I am struggling to pass input parameter to packer provisioning script. I have tried various options but no joy.
Objective is my provision.sh should accept input parameter which I send during packer build.
packer build -var role=abc test.json
I am able to get the user variable in json file however I am unable to pass it provision script. I have to make a decision based on the input parameter.
I tried something like
"provisioners": { "type": "shell", "scripts": [ "provision.sh {{user `role`}}" ] } But packer validation itself is failed with no such file/directory error message.
It would be real help if someone can help me on this.
Thanks in advance.
2 Answers
You should use the environment_vars option, see the docs Shell Provisioner - environment_vars.
Example:
"provisioners": [ { "type": "shell" "environment_vars": [ "HOSTNAME={{user `vm_name`}}", "FOO=bar" ], "scripts": [ "provision.sh" ], } ] If your script is already configured to use arguments; you simply need to run it as inline rather than in the scripts array.
In order to do this, the script must exist on the system already - you can accomplish this by copying it to the system with the file provisioner.
"provisioners": [ { "type": "file", "source": "scripts/provision.sh", "destination": "/tmp/provision.sh" }, { "type": "shell", "inline": [ "chmod u+x /tmp/provision.sh", "/tmp/provision.sh {{user `vm_name`}}"] } ] 
