ec_helper.rb]
action create_if_missing
- create new file
C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/helpers/serverspec/spec_helper.rb
- update content in file
C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/helpers/serverspec/spec_helper.rb
from none to d85df4 (diff output suppressed by config)

* template
[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/default/serverspec/default _spec.rb]
action create_if_missing
- create new file
C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/default/serverspec/default_spec.rb
- update content in file
C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/test/integration/default/serverspec/default_spec.rb
from none to 758b94 (diff output suppressed by config)

* directory[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/unit/recipes] action create
- create new directory C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/unit/recipes

* cookbook_file[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/spec_helper.rb]
action create_if_missing
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/spec_helper.rb
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/spec_helper.rb
from none to 587075 (diff output suppressed by config)

* template[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/unit/recipes/default_spec.rb]
action create_if_missing
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/unit/recipes/default_spec.rb
- update content in file
C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/spec/unit/recipes/default_spec.rb
from none to 779503 (diff output suppressed by config)
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/recipes/default.rb
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/recipes/default.rb
from none to 8cc381 (diff output suppressed by config)

* cookbook_file[C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/.gitignore] action create
- create new file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/.gitignore
- update content in file C:/Users/vipinkumarm/VTest/.gitignore from none to 33d469
(diff output suppressed by config)
The cookbook structure with the name VTest will be created in the directory and following will be the structure for the same.

Using Knife Utility

Use the following command to create a cookbook using knife utility.

C:\Users\vipinkumarm\VTest>knife cookbook create VTest2
WARNING: No knife configuration file found
** Creating cookbook VTest2 in C:/chef/cookbooks
** Creating README for cookbook: VTest2
** Creating CHANGELOG for cookbook: VTest2
** Creating metadata for cookbook: VTest2

Following will be the structure of the cookbook.

Chef – Cookbook Dependencies

The features of defining cookbook dependencies help in managing cookbook. This feature is used when we want to use the functionality of one cookbook in other cookbooks.
For example, if one wants to compile C code then one needs to make sure that all the dependencies required to compile are installed. In order to do so, there might be separate cookbook which can perform such a function.
When we are using chef-server, we need to know such dependencies in cookbooks which should be decelerated in the cookbooks metadata file. This file is located at the top on the cookbook directory structure. It provides hints to the Chef server which helps in deploying cookbooks on the correct node.

Features of metadata.rb File

• Located at the top in the cookbook directory structure.
• Compiled when the cookbook is uploaded to Chef server using knife command.
• Compiled with knife cookbook metadata subcommand.
• Created automatically when the knife cookbook create command is run.

Configuration of metadata.rb

Following is the default content of a metadata file.

So, this brings us to the end of blog. This Tecklearn ‘Concept of Cookbooks in Chef’ blog helps you with commonly asked questions if you are looking out for a job in DevOps. If you wish to learn Chef and build a career in DevOps domain, then check out our interactive, Continuous Delivery using Chef Training, that comes with 24*7 support to guide you throughout your learning period. Please find the link for course details:

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