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# Packer
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[![Build Status][circleci-badge]][circleci]
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[![Windows Build Status][appveyor-badge]][appveyor]
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[![PkgGoDev ](https://pkg.go.dev/badge/github.com/hashicorp/packer )](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/hashicorp/packer)
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[![GoReportCard][report-badge]][report]
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[![codecov ](https://codecov.io/gh/hashicorp/packer/branch/master/graph/badge.svg )](https://codecov.io/gh/hashicorp/packer)
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[circleci-badge]: https://circleci.com/gh/hashicorp/packer.svg?style=svg
[circleci]: https://app.circleci.com/pipelines/github/hashicorp/packer
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[appveyor-badge]: https://ci.appveyor.com/api/projects/status/miavlgnp989e5obc/branch/master?svg=true
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[appveyor]: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/hashicorp/packer
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[godoc-badge]: https://godoc.org/github.com/hashicorp/packer?status.svg
[godoc]: https://godoc.org/github.com/hashicorp/packer
[report-badge]: https://goreportcard.com/badge/github.com/hashicorp/packer
[report]: https://goreportcard.com/report/github.com/hashicorp/packer
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* Website: https://www.packer.io
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* IRC: `#packer-tool` on Freenode
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* Mailing list: [Google Groups ](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/packer-tool )
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Packer is a tool for building identical machine images for multiple platforms
from a single source configuration.
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Packer is lightweight, runs on every major operating system, and is highly
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performant, creating machine images for multiple platforms in parallel. Packer
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comes out of the box with support for many platforms, the full list of which can
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be found at https://www.packer.io/docs/builders/index.html.
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Support for other platforms can be added via plugins.
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The images that Packer creates can easily be turned into
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[Vagrant ](http://www.vagrantup.com ) boxes.
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## Quick Start
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**Note:** There is a great
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[introduction and getting started guide ](https://www.packer.io/intro )
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for those with a bit more patience. Otherwise, the quick start below
will get you up and running quickly, at the sacrifice of not explaining some
key points.
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First, [download a pre-built Packer
binary](https://www.packer.io/downloads.html) for your operating system or
[compile Packer
yourself](https://github.com/hashicorp/packer/blob/master/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md#setting-up-go-to-work-on-packer).
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After Packer is installed, create your first template, which tells Packer
what platforms to build images for and how you want to build them. In our
case, we'll create a simple AMI that has Redis pre-installed. Save this
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file as `quick-start.json` . Export your AWS credentials as the
`AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` and `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` environment variables.
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```json
{
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"variables": {
"access_key": "{{env `AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID` }}",
"secret_key": "{{env `AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` }}"
},
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"builders": [{
"type": "amazon-ebs",
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"access_key": "{{user `access_key` }}",
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"secret_key": "{{user `secret_key` }}",
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"region": "us-east-1",
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"source_ami": "ami-af22d9b9",
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"instance_type": "t2.micro",
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"ssh_username": "ubuntu",
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"ami_name": "packer-example {{timestamp}}"
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}]
}
```
Next, tell Packer to build the image:
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```
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$ packer build quick-start.json
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...
```
Packer will build an AMI according to the "quick-start" template. The AMI
will be available in your AWS account. To delete the AMI, you must manually
delete it using the [AWS console ](https://console.aws.amazon.com/ ). Packer
builds your images, it does not manage their lifecycle. Where they go, how
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they're run, etc., is up to you.
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## Documentation
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Comprehensive documentation is viewable on the Packer website:
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https://www.packer.io/docs
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## Developing Packer
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See
[CONTRIBUTING.md ](https://github.com/hashicorp/packer/blob/master/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md )
for best practices and instructions on setting up your development environment
to work on Packer.
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## Unmaintained Plugins
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As contributors' circumstances change, development on a community maintained
plugin can slow. When this happens, the Packer team may mark a plugin as
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unmaintained, to clearly signal the plugin's status to users.
What does **unmaintained** mean?
1. The code repository and all commit history will still be available.
1. Documentation will remain on the Packer website.
1. Issues and pull requests are monitored as a best effort.
1. No active development will be performed by the Packer team.
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If anyone form them community is interested in maintaining a community
supported plugin, please feel free to submit contributions via a pull-
request for review; reviews are generally prioritized over feature work
when possible. For a list of open plugin issues and pending feature requests see the [Packer Issue Tracker ](https://github.com/hashicorp/packer/issues/ ).