exec not finding shell builtins/functions?

[Greg Graf]

Hello,

We're running 2.6 on Ubuntu 10.04 and here's what I'm seeing (simplified test):

class cdtest {
exec {'cdtest': command => 'cd' }
}

# puppet agent --test
info: Caching catalog for servername
info: Applying configuration version '1280441519'
err: /Stage[main]/Cdtest/Exec[cdtest]/returns: change from notrun to 0 failed: Could not find command 'cd'
notice: Finished catalog run in 0.65 seconds
#

Any ideas on why this is failing? I am running into this with rvm as well (since it is a function and not a binary).

Thanks!

Greg Graf
Systems Engineer
Rackspace

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[Richard Crowley]

On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 3:23 PM, Greg Graf <greg...@rackspace.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> We're running 2.6 on Ubuntu 10.04 and here's what I'm seeing (simplified test):
>
> class cdtest {
>  exec {'cdtest': command => 'cd' }
> }
>
> # puppet agent --test
> info: Caching catalog for servername
> info: Applying configuration version '1280441519'
> err: /Stage[main]/Cdtest/Exec[cdtest]/returns: change from notrun to 0 failed: Could not find command 'cd'
> notice: Finished catalog run in 0.65 seconds
> #
>
> Any ideas on why this is failing? I am running into this with rvm as well (since it is a function and not a binary).

I saw the same thing happen with a few for-loops and had to wrap them
up in /bin/sh -c '...' for 2.6. Now that I look for it, I can't find
anything about this behavior change in the release notes for 2.6. Was
it coincidental that it ever worked?

[Rohan McGovern]

Greg Graf said:
> Hello,
>
> We're running 2.6 on Ubuntu 10.04 and here's what I'm seeing (simplified test):
>
> class cdtest {
> exec {'cdtest': command => 'cd' }
> }
>
> # puppet agent --test
> info: Caching catalog for servername
> info: Applying configuration version '1280441519'
> err: /Stage[main]/Cdtest/Exec[cdtest]/returns: change from notrun to 0 failed: Could not find command 'cd'
> notice: Finished catalog run in 0.65 seconds
> #
>
> Any ideas on why this is failing? I am running into this with rvm as well (since it is a function and not a binary).
>

Isn't this by design? Unless the puppet docs say that "exec" is always
run through a shell, then I wouldn't expect it to be.

In my manifests, if I want a shell, I explicitly use:

command => '/bin/sh -c "some shell commands"'
--
Rohan McGovern
QA Engineer
Qt Development Frameworks, Nokia

[James Turnbull]

See:

http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/4288
http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/4299

For some history and comments on this. We'd welcome some input into
what you think should be safe and expected behaviour here.

Cheers

James Turnbull

--
Puppet Labs - http://www.puppetlabs.com
C: 503-734-8571

[Daniel Pittman]

James Turnbull <ja...@puppetlabs.com> writes:
> Richard Crowley wrote:
>> On Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 3:23 PM, Greg Graf <greg...@rackspace.com> wrote:

[...]

>> I saw the same thing happen with a few for-loops and had to wrap them
>> up in /bin/sh -c '...' for 2.6. Now that I look for it, I can't find
>> anything about this behavior change in the release notes for 2.6. Was
>> it coincidental that it ever worked?
>
> See:
>
> http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/4288
> http://projects.puppetlabs.com/issues/4299
>
> For some history and comments on this. We'd welcome some input into
> what you think should be safe and expected behaviour here.

If this is a "voting" matter, let me put in a vote for passing a simple string
to the shell, and passing an array direct to exec, which is consistent with
the use of 'system' style commands in a whole bunch of sysadmin scripting
languages.

Eg, this:

exec { "foo": command => ['/bin/ls', '|' 'foo'] }

will pass '|' 'foo' to the ls command, compared to:

exec { "foo": command => "/bin/ls | foo" }

...which passes it to the default system shell.

Daniel
--
✣ Daniel Pittman ✉ dan...@rimspace.net ☎ +61 401 155 707
♽ made with 100 percent post-consumer electrons

[David Schmitt]

+1

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Klosterneuburg UID: ATU64260999

FB-Nr.: FN 309285 g FB-Gericht: LG Korneuburg

[Alan Barrett]

On Fri, 30 Jul 2010, Daniel Pittman wrote:
> Eg, this:
>

> exec { "foo": command => ['/bin/ls', '|', 'foo'] }

>
> will pass '|' 'foo' to the ls command, compared to:
>
> exec { "foo": command => "/bin/ls | foo" }
>
> ...which passes it to the default system shell.

+1 [I added a missing comma above.]

--apb (Alan Barrett)

[Thomas Bellman]

On 2010-07-30 06:18, Daniel Pittman wrote:

> If this is a "voting" matter, let me put in a vote for passing a simple string
> to the shell, and passing an array direct to exec, which is consistent with
> the use of 'system' style commands in a whole bunch of sysadmin scripting
> languages.
>
> Eg, this:
>
> exec { "foo": command => ['/bin/ls', '|' 'foo'] }
>
> will pass '|' 'foo' to the ls command, compared to:
>
> exec { "foo": command => "/bin/ls | foo" }
>
> ...which passes it to the default system shell.

I think this is a very reasonable suggestion, so +1 from me as well.

But I'd like to point out the shellquote() function, which can give you
the semantics of the first version already today:

exec { "foo": command => shellquote("/bin/ls", "|", "foo"); }

(There's actually a slight difference. Using shellquote() today will
give you an intermediate shell process, making it somewhat less efficient.)

/Bellman

[Joe McDonagh]

That seems like the implementation would be tricky and error-prone,
compared to having people add sh/bash/ksh -c to the beginning of the
command in the exec. I mean, is that really such a big deal?

--
Joe McDonagh
AIM: YoosingYoonickz
IRC: joe-mac on freenode
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

[Gustavo Soares]

+1

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[James Turnbull]

Daniel

Any chance you could throw your solution on the ticket and I'll start a
discussion about it internally.

Thanks

James

[Alan Barrett]

On Fri, 30 Jul 2010, Joe McDonagh wrote:
> >If this is a "voting" matter, let me put in a vote for passing a
> >simple string to the shell, and passing an array direct to exec
>

> That seems like the implementation would be tricky and error-prone,
> compared to having people add sh/bash/ksh -c to the beginning of the
> command in the exec. I mean, is that really such a big deal?

Most of the work is already done by ruby's Kernel.exec() function;
puppet would simply need the ability to pass an array all the way
through to the underlying ruby function.

--apb (Alan Barrett)

[Daniel Pittman]

James Turnbull <ja...@puppetlabs.com> writes:

> Any chance you could throw your solution on the ticket and I'll start a
> discussion about it internally.

Um, sure. Let me go dig out the details (eg: ticket url) and all.