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Lucas Bajolet
5ce9b1867b
The file datasource is meant to be used to pre-create a file that can then be used elsewhere in the build process by its path. This is useful for example when building a configuration file from a template, so then the resulting file can be referenced by components which only accept file paths.
46 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
46 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
---
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description: |
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The File Data Source writes contents to a file so it can be used
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later during Packer builds
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page_title: File - Data Sources
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---
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<BadgesHeader>
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<PluginBadge type="official" />
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</BadgesHeader>
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# File Data Source
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Type: `file`
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The `file` data source writes the specified contents to a file, creating it in the process if it doesn't exist.
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This is particularly useful if you have a file to dynamically generate (with [`templatefile`](/packer/docs/templates/hcl_templates/functions/file/templatefile) for example), and the component you
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rely on only accepts files, and not the generated string.
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Using this data source, you can use those functions and have the output written to a temporary file that you can
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reference in a component afterwards.
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Note: being a datasource, the created file is not wiped-out after the build finishes. By default Packer will output
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the file into the system's `TEMPDIR` (typically `/tmp` on UNIX systems, or `` on Windows).
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You can also change this by specifying a `destination` for the data source.
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## Basic Example
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```hcl
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data "file" "example" {
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contents = "this is an example"
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}
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```
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## Configuration Reference
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### Not Required:
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@include 'datasource/file/Config-not-required.mdx'
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## Datasource outputs
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The outputs for this datasource are as follows:
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@include 'datasource/file/DatasourceOutput.mdx'
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