Chef Certified key terms

An agent installed on a managed node that runs locally to converge the machine to the state described in a run list and cookbooks, reporting results back to the Chef Infra Server.

The central service that stores cookbooks, node objects, roles, environments, and policies, and that authorizes clients and workstation users through signed API requests.

The developer machine toolset containing knife, chef, cookstyle, and testing tools used to author cookbooks and interact with the Chef Infra Server and nodes.

A reusable unit of configuration code containing recipes, attributes, files, templates, and metadata that describes how to configure part of a system.

A file written in Ruby that declares resources in the order they should be applied, forming the fundamental building block of configuration inside a cookbook.

A declarative statement describing a desired piece of system state, such as a package being installed or a file having specific contents, which Chef enforces during convergence.

The property that applying the same configuration repeatedly produces the same result without unnecessary changes, so a resource only acts when the system differs from the desired state.

The phase of a Chef Infra Client run in which the collected resources are executed to bring the node into the state declared by the run list.

The earlier part of a Chef Infra Client run where recipes are evaluated as Ruby code and resources are collected into a resource collection before any of them execute.

An ordered list of roles, recipes, and policies assigned to a node that determines exactly which configuration code the client applies during a run.

A key-value setting attached to nodes, roles, or environments that tunes recipe behavior, with precedence rules deciding which value wins when several are defined.

The ranking that resolves conflicting attribute values, generally placing default lowest, then force_default, normal, override, and force_override highest, with automatic Ohai data below explicit settings.

A tool bundled with Chef Infra Client that inspects the node and collects system facts, such as platform, network interfaces, and memory, into automatic attributes.

The server-side record of a managed machine, storing its run list, attributes, normal saved state, and metadata that the client updates at the end of a run.

A command-line utility for managing Chef objects, uploading cookbooks, bootstrapping nodes, and querying the server through its API.

The process of installing Chef Infra Client on a target machine, registering it with the server, and performing its first run, typically initiated with knife or the chef command.

A special client key used only during bootstrap so a new node can register itself with the Chef Infra Server before receiving its own unique client identity.

The private RSA key paired with a node's client name that signs every API request, proving the node's identity to the Chef Infra Server.

A named collection of recipes and attribute defaults that can be assigned to many nodes, simplifying run lists and centralizing shared configuration.

A named grouping, such as dev, staging, or production, that pins cookbook versions and supplies attribute overrides so the same code can behave differently per stage.

A globally stored collection of JSON data, often secrets or shared configuration, that recipes can load at run time and that is encrypted when it holds sensitive values.

A data bag whose items are encrypted with a shared secret key so that sensitive content is unreadable on the server and only decrypted by clients holding the key.

A single file declaring the exact cookbook revisions and attributes for a node set, replacing roles and environments with an immutable, versioned policy that is promoted between groups.

A named set of nodes, such as dev or prod, that is assigned a specific policy revision so deployments can be promoted deliberately across stages.

A resource defined inside a cookbook that packages several lower-level resources behind one reusable interface, with its own properties and actions.

A Ruby file placed in a cookbook's libraries directory that extends Chef with helper methods or classes available to recipes and resources at compile time.

A diagnostic run mode that explains why each resource was or was not updated, showing the conditions and guards that determined the outcome.

A testing harness that spins up isolated instances, converges cookbooks on them, and runs verification suites to confirm the resulting state is correct.

A compliance and testing framework that expresses expected system state as executable rules, producing pass or fail results that can be run locally or during a Chef client run.

A packaged set of InSpec controls, metadata, and supporting files that defines a benchmark, such as a security baseline, and can be uploaded to and assigned by the Chef server.

An individual InSpec rule containing one or more tests with a title, impact level, and tags, which evaluates a specific configuration and reports compliance status.

A Chef Infra Client mode that fetches assigned compliance profiles, runs their controls against the node, and records results without changing system configuration.

The stage of a Chef Infra Client run, occurring after convergence, in which audit mode collects and evaluates compliance controls and posts results.

A documented exception that lets a failing control be marked as waived for a defined scope, such as a justification and expiration date, so it no longer counts as a failure.

An enterprise dashboard that aggregates node, compliance, and infrastructure data from the Chef server and clients, providing visibility, reporting, and search across the estate.

An application automation framework that packages an application with its runtime dependencies into a plan-built artifact and manages its lifecycle and configuration at runtime.

A shell script named plan.sh that defines how to download, build, and package an application into a Habitat artifact, including dependencies, build steps, and runtime hooks.

The Habitat runtime process that loads a packaged service, applies its configuration, and manages the service's lifecycle and gossip-based peer communication.

A logical grouping of Habitat services identified by name and a topology, used for gossip discovery and for coordinating service behavior across a cluster.

An orchestration add-on that lets an operator run commands or Chef client runs on many nodes at once, either immediately or on a schedule, using job queues and search-based targeting.

A server-side query interface that finds nodes, roles, environments, or data bags matching criteria, commonly used to target groups of machines for orchestration or configuration.

The REST interface through which workstations and clients read and write Chef objects, with every request authenticated by signed headers and authorized by the requesting client's permissions.

A top-level tenant on the Chef Infra Server that isolates its own nodes, cookbooks, roles, environments, and users from other organizations on the same server.

The cookbook file that declares its name, version, dependencies, supported platforms, and other descriptive data that the server and dependency resolver rely on.