github.com/aspring/packer@v0.8.1-0.20150629211158-9db281ac0f89/website/source/intro/getting-started/vagrant.html.markdown (about)

     1  ---
     2  layout: "intro"
     3  page_title: "Vagrant Boxes"
     4  prev_url: "/intro/getting-started/parallel-builds.html"
     5  next_url: "/intro/getting-started/remote-builds.html"
     6  next_title: "Remote Builds and Storage"
     7  description: |-
     8    Packer also has the ability to take the results of a builder (such as an AMI or plain VMware image) and turn it into a Vagrant box.
     9  ---
    10  
    11  # Vagrant Boxes
    12  
    13  Packer also has the ability to take the results of a builder (such as
    14  an AMI or plain VMware image) and turn it into a [Vagrant](http://www.vagrantup.com)
    15  box.
    16  
    17  This is done using [post-processors](/docs/templates/post-processors.html).
    18  These take an artifact created by a previous builder or post-processor and
    19  transforms it into a new one. In the case of the Vagrant post-processor, it
    20  takes an artifact from a builder and transforms it into a Vagrant box file.
    21  
    22  Post-processors are a generally very useful concept. While the example on
    23  this getting-started page will be creating Vagrant images, post-processors
    24  have many interesting use cases. For example, you can write a post-processor
    25  to compress artifacts, upload them, test them, etc.
    26  
    27  Let's modify our template to use the Vagrant post-processor to turn our
    28  AWS AMI into a Vagrant box usable with the [vagrant-aws plugin](https://github.com/mitchellh/vagrant-aws). If you followed along in the previous page and setup DigitalOcean,
    29  Packer can't currently make Vagrant boxes for DigitalOcean, but will be able
    30  to soon.
    31  
    32  ## Enabling the Post-Processor
    33  
    34  Post-processors are added in the `post-processors` section of a template, which
    35  we haven't created yet. Modify your `example.json` template and add the section.
    36  Your template should look like the following:
    37  
    38  ```javascript
    39  {
    40    "builders": ["..."],
    41    "provisioners": ["..."],
    42    "post-processors": ["vagrant"]
    43  }
    44  ```
    45  
    46  In this case, we're enabling a single post-processor named "vagrant". This
    47  post-processor is built-in to Packer and will create Vagrant boxes. You
    48  can always create [new post-processors](/docs/extend/post-processor.html), however.
    49  The details on configuring post-processors is covered in the
    50  [post-processors](/docs/templates/post-processors.html) documentation.
    51  
    52  Validate the configuration using `packer validate`.
    53  
    54  ## Using the Post-Processor
    55  
    56  Just run a normal `packer build` and it will now use the post-processor.
    57  Since Packer can't currently make a Vagrant box for DigitalOcean anyways,
    58  I recommend passing the `-only=amazon-ebs` flag to `packer build` so it only
    59  builds the AMI. The command should look like the following:
    60  
    61  ```text
    62  $ packer build -only=amazon-ebs example.json
    63  ```
    64  
    65  As you watch the output, you'll notice at the end in the artifact listing
    66  that a Vagrant box was made (by default at `packer_aws.box` in the current
    67  directory). Success!
    68  
    69  But where did the AMI go? When using post-processors, Vagrant removes
    70  intermediary artifacts since they're usually not wanted. Only the final
    71  artifact is preserved. This behavior can be changed, of course. Changing
    72  this behavior is covered [in the documentation](/docs/templates/post-processors.html).
    73  
    74  Typically when removing intermediary artifacts, the actual underlying
    75  files or resources of the artifact are also removed. For example, when
    76  building a VMware image, if you turn it into a Vagrant box, the files of
    77  the VMware image will be deleted since they were compressed into the Vagrant
    78  box. With creating AWS images, however, the AMI is kept around, since Vagrant
    79  needs it to function.