Learning Puppet 4

Chapter 12. Using Modules

One of the most powerful benefits of using Puppet is having access to the shared community of module developers. While Puppet enables you to create modules to do nearly anything, it is quite possible that somebody has already written the module you need. You may be able to use it intact, or use it as a starting point for further development.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to find, evaluate, install, and use modules provided by Puppet Labs and the global community.

Finding Modules

There are several places to find Puppet modules you can use. Let’s review each of them in turn.

Puppet Forge

The single largest repository of Puppet modules is the Puppet Forge.

The Puppet Forge provides an easy-to-use interface to search for and find Puppet modules provided by others. It is also the default repository used by the puppet module command. Let’s take a look at how to use it.

Start by opening a browser and going to https://forge.puppetlabs.com/. The very first thing you’ll see is the search interface, as shown in Figure 12-1.

Figure 12-1. Puppet Forge search

Enter the name of an application you wish to manage with Puppet into the search interface, and you’ll receive a list of modules that may do what you are looking for. For example, enter apache into the search query to see what modules exist to manage the Apache HTTPd server.

You can also search the Puppet ...