Chef

What Is Chef?

Chef is a configuration management tool that automates the process of configuring and maintaining servers. It uses a declarative approach with a Ruby-based DSL to define system configurations.

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🧠 How Chef Works

• Chef uses “recipes” and “cookbooks” to define the desired state of infrastructure.
• It follows a client-server model:
  • Chef Server: Central hub that stores cookbooks and policies.
  • Chef Client: Runs on each node and pulls configurations from the server.
  • Workstation: Where you write and test cookbooks.

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📦 Chef Terminology

Term	Description
Recipe	A file that defines a set of resources (e.g., install a package, start a service)
Cookbook	A collection of recipes and related files (templates, attributes, etc.)
Node	A machine managed by Chef
Run List	The list of recipes to apply to a node
Resource	A statement of configuration (e.g., package, service, file)

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🧾 Example Chef Recipe

package 'nginx'
 
service 'nginx' do
  action [:enable, :start]
end

This installs Nginx and ensures the service is enabled and running.

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🧩 Chef vs Puppet vs Ansible vs Terraform

Feature	Chef	Puppet	Ansible	Terraform
Language	Ruby DSL	Puppet DSL	YAML	HCL
Approach	Declarative	Declarative	Imperative (mostly)	Declarative
Agent Required	Yes	Yes	No	No
State Tracking	No (uses convergence model)	Yes	No	Yes
Use Case	Configuration management	Configuration management	Config + orchestration	Infrastructure provisioning

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✅ When to Use Chef

• You prefer Ruby and want to write flexible, testable infrastructure code
• You need a mature, enterprise-grade configuration management system
• You’re managing complex, long-lived infrastructure

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