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---
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layout: "intro"
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page_title: "Introduction"
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prev_url: "#"
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next_url: "/intro/why.html"
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next_title: "Why Use Packer?"
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---
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# Introduction to Packer
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Welcome to the world of Packer! This introduction guide will show you what
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2013-07-02 01:01:22 -04:00
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Packer is, explain why it exists, the benefits it has to offer, and how
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you can get started with it. If you're already familiar with Packer, the
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[documentation](/docs) provides more of a reference for all available features.
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## What is Packer?
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2013-06-21 19:51:39 -04:00
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Packer is an open source tool for creating identical machine images for multiple platforms
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from a single source configuration. Packer is lightweight, runs on every major
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operating system, and is highly performant, creating machine images for
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multiple platforms in parallel. Packer does not replace configuration management
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like Chef or Puppet. In fact, when building images, Packer is able to use tools
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like Chef or Puppet to install software onto the image.
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A _machine image_ is a single static unit that contains a pre-configured operating
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system and installed software which is used to quickly create new running machines.
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Machine image formats change for each platform. Some examples include
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[AMIs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Machine_Image) for EC2,
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VMDK/VMX files for VMware, OVF exports for VirtualBox, etc.
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