packer ☆

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Description:
Tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 3, 2024

Links: Homepage | @HashiCorp | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Devops

Tags: provisioning devops automation virtualization cloud

Install: brew install packer

About:
Packer is an open-source tool from HashiCorp that automates the creation of machine images (like AMIs, Vagrant boxes, or Docker containers) from a single source configuration. It enables developers and operators to produce identical images for multiple platforms (AWS, VMware, VirtualBox, etc.) simultaneously, ensuring consistency across development, staging, and production environments.

Key Features:

Infrastructure as Code for images
Multi-platform support from a single template
Automated, repeatable image builds
Integration with provisioners like Ansible and Chef
Plugin architecture for extensibility

Use Cases:

Creating golden images for cloud deployments
Building consistent development environment Vagrant boxes
Automating the creation of pre-configured Docker base images

Alternatives:

Terraform – Primarily for provisioning and managing infrastructure, not specifically for building machine images, though they can be used together.
Ansible – Primarily a configuration management tool; can build images via playbooks but lacks Packer's native multi-platform output focus.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Dec 3, 2024 8:18pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	79efd624
Sep 14, 2024 9:27pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	b8d94555