v0.3.0

builder/amazon/common: added passing UserData to goamz.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,3 +1,44 @@
+## 0.3.0 (August 12, 2013)
+
+BACKWARDS INCOMPATIBILITIES:
+
+* All `{{.CreateTime}}` variables within templates (such as for AMI names)
+  are now replaced with `{{timestamp}}`. Run `packer fix` to fix your
+  templates.
+
+FEATURES:
+
+* **User Variables** allow you to specify variables within your templates
+  that can be replaced using the command-line, files, or environmental
+  variables. This dramatically improves the portability of packer templates.
+  See the documentation for more information.
+* **Machine-readable output** can be enabled by passing the
+  `-machine-readable` flag to _any_ Packer command.
+* All strings in a template are now processed for variables/functions,
+  so things like `{{timestamp}}` can be used everywhere. More features will
+  be added in the future.
+* The `amazon` builders (all of them) can now have attributes of their
+  resulting AMIs modified, such as access permissions and product codes.
+
+IMPROVEMENTS:
+
+* builder/amazon/all: User data can be passed to start the instances. [GH-253]
+* provisioner/salt-masterless: `local_state_tree` is no longer required,
+  allowing you to use shell provisioner (or others) to bring this down.
+  [GH-269]
+
+BUG FIXES:
+
+* builder/amazon/ebs,instance: Retry deleing security group a few times.
+  [GH-278]
+* builder/vmware: Workstation works on Windows XP now. [GH-238]
+* builder/vmware: Look for files on Windows in multiple locations
+  using multiple environmental variables. [GH-263]
+* provisioner/salt-masterless: states aren't deleted after the run
+  anymore. [GH-265]
+* provisioner/salt-masterless: error if any commands exit with a non-zero
+  exit status. [GH-266]
+
 ## 0.2.3 (August 7, 2013)
 
 IMPROVEMENTS:

README.md

@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ own.
     "source_ami": "ami-de0d9eb7",
     "instance_type": "t1.micro",
     "ssh_username": "ubuntu",
-    "ami_name": "packer-example {{.CreateTime}}"
+    "ami_name": "packer-example {{timestamp}}"
   }]
 }
 ```

builder/amazon/chroot/builder.go

@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"log"
 	"runtime"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 // The unique ID for this builder
@@ -25,8 +24,8 @@ const BuilderId = "mitchellh.amazon.chroot"
 type Config struct {
 	common.PackerConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 	awscommon.AccessConfig `mapstructure:",squash"`
+	awscommon.AMIConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 
-	AMIName        string     `mapstructure:"ami_name"`
 	ChrootMounts   [][]string `mapstructure:"chroot_mounts"`
 	CopyFiles      []string   `mapstructure:"copy_files"`
 	DevicePath     string     `mapstructure:"device_path"`
@@ -34,6 +33,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	MountPath      string     `mapstructure:"mount_path"`
 	SourceAmi      string     `mapstructure:"source_ami"`
 	UnmountCommand string     `mapstructure:"unmount_command"`
+
+	tpl *common.Template
 }
 
 type Builder struct {
@@ -47,6 +48,12 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	b.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	b.config.tpl.UserVars = b.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	// Defaults
 	if b.config.ChrootMounts == nil {
 		b.config.ChrootMounts = make([][]string, 0)
@@ -84,31 +91,56 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
-	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AccessConfig.Prepare()...)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AccessConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AMIConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
 
-	if b.config.AMIName == "" {
-		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-			errs, errors.New("ami_name must be specified"))
-	} else {
-		_, err = template.New("ami").Parse(b.config.AMIName)
-		if err != nil {
-			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-				errs, fmt.Errorf("Failed parsing ami_name: %s", err))
-		}
-	}
-
-	for _, mounts := range b.config.ChrootMounts {
+	for i, mounts := range b.config.ChrootMounts {
 		if len(mounts) != 3 {
 			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
 				errs, errors.New("Each chroot_mounts entry should be three elements."))
 			break
 		}
+
+		for j, entry := range mounts {
+			b.config.ChrootMounts[i][j], err = b.config.tpl.Process(entry, nil)
+			if err != nil {
+				errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+					fmt.Errorf("Error processing chroot_mounts[%d][%d]: %s",
+						i, j, err))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	for i, file := range b.config.CopyFiles {
+		var err error
+		b.config.CopyFiles[i], err = b.config.tpl.Process(file, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing copy_files[%d]: %s",
+					i, err))
+		}
 	}
 
 	if b.config.SourceAmi == "" {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, errors.New("source_ami is required."))
 	}
 
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"device_path":     &b.config.DevicePath,
+		"mount_command":   &b.config.MountCommand,
+		"source_ami":      &b.config.SourceAmi,
+		"unmount_command": &b.config.UnmountCommand,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = b.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	if errs != nil && len(errs.Errors) > 0 {
 		return errs
 	}
@@ -157,6 +189,11 @@ func (b *Builder) Run(ui packer.Ui, hook packer.Hook, cache packer.Cache) (packe
 		&StepEarlyCleanup{},
 		&StepSnapshot{},
 		&StepRegisterAMI{},
+		&awscommon.StepModifyAMIAttributes{
+			Description: b.config.AMIDescription,
+			Users:       b.config.AMIUsers,
+			Groups:      b.config.AMIGroups,
+		},
 	}
 
 	// Run!

builder/amazon/chroot/step_mount_device.go

@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 type mountPathData struct {
@@ -30,14 +29,17 @@ func (s *StepMountDevice) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 	device := state["device"].(string)
 
-	mountPathRaw := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	t := template.Must(template.New("mountPath").Parse(config.MountPath))
-	t.Execute(mountPathRaw, &mountPathData{
+	mountPath, err := config.tpl.Process(config.MountPath, &mountPathData{
 		Device: filepath.Base(device),
 	})
 
-	var err error
-	mountPath := mountPathRaw.String()
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error preparing mount directory: %s", err)
+		state["error"] = err
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
+
 	mountPath, err = filepath.Abs(mountPath)
 	if err != nil {
 		err := fmt.Errorf("Error preparing mount directory: %s", err)

builder/amazon/chroot/step_register_ami.go

@@ -1,21 +1,13 @@
 package chroot
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/ec2"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	awscommon "github.com/mitchellh/packer/builder/amazon/common"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"strconv"
-	"text/template"
-	"time"
 )
 
-type amiNameData struct {
-	CreateTime string
-}
-
 // StepRegisterAMI creates the AMI.
 type StepRegisterAMI struct{}
 
@@ -26,16 +18,6 @@ func (s *StepRegisterAMI) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction
 	snapshotId := state["snapshot_id"].(string)
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 
-	// Parse the name of the AMI
-	amiNameBuf := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	tData := amiNameData{
-		strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().UTC().Unix(), 10),
-	}
-
-	t := template.Must(template.New("ami").Parse(config.AMIName))
-	t.Execute(amiNameBuf, tData)
-	amiName := amiNameBuf.String()
-
 	ui.Say("Registering the AMI...")
 	blockDevices := make([]ec2.BlockDeviceMapping, len(image.BlockDevices))
 	for i, device := range image.BlockDevices {
@@ -48,7 +30,7 @@ func (s *StepRegisterAMI) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction
 	}
 
 	registerOpts := &ec2.RegisterImage{
-		Name:           amiName,
+		Name:           config.AMIName,
 		Architecture:   image.Architecture,
 		KernelId:       image.KernelId,
 		RamdiskId:      image.RamdiskId,

builder/amazon/common/access_config.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package common
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/aws"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/common"
 	"strings"
 	"unicode"
 )
@@ -36,12 +37,40 @@ func (c *AccessConfig) Region() (aws.Region, error) {
 	return aws.Regions[region], nil
 }
 
-func (c *AccessConfig) Prepare() []error {
+func (c *AccessConfig) Prepare(t *common.Template) []error {
+	if t == nil {
+		var err error
+		t, err = common.NewTemplate()
+		if err != nil {
+			return []error{err}
+		}
+	}
+
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"access_key": &c.AccessKey,
+		"secret_key": &c.SecretKey,
+		"region":     &c.RawRegion,
+	}
+
+	errs := make([]error, 0)
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = t.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = append(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	if c.RawRegion != "" {
 		if _, ok := aws.Regions[c.RawRegion]; !ok {
-			return []error{fmt.Errorf("Unknown region: %s", c.RawRegion)}
+			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("Unknown region: %s", c.RawRegion))
 		}
 	}
 
+	if len(errs) > 0 {
+		return errs
+	}
+
 	return nil
 }

builder/amazon/common/access_config_test.go

@@ -11,17 +11,17 @@ func testAccessConfig() *AccessConfig {
 func TestAccessConfigPrepare_Region(t *testing.T) {
 	c := testAccessConfig()
 	c.RawRegion = ""
-	if err := c.Prepare(); err != nil {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("shouldn't have err: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	c.RawRegion = "us-east-12"
-	if err := c.Prepare(); err == nil {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); err == nil {
 		t.Fatal("should have error")
 	}
 
 	c.RawRegion = "us-east-1"
-	if err := c.Prepare(); err != nil {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("shouldn't have err: %s", err)
 	}
 }

builder/amazon/common/ami_config.go

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+package common
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/common"
+)
+
+// AMIConfig is for common configuration related to creating AMIs.
+type AMIConfig struct {
+	AMIName         string   `mapstructure:"ami_name"`
+	AMIDescription  string   `mapstructure:"ami_description"`
+	AMIUsers        []string `mapstructure:"ami_users"`
+	AMIGroups       []string `mapstructure:"ami_groups"`
+	AMIProductCodes []string `mapstructure:"ami_product_codes"`
+}
+
+func (c *AMIConfig) Prepare(t *common.Template) []error {
+	if t == nil {
+		var err error
+		t, err = common.NewTemplate()
+		if err != nil {
+			return []error{err}
+		}
+	}
+
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"ami_name":        &c.AMIName,
+		"ami_description": &c.AMIDescription,
+	}
+
+	errs := make([]error, 0)
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = t.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = append(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	sliceTemplates := map[string][]string{
+		"ami_users":         c.AMIUsers,
+		"ami_groups":        c.AMIGroups,
+		"ami_product_codes": c.AMIProductCodes,
+	}
+
+	for n, slice := range sliceTemplates {
+		for i, elem := range slice {
+			var err error
+			slice[i], err = t.Process(elem, nil)
+			if err != nil {
+				errs = append(
+					errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s[%d]: %s", n, i, err))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	if c.AMIName == "" {
+		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("ami_name must be specified"))
+	}
+
+	if len(errs) > 0 {
+		return errs
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}

builder/amazon/common/ami_config_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package common
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func testAMIConfig() *AMIConfig {
+	return &AMIConfig{
+		AMIName: "foo",
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAMIConfigPrepare_Region(t *testing.T) {
+	c := testAMIConfig()
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("shouldn't have err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	c.AMIName = ""
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("should have error")
+	}
+}

builder/amazon/common/instance.go

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ func InstanceStateRefreshFunc(conn *ec2.EC2, i *ec2.Instance) StateRefreshFunc {
 	return func() (interface{}, string, error) {
 		resp, err := conn.Instances([]string{i.InstanceId}, ec2.NewFilter())
 		if err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Error on InstanceStateRefresh: %s", err)
 			return nil, "", err
 		}
 

builder/amazon/common/run_config.go

@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ package common
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/common"
+	"os"
 	"time"
 )
 
@@ -12,6 +14,8 @@ type RunConfig struct {
 	SourceAmi          string `mapstructure:"source_ami"`
 	IamInstanceProfile string `mapstructure:"iam_instance_profile"`
 	InstanceType       string `mapstructure:"instance_type"`
+	UserData           string `mapstructure:"user_data"`
+	UserDataFile       string `mapstructure:"user_data_file"`
 	RawSSHTimeout      string `mapstructure:"ssh_timeout"`
 	SSHUsername        string `mapstructure:"ssh_username"`
 	SSHPort            int    `mapstructure:"ssh_port"`
@@ -23,7 +27,15 @@ type RunConfig struct {
 	sshTimeout time.Duration
 }
 
-func (c *RunConfig) Prepare() []error {
+func (c *RunConfig) Prepare(t *common.Template) []error {
+	if t == nil {
+		var err error
+		t, err = common.NewTemplate()
+		if err != nil {
+			return []error{err}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Defaults
 	if c.SSHPort == 0 {
 		c.SSHPort = 22
@@ -48,6 +60,34 @@ func (c *RunConfig) Prepare() []error {
 		errs = append(errs, errors.New("An ssh_username must be specified"))
 	}
 
+	if c.UserData != "" && c.UserDataFile != "" {
+		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("Only one of user_data or user_data_file can be specified."))
+	} else if c.UserDataFile != "" {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(c.UserDataFile); err != nil {
+			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("user_data_file not found: %s", c.UserDataFile))
+		}
+	}
+
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"iam_instance_profile": &c.IamInstanceProfile,
+		"instance_type":        &c.InstanceType,
+		"ssh_timeout":          &c.RawSSHTimeout,
+		"security_group_id":    &c.SecurityGroupId,
+		"ssh_username":         &c.SSHUsername,
+		"source_ami":           &c.SourceAmi,
+		"subnet_id":            &c.SubnetId,
+		"vpc_id":               &c.VpcId,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = t.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = append(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	c.sshTimeout, err = time.ParseDuration(c.RawSSHTimeout)
 	if err != nil {
 		errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("Failed parsing ssh_timeout: %s", err))

builder/amazon/common/run_config_test.go

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package common
 
 import (
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"testing"
 )
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ func testConfig() *RunConfig {
 
 func TestRunConfigPrepare(t *testing.T) {
 	c := testConfig()
-	err := c.Prepare()
+	err := c.Prepare(nil)
 	if len(err) > 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ func TestRunConfigPrepare(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRunConfigPrepare_InstanceType(t *testing.T) {
 	c := testConfig()
 	c.InstanceType = ""
-	if err := c.Prepare(); len(err) != 1 {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 }
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ func TestRunConfigPrepare_InstanceType(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRunConfigPrepare_SourceAmi(t *testing.T) {
 	c := testConfig()
 	c.SourceAmi = ""
-	if err := c.Prepare(); len(err) != 1 {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 }
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ func TestRunConfigPrepare_SourceAmi(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRunConfigPrepare_SSHPort(t *testing.T) {
 	c := testConfig()
 	c.SSHPort = 0
-	if err := c.Prepare(); len(err) != 0 {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ func TestRunConfigPrepare_SSHPort(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	c.SSHPort = 44
-	if err := c.Prepare(); len(err) != 0 {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 
@@ -70,12 +71,12 @@ func TestRunConfigPrepare_SSHPort(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRunConfigPrepare_SSHTimeout(t *testing.T) {
 	c := testConfig()
 	c.RawSSHTimeout = ""
-	if err := c.Prepare(); len(err) != 0 {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	c.RawSSHTimeout = "bad"
-	if err := c.Prepare(); len(err) != 1 {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 1 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 }
@@ -83,7 +84,45 @@ func TestRunConfigPrepare_SSHTimeout(t *testing.T) {
 func TestRunConfigPrepare_SSHUsername(t *testing.T) {
 	c := testConfig()
 	c.SSHUsername = ""
-	if err := c.Prepare(); len(err) != 1 {
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunConfigPrepare_UserData(t *testing.T) {
+	c := testConfig()
+	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "packer")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+	defer tf.Close()
+
+	c.UserData = "foo"
+	c.UserDataFile = tf.Name()
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestRunConfigPrepare_UserDataFile(t *testing.T) {
+	c := testConfig()
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	c.UserDataFile = "idontexistidontthink"
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "packer")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+	defer tf.Close()
+
+	c.UserDataFile = tf.Name()
+	if err := c.Prepare(nil); len(err) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 }

builder/amazon/common/step_create_tags.go

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ func (s *StepCreateTags) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction
 
 		var ec2Tags []ec2.Tag
 		for key, value := range s.Tags {
+			ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Adding tag: \"%s\": \"%s\"", key, value))
 			ec2Tags = append(ec2Tags, ec2.Tag{key, value})
 		}
 

builder/amazon/common/step_modify_ami_attributes.go

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+package common
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/ec2"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
+)
+
+type StepModifyAMIAttributes struct {
+	Users        []string
+	Groups       []string
+	ProductCodes []string
+	Description  string
+}
+
+func (s *StepModifyAMIAttributes) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction {
+	ec2conn := state["ec2"].(*ec2.EC2)
+	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
+	amis := state["amis"].(map[string]string)
+	ami := amis[ec2conn.Region.Name]
+
+	// Determine if there is any work to do.
+	valid := false
+	valid = valid || s.Description != ""
+	valid = valid || (s.Users != nil && len(s.Users) > 0)
+	valid = valid || (s.Groups != nil && len(s.Groups) > 0)
+	valid = valid || (s.ProductCodes != nil && len(s.ProductCodes) > 0)
+
+	if !valid {
+		return multistep.ActionContinue
+	}
+
+	options := &ec2.ModifyImageAttribute{
+		Description:  s.Description,
+		AddUsers:     s.Users,
+		AddGroups:    s.Groups,
+		ProductCodes: s.ProductCodes,
+	}
+
+	ui.Say("Modifying AMI attributes...")
+	_, err := ec2conn.ModifyImageAttribute(ami, options)
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error modify AMI attributes: %s", err)
+		state["error"] = err
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
+
+	return multistep.ActionContinue
+}
+
+func (s *StepModifyAMIAttributes) Cleanup(state map[string]interface{}) {
+	// No cleanup...
+}

builder/amazon/common/step_run_source_instance.go

@@ -5,12 +5,15 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/ec2"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"log"
 )
 
 type StepRunSourceInstance struct {
 	ExpectedRootDevice string
 	InstanceType       string
+	UserData           string
+	UserDataFile       string
 	SourceAMI          string
 	IamInstanceProfile string
 	SubnetId           string
@@ -24,10 +27,22 @@ func (s *StepRunSourceInstance) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.Step
 	securityGroupId := state["securityGroupId"].(string)
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 
+	userData := s.UserData
+	if s.UserDataFile != "" {
+		contents, err := ioutil.ReadFile(s.UserDataFile)
+		if err != nil {
+			state["error"] = fmt.Errorf("Problem reading user data file: %s", err)
+			return multistep.ActionHalt
+		}
+
+		userData = string(contents)
+	}
+
 	runOpts := &ec2.RunInstances{
 		KeyName:            keyName,
 		ImageId:            s.SourceAMI,
 		InstanceType:       s.InstanceType,
+		UserData:           []byte(userData),
 		MinCount:           0,
 		MaxCount:           0,
 		SecurityGroups:     []ec2.SecurityGroup{ec2.SecurityGroup{Id: securityGroupId}},

builder/amazon/common/step_security_group.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"log"
+	"time"
 )
 
 type StepSecurityGroup struct {
@@ -83,9 +84,19 @@ func (s *StepSecurityGroup) Cleanup(state map[string]interface{}) {
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 
 	ui.Say("Deleting temporary security group...")
-	_, err := ec2conn.DeleteSecurityGroup(ec2.SecurityGroup{Id: s.createdGroupId})
-	if err != nil {
+
+	var err error
+	for i := 0; i < 5; i++ {
+		_, err = ec2conn.DeleteSecurityGroup(ec2.SecurityGroup{Id: s.createdGroupId})
+		if err == nil {
+			break
+		}
+
 		log.Printf("Error deleting security group: %s", err)
+		time.Sleep(5 * time.Second)
+	}
+
+	if err != nil {
 		ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf(
 			"Error cleaning up security group. Please delete the group manually: %s", s.createdGroupId))
 	}

builder/amazon/ebs/builder.go

@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@
 package ebs
 
 import (
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/ec2"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
@@ -14,7 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/common"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"log"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 // The unique ID for this builder
@@ -23,13 +21,13 @@ const BuilderId = "mitchellh.amazonebs"
 type config struct {
 	common.PackerConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 	awscommon.AccessConfig `mapstructure:",squash"`
+	awscommon.AMIConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 	awscommon.RunConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 
-	// Configuration of the resulting AMI
-	AMIName string `mapstructure:"ami_name"`
-
 	// Tags for the AMI
 	Tags map[string]string
+
+	tpl *common.Template
 }
 
 type Builder struct {
@@ -43,23 +41,40 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	// Accumulate any errors
-	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
-	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AccessConfig.Prepare()...)
-	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.RunConfig.Prepare()...)
+	b.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	b.config.tpl.UserVars = b.config.PackerUserVars
 
 	// Accumulate any errors
-	if b.config.AMIName == "" {
-		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-			errs, errors.New("ami_name must be specified"))
-	} else {
-		_, err = template.New("ami").Parse(b.config.AMIName)
+	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AccessConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AMIConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.RunConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
+
+	// Accumulate any errors
+	newTags := make(map[string]string)
+	for k, v := range b.config.Tags {
+		k, err = b.config.tpl.Process(k, nil)
 		if err != nil {
-			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-				errs, fmt.Errorf("Failed parsing ami_name: %s", err))
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing tag key %s: %s", k, err))
+			continue
 		}
+
+		v, err = b.config.tpl.Process(v, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing tag value '%s': %s", v, err))
+			continue
+		}
+
+		newTags[k] = v
 	}
 
+	b.config.Tags = newTags
+
 	if errs != nil && len(errs.Errors) > 0 {
 		return errs
 	}
@@ -99,6 +114,8 @@ func (b *Builder) Run(ui packer.Ui, hook packer.Hook, cache packer.Cache) (packe
 		&awscommon.StepRunSourceInstance{
 			ExpectedRootDevice: "ebs",
 			InstanceType:       b.config.InstanceType,
+			UserData:           b.config.UserData,
+			UserDataFile:       b.config.UserDataFile,
 			SourceAMI:          b.config.SourceAmi,
 			IamInstanceProfile: b.config.IamInstanceProfile,
 			SubnetId:           b.config.SubnetId,
@@ -111,7 +128,12 @@ func (b *Builder) Run(ui packer.Ui, hook packer.Hook, cache packer.Cache) (packe
 		&common.StepProvision{},
 		&stepStopInstance{},
 		&stepCreateAMI{},
-		&awscommon.StepCreateTags{b.config.Tags},
+		&awscommon.StepCreateTags{Tags: b.config.Tags},
+		&awscommon.StepModifyAMIAttributes{
+			Description: b.config.AMIDescription,
+			Users:       b.config.AMIUsers,
+			Groups:      b.config.AMIGroups,
+		},
 	}
 
 	// Run!

builder/amazon/ebs/step_create_ami.go

@@ -1,44 +1,26 @@
 package ebs
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/ec2"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	awscommon "github.com/mitchellh/packer/builder/amazon/common"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"strconv"
-	"text/template"
-	"time"
 )
 
 type stepCreateAMI struct{}
 
-type amiNameData struct {
-	CreateTime string
-}
-
 func (s *stepCreateAMI) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction {
 	config := state["config"].(config)
 	ec2conn := state["ec2"].(*ec2.EC2)
 	instance := state["instance"].(*ec2.Instance)
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 
-	// Parse the name of the AMI
-	amiNameBuf := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	tData := amiNameData{
-		strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().UTC().Unix(), 10),
-	}
-
-	t := template.Must(template.New("ami").Parse(config.AMIName))
-	t.Execute(amiNameBuf, tData)
-	amiName := amiNameBuf.String()
-
 	// Create the image
-	ui.Say(fmt.Sprintf("Creating the AMI: %s", amiName))
+	ui.Say(fmt.Sprintf("Creating the AMI: %s", config.AMIName))
 	createOpts := &ec2.CreateImage{
 		InstanceId: instance.InstanceId,
-		Name:       amiName,
+		Name:       config.AMIName,
 	}
 
 	createResp, err := ec2conn.CreateImage(createOpts)

builder/amazon/instance/builder.go

@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 // The unique ID for this builder
@@ -24,10 +23,10 @@ const BuilderId = "mitchellh.amazon.instance"
 type Config struct {
 	common.PackerConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 	awscommon.AccessConfig `mapstructure:",squash"`
+	awscommon.AMIConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 	awscommon.RunConfig    `mapstructure:",squash"`
 
 	AccountId           string `mapstructure:"account_id"`
-	AMIName             string `mapstructure:"ami_name"`
 	BundleDestination   string `mapstructure:"bundle_destination"`
 	BundlePrefix        string `mapstructure:"bundle_prefix"`
 	BundleUploadCommand string `mapstructure:"bundle_upload_command"`
@@ -37,6 +36,8 @@ type Config struct {
 	X509CertPath        string `mapstructure:"x509_cert_path"`
 	X509KeyPath         string `mapstructure:"x509_key_path"`
 	X509UploadPath      string `mapstructure:"x509_upload_path"`
+
+	tpl *common.Template
 }
 
 type Builder struct {
@@ -50,12 +51,18 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	b.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	b.config.tpl.UserVars = b.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	if b.config.BundleDestination == "" {
 		b.config.BundleDestination = "/tmp"
 	}
 
 	if b.config.BundlePrefix == "" {
-		b.config.BundlePrefix = "image-{{.CreateTime}}"
+		b.config.BundlePrefix = "image-{{timestamp}}"
 	}
 
 	if b.config.BundleUploadCommand == "" {
@@ -87,8 +94,41 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
-	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AccessConfig.Prepare()...)
-	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.RunConfig.Prepare()...)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AccessConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.AMIConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
+	errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, b.config.RunConfig.Prepare(b.config.tpl)...)
+
+	validates := map[string]*string{
+		"bundle_upload_command": &b.config.BundleUploadCommand,
+		"bundle_vol_command":    &b.config.BundleVolCommand,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range validates {
+		if err := b.config.tpl.Validate(*ptr); err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error parsing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"account_id":         &b.config.AccountId,
+		"ami_name":           &b.config.AMIName,
+		"bundle_destination": &b.config.BundleDestination,
+		"bundle_prefix":      &b.config.BundlePrefix,
+		"s3_bucket":          &b.config.S3Bucket,
+		"x509_cert_path":     &b.config.X509CertPath,
+		"x509_key_path":      &b.config.X509KeyPath,
+		"x509_upload_path":   &b.config.X509UploadPath,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = b.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
 
 	if b.config.AccountId == "" {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, errors.New("account_id is required"))
@@ -96,17 +136,6 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		b.config.AccountId = strings.Replace(b.config.AccountId, "-", "", -1)
 	}
 
-	if b.config.AMIName == "" {
-		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-			errs, errors.New("ami_name must be specified"))
-	} else {
-		_, err = template.New("ami").Parse(b.config.AMIName)
-		if err != nil {
-			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-				errs, fmt.Errorf("Failed parsing ami_name: %s", err))
-		}
-	}
-
 	if b.config.S3Bucket == "" {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs, errors.New("s3_bucket is required"))
 	}
@@ -164,6 +193,8 @@ func (b *Builder) Run(ui packer.Ui, hook packer.Hook, cache packer.Cache) (packe
 		&awscommon.StepRunSourceInstance{
 			ExpectedRootDevice: "instance-store",
 			InstanceType:       b.config.InstanceType,
+			UserData:           b.config.UserData,
+			UserDataFile:       b.config.UserDataFile,
 			SourceAMI:          b.config.SourceAmi,
 			SubnetId:           b.config.SubnetId,
 		},
@@ -177,7 +208,13 @@ func (b *Builder) Run(ui packer.Ui, hook packer.Hook, cache packer.Cache) (packe
 		&StepBundleVolume{},
 		&StepUploadBundle{},
 		&StepRegisterAMI{},
-		&awscommon.StepCreateTags{b.config.Tags},
+		&awscommon.StepCreateTags{Tags: b.config.Tags},
+		&awscommon.StepModifyAMIAttributes{
+			Description:  b.config.AMIDescription,
+			Users:        b.config.AMIUsers,
+			Groups:       b.config.AMIGroups,
+			ProductCodes: b.config.AMIProductCodes,
+		},
 	}
 
 	// Run!

builder/amazon/instance/builder_test.go

@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ func TestBuilderPrepare_BundlePrefix(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
 	}
 
-	if b.config.BundlePrefix != "image-{{.CreateTime}}" {
+	if b.config.BundlePrefix == "" {
 		t.Fatalf("bad: %s", b.config.BundlePrefix)
 	}
 }

builder/amazon/instance/step_bundle_volume.go

@@ -1,14 +1,10 @@
 package instance
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/ec2"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"strconv"
-	"text/template"
-	"time"
 )
 
 type bundleCmdData struct {
@@ -21,10 +17,6 @@ type bundleCmdData struct {
 	PrivatePath  string
 }
 
-type bundlePrefixData struct {
-	CreateTime string
-}
-
 type StepBundleVolume struct{}
 
 func (s *StepBundleVolume) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction {
@@ -55,29 +47,26 @@ func (s *StepBundleVolume) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepActio
 	}
 
 	// Bundle the volume
-	var bundlePrefix bytes.Buffer
-	prefixTData := bundlePrefixData{
-		CreateTime: strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().UTC().Unix(), 10),
-	}
-	t := template.Must(template.New("bundlePrefix").Parse(config.BundlePrefix))
-	t.Execute(&bundlePrefix, prefixTData)
-
-	var bundleCmd bytes.Buffer
-	tData := bundleCmdData{
+	var err error
+	config.BundleVolCommand, err = config.tpl.Process(config.BundleVolCommand, bundleCmdData{
 		AccountId:    config.AccountId,
 		Architecture: instance.Architecture,
 		CertPath:     x509RemoteCertPath,
 		Destination:  config.BundleDestination,
 		KeyPath:      x509RemoteKeyPath,
-		Prefix:       bundlePrefix.String(),
+		Prefix:       config.BundlePrefix,
 		PrivatePath:  config.X509UploadPath,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error processing bundle volume command: %s", err)
+		state["error"] = err
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
 	}
-	t = template.Must(template.New("bundleCmd").Parse(config.BundleVolCommand))
-	t.Execute(&bundleCmd, tData)
 
 	ui.Say("Bundling the volume...")
 	cmd = new(packer.RemoteCmd)
-	cmd.Command = bundleCmd.String()
+	cmd.Command = config.BundleVolCommand
 	if err := cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
 		state["error"] = fmt.Errorf("Error bundling volume: %s", err)
 		ui.Error(state["error"].(error).Error())
@@ -93,7 +82,7 @@ func (s *StepBundleVolume) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepActio
 	}
 
 	// Store the manifest path
-	manifestName := bundlePrefix.String() + ".manifest.xml"
+	manifestName := config.BundlePrefix + ".manifest.xml"
 	state["manifest_name"] = manifestName
 	state["manifest_path"] = fmt.Sprintf(
 		"%s/%s", config.BundleDestination, manifestName)

builder/amazon/instance/step_register_ami.go

@@ -1,21 +1,13 @@
 package instance
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/goamz/ec2"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	awscommon "github.com/mitchellh/packer/builder/amazon/common"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"strconv"
-	"text/template"
-	"time"
 )
 
-type amiNameData struct {
-	CreateTime string
-}
-
 type StepRegisterAMI struct{}
 
 func (s *StepRegisterAMI) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction {
@@ -24,20 +16,10 @@ func (s *StepRegisterAMI) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction
 	manifestPath := state["remote_manifest_path"].(string)
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 
-	// Parse the name of the AMI
-	amiNameBuf := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	tData := amiNameData{
-		strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().UTC().Unix(), 10),
-	}
-
-	t := template.Must(template.New("ami").Parse(config.AMIName))
-	t.Execute(amiNameBuf, tData)
-	amiName := amiNameBuf.String()
-
 	ui.Say("Registering the AMI...")
 	registerOpts := &ec2.RegisterImage{
 		ImageLocation: manifestPath,
-		Name:          amiName,
+		Name:          config.AMIName,
 	}
 
 	registerResp, err := ec2conn.RegisterImage(registerOpts)

builder/amazon/instance/step_upload_bundle.go

@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 package instance
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 type uploadCmdData struct {
@@ -25,19 +23,23 @@ func (s *StepUploadBundle) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepActio
 	manifestPath := state["manifest_path"].(string)
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 
-	var uploadCmd bytes.Buffer
-	tData := uploadCmdData{
+	var err error
+	config.BundleUploadCommand, err = config.tpl.Process(config.BundleUploadCommand, uploadCmdData{
 		AccessKey:       config.AccessKey,
 		BucketName:      config.S3Bucket,
 		BundleDirectory: config.BundleDestination,
 		ManifestPath:    manifestPath,
 		SecretKey:       config.SecretKey,
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error processing bundle upload command: %s", err)
+		state["error"] = err
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
 	}
-	t := template.Must(template.New("uploadCmd").Parse(config.BundleUploadCommand))
-	t.Execute(&uploadCmd, tData)
 
 	ui.Say("Uploading the bundle...")
-	cmd := &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: uploadCmd.String()}
+	cmd := &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: config.BundleUploadCommand}
 	if err := cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
 		state["error"] = fmt.Errorf("Error uploading volume: %s", err)
 		ui.Error(state["error"].(error).Error())

builder/digitalocean/builder.go

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 package digitalocean
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
@@ -12,18 +11,12 @@ import (
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"log"
 	"os"
-	"strconv"
-	"text/template"
 	"time"
 )
 
 // The unique id for the builder
 const BuilderId = "pearkes.digitalocean"
 
-type snapshotNameData struct {
-	CreateTime string
-}
-
 // Configuration tells the builder the credentials
 // to use while communicating with DO and describes the image
 // you are creating
@@ -36,11 +29,10 @@ type config struct {
 	SizeID   uint   `mapstructure:"size_id"`
 	ImageID  uint   `mapstructure:"image_id"`
 
-	SnapshotName string
+	SnapshotName string `mapstructure:"snapshot_name"`
 	SSHUsername  string `mapstructure:"ssh_username"`
 	SSHPort      uint   `mapstructure:"ssh_port"`
 
-	RawSnapshotName string `mapstructure:"snapshot_name"`
 	RawSSHTimeout   string `mapstructure:"ssh_timeout"`
 	RawEventDelay   string `mapstructure:"event_delay"`
 	RawStateTimeout string `mapstructure:"state_timeout"`
@@ -50,6 +42,8 @@ type config struct {
 	sshTimeout   time.Duration
 	eventDelay   time.Duration
 	stateTimeout time.Duration
+
+	tpl *common.Template
 }
 
 type Builder struct {
@@ -63,6 +57,12 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	b.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	b.config.tpl.UserVars = b.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
 
@@ -92,6 +92,11 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		b.config.ImageID = 284203
 	}
 
+	if b.config.SnapshotName == "" {
+		// Default to packer-{{ unix timestamp (utc) }}
+		b.config.SnapshotName = "packer-{{timestamp}}"
+	}
+
 	if b.config.SSHUsername == "" {
 		// Default to "root". You can override this if your
 		// SourceImage has a different user account then the DO default
@@ -103,11 +108,6 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		b.config.SSHPort = 22
 	}
 
-	if b.config.RawSnapshotName == "" {
-		// Default to packer-{{ unix timestamp (utc) }}
-		b.config.RawSnapshotName = "packer-{{.CreateTime}}"
-	}
-
 	if b.config.RawSSHTimeout == "" {
 		// Default to 1 minute timeouts
 		b.config.RawSSHTimeout = "1m"
@@ -125,6 +125,25 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		b.config.RawStateTimeout = "6m"
 	}
 
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"client_id":     &b.config.ClientID,
+		"api_key":       &b.config.APIKey,
+		"snapshot_name": &b.config.SnapshotName,
+		"ssh_username":  &b.config.SSHUsername,
+		"ssh_timeout":   &b.config.RawSSHTimeout,
+		"event_delay":   &b.config.RawEventDelay,
+		"state_timeout": &b.config.RawStateTimeout,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = b.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Required configurations that will display errors if not set
 	if b.config.ClientID == "" {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
@@ -157,20 +176,6 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 	}
 	b.config.stateTimeout = stateTimeout
 
-	// Parse the name of the snapshot
-	snapNameBuf := new(bytes.Buffer)
-	tData := snapshotNameData{
-		strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().UTC().Unix(), 10),
-	}
-	t, err := template.New("snapshot").Parse(b.config.RawSnapshotName)
-	if err != nil {
-		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
-			errs, fmt.Errorf("Failed parsing snapshot_name: %s", err))
-	} else {
-		t.Execute(snapNameBuf, tData)
-		b.config.SnapshotName = snapNameBuf.String()
-	}
-
 	if errs != nil && len(errs.Errors) > 0 {
 		return errs
 	}

builder/digitalocean/builder_test.go

@@ -332,8 +332,8 @@ func TestBuilderPrepare_SnapshotName(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("should not have error: %s", err)
 	}
 
-	if b.config.RawSnapshotName != "packer-{{.CreateTime}}" {
-		t.Errorf("invalid: %d", b.config.RawSnapshotName)
+	if b.config.SnapshotName == "" {
+		t.Errorf("invalid: %s", b.config.SnapshotName)
 	}
 
 	// Test set
@@ -345,7 +345,7 @@ func TestBuilderPrepare_SnapshotName(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	// Test set with template
-	config["snapshot_name"] = "{{.CreateTime}}"
+	config["snapshot_name"] = "{{timestamp}}"
 	b = Builder{}
 	err = b.Prepare(config)
 	if err != nil {

builder/virtualbox/builder.go

@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ type config struct {
 	bootWait        time.Duration ``
 	shutdownTimeout time.Duration ``
 	sshWaitTimeout  time.Duration ``
+	tpl             *common.Template
 }
 
 func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
@@ -65,6 +66,12 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	b.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	b.config.tpl.UserVars = b.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
 
@@ -124,6 +131,53 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		b.config.VMName = fmt.Sprintf("packer-%s", b.config.PackerBuildName)
 	}
 
+	// Errors
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"guest_additions_path":    &b.config.GuestAdditionsPath,
+		"guest_additions_url":     &b.config.GuestAdditionsURL,
+		"guest_additions_sha256":  &b.config.GuestAdditionsSHA256,
+		"guest_os_type":           &b.config.GuestOSType,
+		"http_directory":          &b.config.HTTPDir,
+		"iso_checksum":            &b.config.ISOChecksum,
+		"iso_checksum_type":       &b.config.ISOChecksumType,
+		"iso_url":                 &b.config.ISOUrl,
+		"output_directory":        &b.config.OutputDir,
+		"shutdown_command":        &b.config.ShutdownCommand,
+		"ssh_password":            &b.config.SSHPassword,
+		"ssh_username":            &b.config.SSHUser,
+		"virtualbox_version_file": &b.config.VBoxVersionFile,
+		"vm_name":                 &b.config.VMName,
+		"boot_wait":               &b.config.RawBootWait,
+		"shutdown_timeout":        &b.config.RawShutdownTimeout,
+		"ssh_wait_timeout":        &b.config.RawSSHWaitTimeout,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = b.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	for i, command := range b.config.BootCommand {
+		if err := b.config.tpl.Validate(command); err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing boot_command[%d]: %s", i, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	for i, file := range b.config.FloppyFiles {
+		var err error
+		b.config.FloppyFiles[i], err = b.config.tpl.Process(file, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing floppy_files[%d]: %s",
+					i, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	if b.config.HTTPPortMin > b.config.HTTPPortMax {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
 			errs, errors.New("http_port_min must be less than http_port_max"))
@@ -215,6 +269,15 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 			errs, fmt.Errorf("Failed parsing ssh_wait_timeout: %s", err))
 	}
 
+	for i, args := range b.config.VBoxManage {
+		for j, arg := range args {
+			if err := b.config.tpl.Validate(arg); err != nil {
+				errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+					fmt.Errorf("Error processing vboxmanage[%d][%d]: %s", i, j, err))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	b.driver, err = b.newDriver()
 	if err != nil {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(

builder/virtualbox/step_type_boot_command.go

@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 package virtualbox
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"log"
 	"strings"
-	"text/template"
 	"time"
 	"unicode"
 	"unicode/utf8"
@@ -49,11 +47,15 @@ func (s *stepTypeBootCommand) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAc
 
 	ui.Say("Typing the boot command...")
 	for _, command := range config.BootCommand {
-		var buf bytes.Buffer
-		t := template.Must(template.New("boot").Parse(command))
-		t.Execute(&buf, tplData)
+		command, err := config.tpl.Process(command, tplData)
+		if err != nil {
+			err := fmt.Errorf("Error preparing boot command: %s", err)
+			state["error"] = err
+			ui.Error(err.Error())
+			return multistep.ActionHalt
+		}
 
-		for _, code := range scancodes(buf.String()) {
+		for _, code := range scancodes(command) {
 			if code == "wait" {
 				time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
 				continue

builder/virtualbox/step_upload_guest_additions.go

@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
 package virtualbox
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"os"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 type guestAdditionsPathTemplate struct {
@@ -39,12 +37,16 @@ func (s *stepUploadGuestAdditions) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.S
 		Version: version,
 	}
 
-	var processedPath bytes.Buffer
-	t := template.Must(template.New("path").Parse(config.GuestAdditionsPath))
-	t.Execute(&processedPath, tplData)
+	config.GuestAdditionsPath, err = config.tpl.Process(config.GuestAdditionsPath, tplData)
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error preparing guest additions path: %s", err)
+		state["error"] = err
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
 
 	ui.Say("Uploading VirtualBox guest additions ISO...")
-	if err := comm.Upload(processedPath.String(), f); err != nil {
+	if err := comm.Upload(config.GuestAdditionsPath, f); err != nil {
 		state["error"] = fmt.Errorf("Error uploading guest additions: %s", err)
 		return multistep.ActionHalt
 	}

builder/virtualbox/step_vboxmanage.go

@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
 package virtualbox
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"strings"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 type commandTemplate struct {
@@ -40,10 +38,14 @@ func (s *stepVBoxManage) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction
 		copy(command, originalCommand)
 
 		for i, arg := range command {
-			var buf bytes.Buffer
-			t := template.Must(template.New("arg").Parse(arg))
-			t.Execute(&buf, tplData)
-			command[i] = buf.String()
+			var err error
+			command[i], err = config.tpl.Process(arg, tplData)
+			if err != nil {
+				err := fmt.Errorf("Error preparing vboxmanage command: %s", err)
+				state["error"] = err
+				ui.Error(err.Error())
+				return multistep.ActionHalt
+			}
 		}
 
 		ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Executing: %s", strings.Join(command, " ")))

builder/vmware/builder.go

@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ type config struct {
 	bootWait        time.Duration ``
 	shutdownTimeout time.Duration ``
 	sshWaitTimeout  time.Duration ``
+	tpl             *common.Template
 }
 
 func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
@@ -66,6 +67,12 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	b.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	b.config.tpl.UserVars = b.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
 
@@ -121,6 +128,72 @@ func (b *Builder) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		b.config.ToolsUploadPath = "{{ .Flavor }}.iso"
 	}
 
+	// Errors
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"disk_name":           &b.config.DiskName,
+		"guest_os_type":       &b.config.GuestOSType,
+		"http_directory":      &b.config.HTTPDir,
+		"iso_checksum":        &b.config.ISOChecksum,
+		"iso_checksum_type":   &b.config.ISOChecksumType,
+		"iso_url":             &b.config.ISOUrl,
+		"output_directory":    &b.config.OutputDir,
+		"shutdown_command":    &b.config.ShutdownCommand,
+		"ssh_password":        &b.config.SSHPassword,
+		"ssh_username":        &b.config.SSHUser,
+		"tools_upload_flavor": &b.config.ToolsUploadFlavor,
+		"vm_name":             &b.config.VMName,
+		"boot_wait":           &b.config.RawBootWait,
+		"shutdown_timeout":    &b.config.RawShutdownTimeout,
+		"ssh_wait_timeout":    &b.config.RawSSHWaitTimeout,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = b.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	for i, command := range b.config.BootCommand {
+		if err := b.config.tpl.Validate(command); err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing boot_command[%d]: %s", i, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	for i, file := range b.config.FloppyFiles {
+		var err error
+		b.config.FloppyFiles[i], err = b.config.tpl.Process(file, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing floppy_files[%d]: %s",
+					i, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	newVMXData := make(map[string]string)
+	for k, v := range b.config.VMXData {
+		k, err = b.config.tpl.Process(k, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing VMX data key %s: %s", k, err))
+			continue
+		}
+
+		v, err = b.config.tpl.Process(v, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				fmt.Errorf("Error processing VMX data value '%s': %s", v, err))
+			continue
+		}
+
+		newVMXData[k] = v
+	}
+
+	b.config.VMXData = newVMXData
+
 	if b.config.HTTPPortMin > b.config.HTTPPortMax {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
 			errs, errors.New("http_port_min must be less than http_port_max"))

builder/vmware/driver_workstation9.go

@@ -135,3 +135,7 @@ func (d *Workstation9Driver) ToolsIsoPath(flavor string) string {
 func (d *Workstation9Driver) DhcpLeasesPath(device string) string {
 	return workstationDhcpLeasesPath(device)
 }
+
+func (d *Workstation9Driver) VmnetnatConfPath() string {
+	return workstationVmnetnatConfPath()
+}

builder/vmware/driver_workstation9_unix.go

@@ -41,3 +41,7 @@ func workstationDhcpLeasesPath(device string) string {
 func workstationToolsIsoPath(flavor string) string {
 	return "/usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/" + flavor + ".iso"
 }
+
+func workstationVmnetnatConfPath() string {
+	return ""
+}

builder/vmware/driver_workstation9_windows.go

@@ -23,58 +23,44 @@ func workstationFindVdiskManager() (string, error) {
 		return path, nil
 	}
 
-	path, err = workstationVMwareRoot()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-
-	return filepath.Join(path, "vmware-vdiskmanager.exe"), nil
+	return findFile("vmware-vdiskmanager.exe", workstationProgramFilePaths()), nil
 }
 
 func workstationFindVMware() (string, error) {
-	path, err := exec.LookPath("vmware.exe")
+	path, _ := exec.LookPath("vmware.exe")
 	if err == nil {
 		return path, nil
 	}
 
-	path, err = workstationVMwareRoot()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-
-	return filepath.Join(path, "vmware.exe"), nil
+	return findFile("vmware.exe", workstationProgramFilePaths()), nil
 }
 
 func workstationFindVmrun() (string, error) {
-	path, err := exec.LookPath("vmrun.exe")
+	path, _ := exec.LookPath("vmrun.exe")
 	if err == nil {
 		return path, nil
 	}
 
-	path, err = workstationVMwareRoot()
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-
-	return filepath.Join(path, "vmrun.exe"), nil
+	return findFile("vmrun.exe", workstationProgramFilePaths()), nil
 }
 
 func workstationToolsIsoPath(flavor string) string {
-	path, err := workstationVMwareRoot()
-	if err != nil {
-		return ""
-	}
-
-	return filepath.Join(path, flavor+".iso")
+	return findFile(flavor+".iso", workstationProgramFilePaths()), nil
 }
 
 func workstationDhcpLeasesPath(device string) string {
-	programData := os.Getenv("ProgramData")
-	if programData == "" {
-		return ""
+	path, err := workstationDhcpLeasesPathRegistry()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("Error finding leases in registry: %s", err)
+	} else if _, err := os.Stat(path); err == nil {
+		return path
 	}
 
-	return filepath.Join(programData, "/VMware/vmnetdhcp.leases")
+	return findFile("vmnetdhcp.leases", workstationDataFilePaths()), nil
+}
+
+func workstationVmnetnatConfPath() string {
+	return findFile("vmnetnat.conf", workstationDataFilePaths()), nil
 }
 
 // See http://blog.natefinch.com/2012/11/go-win-stuff.html
@@ -126,6 +112,105 @@ func workstationVMwareRoot() (s string, err error) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	s = strings.Replace(s, "\\", "/", -1)
-	return
+	return normalizePath(s), nil
+}
+
+// This reads the VMware DHCP leases path from the Windows registry.
+func workstationDhcpLeasesPathRegistry() (s string, err error) {
+	key := "SYSTEM\\CurrentControlSet\\services\\VMnetDHCP\\Parameters"
+	subkey := "LeaseFile"
+	s, err = readRegString(syscall.HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, key, subkey)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf(`Unable to read registry key %s\%s`, key, subkey)
+		return
+	}
+
+	return normalizePath(s), nil
+}
+
+func normalizePath(path string) string {
+	path = strings.Replace(path, "\\", "/", -1)
+	path = strings.Replace(path, "//", "/", -1)
+	path = strings.TrimRight(path, "/")
+	return path
+}
+
+func findFile(file string, paths []string) string {
+	for _, path := range paths {
+		path = filepath.Join(path, file)
+		path = normalizePath(path)
+		log.Printf("Searching for file '%s'", path)
+
+		if _, err := os.Stat(path); err != nil {
+			log.Printf("Found file '%s'", path)
+			return path
+		}
+	}
+
+	log.Printf("File not found: '%s'", file)
+	return ""
+}
+
+// workstationProgramFilesPaths returns a list of paths that are eligible
+// to contain program files we may want just as vmware.exe.
+func workstationProgramFilePaths() []string {
+	path, err := workstationVMwareRoot()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("Error finding VMware root: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	paths := make([]string, 0, 5)
+	if os.Getenv("VMWARE_HOME") != "" {
+		paths = append(paths, os.Getenv("VMWARE_HOME"))
+	}
+
+	if path != "" {
+		paths = append(paths, path)
+	}
+
+	if os.Getenv("ProgramFiles(x86)") != "" {
+		paths = append(paths,
+			filepath.Join(os.Getenv("ProgramFiles(x86)"), "/VMware/VMware Workstation"))
+	}
+
+	if os.Getenv("ProgramFiles") != "" {
+		paths = append(paths,
+			filepath.Join(os.Getenv("ProgramFiles"), "/VMware/VMware Workstation"))
+	}
+
+	return paths
+}
+
+// workstationDataFilePaths returns a list of paths that are eligible
+// to contain data files we may want such as vmnet NAT configuration files.
+func workstationDataFilePaths() []string {
+	leasesPath, err := workstationVmnetDhcpLeasesPathFromRegistry()
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Printf("Error getting DHCP leases path: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if leasesPath != "" {
+		leasesPath = filepath.Dir(leasesPath)
+	}
+
+	paths := make([]string, 0, 5)
+	if os.Getenv("VMWARE_DATA") != "" {
+		paths = append(paths, os.Getenv("VMWARE_DATA"))
+	}
+
+	if path != "" {
+		paths = append(paths, leasesPath)
+	}
+
+	if os.Getenv("ProgramData") != "" {
+		paths = append(paths,
+			filepath.Join(os.Getenv("ProgramData"), "/VMware"))
+	}
+
+	if os.Getenv("ALLUSERSPROFILE") != "" {
+		paths = append(paths,
+			filepath.Join(os.Getenv("ALLUSERSPROFILE"), "/Application Data/VMware"))
+	}
+
+	return paths
 }

builder/vmware/host_ip_vmnetnatconf.go

@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
-	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -17,15 +16,15 @@ import (
 type VMnetNatConfIPFinder struct{}
 
 func (*VMnetNatConfIPFinder) HostIP() (string, error) {
-	programData := os.Getenv("ProgramData")
-	if programData == "" {
-		return "", errors.New("ProgramData directory not found.")
+	driver := &Workstation9Driver{}
+
+	vmnetnat := driver.VmnetnatConfPath()
+	if vmnetnat == "" {
+		return "", errors.New("Could not find NAT vmnet conf file")
 	}
 
-	programData = strings.Replace(programData, "\\", "/", -1)
-	vmnetnat := filepath.Join(programData, "/VMware/vmnetnat.conf")
 	if _, err := os.Stat(vmnetnat); err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("Error with vmnetnat.conf: %s", err)
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("Could not find NAT vmnet conf file: %s", vmnetnat)
 	}
 
 	f, err := os.Open(vmnetnat)
@@ -62,5 +61,5 @@ func (*VMnetNatConfIPFinder) HostIP() (string, error) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	return "", errors.New("host IP not found in NAT config")
+	return "", errors.New("host IP not found in " + vmnetnat)
 }

builder/vmware/step_type_boot_command.go

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package vmware
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/go-vnc"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
@@ -10,7 +9,6 @@ import (
 	"net"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
-	"text/template"
 	"time"
 	"unicode"
 	"unicode/utf8"
@@ -90,11 +88,15 @@ func (s *stepTypeBootCommand) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAc
 
 	ui.Say("Typing the boot command over VNC...")
 	for _, command := range config.BootCommand {
-		var buf bytes.Buffer
-		t := template.Must(template.New("boot").Parse(command))
-		t.Execute(&buf, tplData)
+		command, err := config.tpl.Process(command, tplData)
+		if err != nil {
+			err := fmt.Errorf("Error preparing boot command: %s", err)
+			state["error"] = err
+			ui.Error(err.Error())
+			return multistep.ActionHalt
+		}
 
-		vncSendString(c, buf.String())
+		vncSendString(c, command)
 	}
 
 	return multistep.ActionContinue

builder/vmware/step_upload_tools.go

@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
 package vmware
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
 	"os"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 type toolsUploadPathTemplate struct {
@@ -34,11 +32,15 @@ func (*stepUploadTools) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction {
 	defer f.Close()
 
 	tplData := &toolsUploadPathTemplate{Flavor: config.ToolsUploadFlavor}
-	var processedPath bytes.Buffer
-	t := template.Must(template.New("path").Parse(config.ToolsUploadPath))
-	t.Execute(&processedPath, tplData)
+	config.ToolsUploadPath, err = config.tpl.Process(config.ToolsUploadPath, tplData)
+	if err != nil {
+		err := fmt.Errorf("Error preparing upload path: %s", err)
+		state["error"] = err
+		ui.Error(err.Error())
+		return multistep.ActionHalt
+	}
 
-	if err := comm.Upload(processedPath.String(), f); err != nil {
+	if err := comm.Upload(config.ToolsUploadPath, f); err != nil {
 		state["error"] = fmt.Errorf("Error uploading VMware Tools: %s", err)
 		return multistep.ActionHalt
 	}

command/build/command.go

@@ -4,11 +4,12 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
+	cmdcommon "github.com/mitchellh/packer/common/command"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"os/signal"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 )
@@ -22,15 +23,13 @@ func (Command) Help() string {
 func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 	var cfgDebug bool
 	var cfgForce bool
-	var cfgExcept []string
-	var cfgOnly []string
+	buildOptions := new(cmdcommon.BuildOptions)
 
 	cmdFlags := flag.NewFlagSet("build", flag.ContinueOnError)
 	cmdFlags.Usage = func() { env.Ui().Say(c.Help()) }
 	cmdFlags.BoolVar(&cfgDebug, "debug", false, "debug mode for builds")
 	cmdFlags.BoolVar(&cfgForce, "force", false, "force a build if artifacts exist")
-	cmdFlags.Var((*stringSliceValue)(&cfgExcept), "except", "build all builds except these")
-	cmdFlags.Var((*stringSliceValue)(&cfgOnly), "only", "only build the given builds by name")
+	cmdcommon.BuildOptionFlags(cmdFlags, buildOptions)
 	if err := cmdFlags.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return 1
 	}
@@ -41,23 +40,24 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 		return 1
 	}
 
-	if len(cfgOnly) > 0 && len(cfgExcept) > 0 {
-		env.Ui().Error("Only one of '-except' or '-only' may be specified.\n")
+	if err := buildOptions.Validate(); err != nil {
+		env.Ui().Error(err.Error())
+		env.Ui().Error("")
+		env.Ui().Error(c.Help())
+		return 1
+	}
+
+	userVars, err := buildOptions.AllUserVars()
+	if err != nil {
+		env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error compiling user variables: %s", err))
+		env.Ui().Error("")
 		env.Ui().Error(c.Help())
 		return 1
 	}
 
 	// Read the file into a byte array so that we can parse the template
 	log.Printf("Reading template: %s", args[0])
-	tplData, err := ioutil.ReadFile(args[0])
-	if err != nil {
-		env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to read template file: %s", err))
-		return 1
-	}
-
-	// Parse the template into a machine-usable format
-	log.Println("Parsing template...")
-	tpl, err := packer.ParseTemplate(tplData)
+	tpl, err := packer.ParseTemplateFile(args[0])
 	if err != nil {
 		env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to parse template: %s", err))
 		return 1
@@ -72,47 +72,10 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 	}
 
 	// Go through each builder and compile the builds that we care about
-	buildNames := tpl.BuildNames()
-	builds := make([]packer.Build, 0, len(buildNames))
-	for _, buildName := range buildNames {
-		if len(cfgExcept) > 0 {
-			found := false
-			for _, only := range cfgExcept {
-				if buildName == only {
-					found = true
-					break
-				}
-			}
-
-			if found {
-				log.Printf("Skipping build '%s' because specified by -except.", buildName)
-				continue
-			}
-		}
-
-		if len(cfgOnly) > 0 {
-			found := false
-			for _, only := range cfgOnly {
-				if buildName == only {
-					found = true
-					break
-				}
-			}
-
-			if !found {
-				log.Printf("Skipping build '%s' because not specified by -only.", buildName)
-				continue
-			}
-		}
-
-		log.Printf("Creating build: %s", buildName)
-		build, err := tpl.Build(buildName, components)
-		if err != nil {
-			env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to create build '%s': \n\n%s", buildName, err))
-			return 1
-		}
-
-		builds = append(builds, build)
+	builds, err := buildOptions.Builds(tpl, components)
+	if err != nil {
+		env.Ui().Error(err.Error())
+		return 1
 	}
 
 	if cfgDebug {
@@ -150,7 +113,7 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 		log.Printf("Preparing build: %s", b.Name())
 		b.SetDebug(cfgDebug)
 		b.SetForce(cfgForce)
-		err := b.Prepare()
+		err := b.Prepare(userVars)
 		if err != nil {
 			env.Ui().Error(err.Error())
 			return 1
@@ -233,7 +196,16 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 	if len(artifacts) > 0 {
 		env.Ui().Say("\n==> Builds finished. The artifacts of successful builds are:")
 		for name, buildArtifacts := range artifacts {
-			for _, artifact := range buildArtifacts {
+			// Create a UI for the machine readable stuff to be targetted
+			ui := &packer.TargettedUi{
+				Target: name,
+				Ui:     env.Ui(),
+			}
+
+			// Machine-readable helpful
+			ui.Machine("artifact-count", strconv.FormatInt(int64(len(buildArtifacts)), 10))
+
+			for i, artifact := range buildArtifacts {
 				var message bytes.Buffer
 				fmt.Fprintf(&message, "--> %s: ", name)
 
@@ -243,6 +215,24 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 					fmt.Fprint(&message, "<nothing>")
 				}
 
+				iStr := strconv.FormatInt(int64(i), 10)
+				if artifact != nil {
+					ui.Machine("artifact", iStr, "builder-id", artifact.BuilderId())
+					ui.Machine("artifact", iStr, "id", artifact.Id())
+					ui.Machine("artifact", iStr, "string", artifact.String())
+
+					files := artifact.Files()
+					ui.Machine("artifact",
+						iStr,
+						"files-count", strconv.FormatInt(int64(len(files)), 10))
+					for fi, file := range files {
+						fiStr := strconv.FormatInt(int64(fi), 10)
+						ui.Machine("artifact", iStr, "file", fiStr, file)
+					}
+				} else {
+					ui.Machine("artifact", iStr, "nil")
+				}
+
 				env.Ui().Say(message.String())
 			}
 		}

command/build/command_test.go

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import (
 
 func testEnvironment() packer.Environment {
 	config := packer.DefaultEnvironmentConfig()
-	config.Ui = &packer.ReaderWriterUi{
+	config.Ui = &packer.BasicUi{
 		Reader: new(bytes.Buffer),
 		Writer: new(bytes.Buffer),
 	}

command/build/help.go

@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ Options:
 
   -debug                     Debug mode enabled for builds
   -force                     Force a build to continue if artifacts exist, deletes existing artifacts
+  -machine-readable          Machine-readable output
   -except=foo,bar,baz        Build all builds other than these
   -only=foo,bar,baz          Only build the given builds by name
+  -var 'key=value'           Variable for templates, can be used multiple times.
+  -var-file=path             JSON file containing user variables.
 `

command/build/string_slice_value.go

@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-package build
-
-import "strings"
-
-type stringSliceValue []string
-
-func (s *stringSliceValue) String() string {
-	return strings.Join(*s, ",")
-}
-
-func (s *stringSliceValue) Set(value string) error {
-	*s = strings.Split(value, ",")
-	return nil
-}

command/fix/command.go

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
+	"log"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -49,10 +50,20 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 	tplF.Close()
 
 	// Run the template through the various fixers
-	fixers := []Fixer{Fixers["iso-md5"]}
+	fixers := []string{
+		"iso-md5",
+		"createtime",
+	}
+
 	input := templateData
-	for _, fixer := range fixers {
+	for _, name := range fixers {
 		var err error
+		fixer, ok := Fixers[name]
+		if !ok {
+			panic("fixer not found: " + name)
+		}
+
+		log.Printf("Running fixer: %s", name)
 		input, err = fixer.Fix(input)
 		if err != nil {
 			env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error fixing: %s", err))

command/fix/fixer.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ var Fixers map[string]Fixer
 
 func init() {
 	Fixers = map[string]Fixer{
-		"iso-md5": new(FixerISOMD5),
+		"iso-md5":    new(FixerISOMD5),
+		"createtime": new(FixerCreateTime),
 	}
 }

command/fix/fixer_createtime.go

@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+package fix
+
+import (
+	"github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure"
+	"regexp"
+)
+
+// FixerCreateTime is a Fixer that replaces the ".CreateTime" template
+// calls with "{{timestamp}"
+type FixerCreateTime struct{}
+
+func (FixerCreateTime) Fix(input map[string]interface{}) (map[string]interface{}, error) {
+	// Our template type we'll use for this fixer only
+	type template struct {
+		Builders []map[string]interface{}
+	}
+
+	// Decode the input into our structure, if we can
+	var tpl template
+	if err := mapstructure.Decode(input, &tpl); err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	badKeys := []string{
+		"ami_name",
+		"bundle_prefix",
+		"snapshot_name",
+	}
+
+	re := regexp.MustCompile(`{{\s*\.CreateTime\s*}}`)
+
+	// Go through each builder and replace CreateTime if we can
+	for _, builder := range tpl.Builders {
+		for _, key := range badKeys {
+			raw, ok := builder[key]
+			if !ok {
+				continue
+			}
+
+			v, ok := raw.(string)
+			if !ok {
+				continue
+			}
+
+			builder[key] = re.ReplaceAllString(v, "{{timestamp}}")
+		}
+	}
+
+	input["builders"] = tpl.Builders
+	return input, nil
+}

command/fix/fixer_createtime_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+package fix
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestFixerCreateTime_Impl(t *testing.T) {
+	var raw interface{}
+	raw = new(FixerCreateTime)
+	if _, ok := raw.(Fixer); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("must be a Fixer")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestFixerCreateTime_Fix(t *testing.T) {
+	var f FixerCreateTime
+
+	input := map[string]interface{}{
+		"builders": []interface{}{
+			map[string]string{
+				"type":     "foo",
+				"ami_name": "{{.CreateTime}} foo",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	expected := map[string]interface{}{
+		"builders": []map[string]interface{}{
+			map[string]interface{}{
+				"type":     "foo",
+				"ami_name": "{{timestamp}} foo",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	output, err := f.Fix(input)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(output, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected: %#v\nexpected: %#v\n", output, expected)
+	}
+}

command/validate/command.go

@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ package validate
 import (
 	"flag"
 	"fmt"
+	cmdcommon "github.com/mitchellh/packer/common/command"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"log"
 	"strings"
 )
@@ -17,10 +17,12 @@ func (Command) Help() string {
 
 func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 	var cfgSyntaxOnly bool
+	buildOptions := new(cmdcommon.BuildOptions)
 
 	cmdFlags := flag.NewFlagSet("validate", flag.ContinueOnError)
 	cmdFlags.Usage = func() { env.Ui().Say(c.Help()) }
 	cmdFlags.BoolVar(&cfgSyntaxOnly, "syntax-only", false, "check syntax only")
+	cmdcommon.BuildOptionFlags(cmdFlags, buildOptions)
 	if err := cmdFlags.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return 1
 	}
@@ -31,17 +33,24 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 		return 1
 	}
 
-	// Read the file into a byte array so that we can parse the template
-	log.Printf("Reading template: %s", args[0])
-	tplData, err := ioutil.ReadFile(args[0])
+	if err := buildOptions.Validate(); err != nil {
+		env.Ui().Error(err.Error())
+		env.Ui().Error("")
+		env.Ui().Error(c.Help())
+		return 1
+	}
+
+	userVars, err := buildOptions.AllUserVars()
 	if err != nil {
-		env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to read template file: %s", err))
+		env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error compiling user variables: %s", err))
+		env.Ui().Error("")
+		env.Ui().Error(c.Help())
 		return 1
 	}
 
 	// Parse the template into a machine-usable format
-	log.Println("Parsing template...")
-	tpl, err := packer.ParseTemplate(tplData)
+	log.Printf("Reading template: %s", args[0])
+	tpl, err := packer.ParseTemplateFile(args[0])
 	if err != nil {
 		env.Ui().Error(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to parse template: %s", err))
 		return 1
@@ -63,23 +72,16 @@ func (c Command) Run(env packer.Environment, args []string) int {
 	}
 
 	// Otherwise, get all the builds
-	buildNames := tpl.BuildNames()
-	builds := make([]packer.Build, 0, len(buildNames))
-	for _, buildName := range buildNames {
-		log.Printf("Creating build from template for: %s", buildName)
-		build, err := tpl.Build(buildName, components)
-		if err != nil {
-			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("Build '%s': %s", buildName, err))
-			continue
-		}
-
-		builds = append(builds, build)
+	builds, err := buildOptions.Builds(tpl, components)
+	if err != nil {
+		env.Ui().Error(err.Error())
+		return 1
 	}
 
 	// Check the configuration of all builds
 	for _, b := range builds {
 		log.Printf("Preparing build: %s", b.Name())
-		err := b.Prepare()
+		err := b.Prepare(userVars)
 		if err != nil {
 			errs = append(errs, fmt.Errorf("Errors validating build '%s'. %s", b.Name(), err))
 		}

command/validate/help.go

@@ -12,5 +12,9 @@ Usage: packer validate [options] TEMPLATE
 
 Options:
 
-  -syntax-only        Only check syntax. Do not verify config of the template.
+  -syntax-only           Only check syntax. Do not verify config of the template.
+  -except=foo,bar,baz    Validate all builds other than these
+  -only=foo,bar,baz      Validate only these builds
+  -var 'key=value'       Variable for templates, can be used multiple times.
+  -var-file=path         JSON file containing user variables.
 `

common/command/build_flags.go

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"flag"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// BuildOptionFlags sets the proper command line flags needed for
+// build options.
+func BuildOptionFlags(fs *flag.FlagSet, f *BuildOptions) {
+	fs.Var((*SliceValue)(&f.Except), "except", "build all builds except these")
+	fs.Var((*SliceValue)(&f.Only), "only", "only build the given builds by name")
+	fs.Var((*userVarValue)(&f.UserVars), "var", "specify a user variable")
+	fs.Var((*AppendSliceValue)(&f.UserVarFiles), "var-file", "file with user variables")
+}
+
+// userVarValue is a flag.Value that parses out user variables in
+// the form of 'key=value' and sets it on this map.
+type userVarValue map[string]string
+
+func (v *userVarValue) String() string {
+	return ""
+}
+
+func (v *userVarValue) Set(raw string) error {
+	idx := strings.Index(raw, "=")
+	if idx == -1 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("No '=' value in arg: %s", raw)
+	}
+
+	if *v == nil {
+		*v = make(map[string]string)
+	}
+
+	key, value := raw[0:idx], raw[idx+1:]
+	(*v)[key] = value
+	return nil
+}

common/command/build_flags_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"flag"
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestBuildOptionFlags(t *testing.T) {
+	opts := new(BuildOptions)
+	fs := flag.NewFlagSet("test", flag.ContinueOnError)
+	BuildOptionFlags(fs, opts)
+
+	args := []string{
+		"-except=foo,bar,baz",
+		"-only=a,b",
+		"-var=foo=bar",
+		"-var", "bar=baz",
+		"-var=foo=bang",
+		"-var-file=foo",
+		"-var-file=bar",
+	}
+
+	err := fs.Parse(args)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	expected := []string{"foo", "bar", "baz"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(opts.Except, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", opts.Except)
+	}
+
+	expected = []string{"a", "b"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(opts.Only, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", opts.Only)
+	}
+
+	if len(opts.UserVars) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", opts.UserVars)
+	}
+
+	if opts.UserVars["foo"] != "bang" {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", opts.UserVars)
+	}
+
+	if opts.UserVars["bar"] != "baz" {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", opts.UserVars)
+	}
+
+	expected = []string{"foo", "bar"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(opts.UserVarFiles, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", opts.UserVarFiles)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestUserVarValue_implements(t *testing.T) {
+	var raw interface{}
+	raw = new(userVarValue)
+	if _, ok := raw.(flag.Value); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("userVarValue should be a Value")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestUserVarValueSet(t *testing.T) {
+	sv := new(userVarValue)
+	err := sv.Set("key=value")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	vars := map[string]string(*sv)
+	if vars["key"] != "value" {
+		t.Fatalf("Bad: %#v", vars)
+	}
+
+	// Empty value
+	err = sv.Set("key=")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	vars = map[string]string(*sv)
+	if vars["key"] != "" {
+		t.Fatalf("Bad: %#v", vars)
+	}
+
+	// Equal in value
+	err = sv.Set("key=foo=bar")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	vars = map[string]string(*sv)
+	if vars["key"] != "foo=bar" {
+		t.Fatalf("Bad: %#v", vars)
+	}
+
+	// No equal
+	err = sv.Set("key")
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("should have error")
+	}
+}

common/command/flag_slice_value.go

@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+package command
+
+import "strings"
+
+// AppendSliceValue implements the flag.Value interface and allows multiple
+// calls to the same variable to append a list.
+type AppendSliceValue []string
+
+func (s *AppendSliceValue) String() string {
+	return strings.Join(*s, ",")
+}
+
+func (s *AppendSliceValue) Set(value string) error {
+	if *s == nil {
+		*s = make([]string, 0, 1)
+	}
+
+	*s = append(*s, value)
+	return nil
+}
+
+// SliceValue implements the flag.Value interface and allows a list of
+// strings to be given on the command line and properly parsed into a slice
+// of strings internally.
+type SliceValue []string
+
+func (s *SliceValue) String() string {
+	return strings.Join(*s, ",")
+}
+
+func (s *SliceValue) Set(value string) error {
+	*s = strings.Split(value, ",")
+	return nil
+}

common/command/flag_slice_value_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"flag"
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestAppendSliceValue_implements(t *testing.T) {
+	var raw interface{}
+	raw = new(AppendSliceValue)
+	if _, ok := raw.(flag.Value); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("AppendSliceValue should be a Value")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAppendSliceValueSet(t *testing.T) {
+	sv := new(AppendSliceValue)
+	err := sv.Set("foo")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	err = sv.Set("bar")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	expected := []string{"foo", "bar"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual([]string(*sv), expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("Bad: %#v", sv)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSliceValue_implements(t *testing.T) {
+	var raw interface{}
+	raw = new(SliceValue)
+	if _, ok := raw.(flag.Value); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("SliceValue should be a Value")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestSliceValueSet(t *testing.T) {
+	sv := new(SliceValue)
+	err := sv.Set("foo,bar,baz")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	expected := []string{"foo", "bar", "baz"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual([]string(*sv), expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("Bad: %#v", sv)
+	}
+}

common/command/template.go

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	jsonutil "github.com/mitchellh/packer/common/json"
+	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"log"
+	"os"
+)
+
+// BuildOptions is a set of options related to builds that can be set
+// from the command line.
+type BuildOptions struct {
+	UserVarFiles []string
+	UserVars     map[string]string
+	Except       []string
+	Only         []string
+}
+
+// Validate validates the options
+func (f *BuildOptions) Validate() error {
+	if len(f.Except) > 0 && len(f.Only) > 0 {
+		return errors.New("Only one of '-except' or '-only' may be specified.")
+	}
+
+	if len(f.UserVarFiles) > 0 {
+		for _, path := range f.UserVarFiles {
+			if _, err := os.Stat(path); err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("Cannot access: %s", path)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+// AllUserVars returns the user variables, compiled from both the
+// file paths and the vars on the command line.
+func (f *BuildOptions) AllUserVars() (map[string]string, error) {
+	all := make(map[string]string)
+
+	// Copy in the variables from the files
+	for _, path := range f.UserVarFiles {
+		fileVars, err := readFileVars(path)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		for k, v := range fileVars {
+			all[k] = v
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Copy in the command-line vars
+	for k, v := range f.UserVars {
+		all[k] = v
+	}
+
+	return all, nil
+}
+
+// Builds returns the builds out of the given template that pass the
+// configured options.
+func (f *BuildOptions) Builds(t *packer.Template, cf *packer.ComponentFinder) ([]packer.Build, error) {
+	buildNames := t.BuildNames()
+	builds := make([]packer.Build, 0, len(buildNames))
+	for _, buildName := range buildNames {
+		if len(f.Except) > 0 {
+			found := false
+			for _, except := range f.Except {
+				if buildName == except {
+					found = true
+					break
+				}
+			}
+
+			if found {
+				log.Printf("Skipping build '%s' because specified by -except.", buildName)
+				continue
+			}
+		}
+
+		if len(f.Only) > 0 {
+			found := false
+			for _, only := range f.Only {
+				if buildName == only {
+					found = true
+					break
+				}
+			}
+
+			if !found {
+				log.Printf("Skipping build '%s' because not specified by -only.", buildName)
+				continue
+			}
+		}
+
+		log.Printf("Creating build: %s", buildName)
+		build, err := t.Build(buildName, cf)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("Failed to create build '%s': \n\n%s", buildName, err)
+		}
+
+		builds = append(builds, build)
+	}
+
+	return builds, nil
+}
+
+func readFileVars(path string) (map[string]string, error) {
+	bytes, err := ioutil.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	vars := make(map[string]string)
+	err = jsonutil.Unmarshal(bytes, &vars)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return vars, nil
+}

common/command/template_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+package command
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestBuildOptionsValidate(t *testing.T) {
+	bf := new(BuildOptions)
+
+	err := bf.Validate()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	// Both set
+	bf.Except = make([]string, 1)
+	bf.Only = make([]string, 1)
+	err = bf.Validate()
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("should error")
+	}
+
+	// One set
+	bf.Except = make([]string, 1)
+	bf.Only = make([]string, 0)
+	err = bf.Validate()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	bf.Except = make([]string, 0)
+	bf.Only = make([]string, 1)
+	err = bf.Validate()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildOptionsValidate_userVarFiles(t *testing.T) {
+	bf := new(BuildOptions)
+
+	err := bf.Validate()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	// Non-existent file
+	bf.UserVarFiles = []string{"ireallyshouldntexistanywhere"}
+	err = bf.Validate()
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("should error")
+	}
+}

common/json/unmarshal.go

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+package json
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+)
+
+// Unmarshal is wrapper around json.Unmarshal that returns user-friendly
+// errors when there are syntax errors.
+func Unmarshal(data []byte, i interface{}) error {
+	err := json.Unmarshal(data, i)
+	if err != nil {
+		syntaxErr, ok := err.(*json.SyntaxError)
+		if !ok {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		// We have a syntax error. Extract out the line number and friends.
+		// https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/golang-nuts/fizimmXtVfc
+		newline := []byte{'\x0a'}
+
+		// Calculate the start/end position of the line where the error is
+		start := bytes.LastIndex(data[:syntaxErr.Offset], newline) + 1
+		end := len(data)
+		if idx := bytes.Index(data[start:], newline); idx >= 0 {
+			end = start + idx
+		}
+
+		// Count the line number we're on plus the offset in the line
+		line := bytes.Count(data[:start], newline) + 1
+		pos := int(syntaxErr.Offset) - start - 1
+
+		err = fmt.Errorf("Error in line %d, char %d: %s\n%s",
+			line, pos, syntaxErr, data[start:end])
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}

common/json/unmarshal_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+package json

common/packer_config.go

@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ package common
 // are sent by packer, properly tagged already so mapstructure can load
 // them. Embed this structure into your configuration class to get it.
 type PackerConfig struct {
-	PackerBuildName string `mapstructure:"packer_build_name"`
-	PackerDebug     bool   `mapstructure:"packer_debug"`
-	PackerForce     bool   `mapstructure:"packer_force"`
+	PackerBuildName   string            `mapstructure:"packer_build_name"`
+	PackerBuilderType string            `mapstructure:"packer_builder_type"`
+	PackerDebug       bool              `mapstructure:"packer_debug"`
+	PackerForce       bool              `mapstructure:"packer_force"`
+	PackerUserVars    map[string]string `mapstructure:"packer_user_variables"`
 }

common/template.go

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+package common
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
+	"text/template"
+	"time"
+)
+
+// Template processes string data as a text/template with some common
+// elements and functions available. Plugin creators should process as
+// many fields as possible through this.
+type Template struct {
+	UserVars map[string]string
+
+	root *template.Template
+	i    int
+}
+
+// NewTemplate creates a new template processor.
+func NewTemplate() (*Template, error) {
+	result := &Template{
+		UserVars: make(map[string]string),
+	}
+
+	result.root = template.New("configTemplateRoot")
+	result.root.Funcs(template.FuncMap{
+		"timestamp": templateTimestamp,
+		"user":      result.templateUser,
+	})
+
+	return result, nil
+}
+
+// Process processes a single string, compiling and executing the template.
+func (t *Template) Process(s string, data interface{}) (string, error) {
+	tpl, err := t.root.New(t.nextTemplateName()).Parse(s)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
+	if err := tpl.Execute(buf, data); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+
+	return buf.String(), nil
+}
+
+// Validate the template.
+func (t *Template) Validate(s string) error {
+	root, err := t.root.Clone()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	_, err = root.New("template").Parse(s)
+	return err
+}
+
+func (t *Template) nextTemplateName() string {
+	name := fmt.Sprintf("tpl%d", t.i)
+	t.i++
+	return name
+}
+
+// User is the function exposed as "user" within the templates and
+// looks up user variables.
+func (t *Template) templateUser(n string) (string, error) {
+	result, ok := t.UserVars[n]
+	if !ok {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("uknown user var: %s", n)
+	}
+
+	return result, nil
+}
+
+func templateTimestamp() string {
+	return strconv.FormatInt(time.Now().UTC().Unix(), 10)
+}

common/template_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+package common
+
+import (
+	"math"
+	"strconv"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestTemplateProcess_timestamp(t *testing.T) {
+	tpl, err := NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	result, err := tpl.Process(`{{timestamp}}`, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	val, err := strconv.ParseInt(result, 10, 64)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	currentTime := time.Now().UTC().Unix()
+	if math.Abs(float64(currentTime-val)) > 10 {
+		t.Fatalf("val: %d (current: %d)", val, currentTime)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTemplateProcess_user(t *testing.T) {
+	tpl, err := NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	tpl.UserVars["foo"] = "bar"
+
+	result, err := tpl.Process(`{{user "foo"}}`, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if result != "bar" {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %s", result)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTemplateValidate(t *testing.T) {
+	tpl, err := NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	// Valid
+	err = tpl.Validate(`{{user "foo"}}`)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	// Invalid
+	err = tpl.Validate(`{{idontexist}}`)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("should have error")
+	}
+}

communicator/ssh/keychain.go

@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ import (
 	"io"
 )
 
+// SimpleKeychain makes it easy to use private keys in order to connect
+// via SSH, since the interface exposed by Go isn't the easiest to use
+// right away.
 type SimpleKeychain struct {
 	keys []interface{}
 }
@@ -26,6 +29,20 @@ func (k *SimpleKeychain) AddPEMKey(key string) (err error) {
 	return
 }
 
+// AddPEMKeyPassword adds a PEM encoded private key that is protected by
+// a password to the keychain.
+func (k *SimpleKeychain) AddPEMKeyPassword(key string, password string) (err error) {
+	block, _ := pem.Decode([]byte(key))
+	bytes, _ := x509.DecryptPEMBlock(block, []byte(password))
+	rsakey, err := x509.ParsePKCS1PrivateKey(bytes)
+	if err != nil {
+		return
+	}
+
+	k.keys = append(k.keys, rsakey)
+	return
+}
+
 // Key method for ssh.ClientKeyring interface
 func (k *SimpleKeychain) Key(i int) (interface{}, error) {
 	if i < 0 || i >= len(k.keys) {

packer.go

@@ -76,8 +76,13 @@ func main() {
 	log.Printf("Setting cache directory: %s", cacheDir)
 	cache := &packer.FileCache{CacheDir: cacheDir}
 
+	// Determine if we're in machine-readable mode by mucking around with
+	// the arguments...
+	args, machineReadable := extractMachineReadable(os.Args[1:])
+
 	defer plugin.CleanupClients()
 
+	// Create the environment configuration
 	envConfig := packer.DefaultEnvironmentConfig()
 	envConfig.Cache = cache
 	envConfig.Commands = config.CommandNames()
@@ -86,18 +91,25 @@ func main() {
 	envConfig.Components.Hook = config.LoadHook
 	envConfig.Components.PostProcessor = config.LoadPostProcessor
 	envConfig.Components.Provisioner = config.LoadProvisioner
+	if machineReadable {
+		envConfig.Ui = &packer.MachineReadableUi{
+			Writer: os.Stdout,
+		}
+	}
 
 	env, err := packer.NewEnvironment(envConfig)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Packer initialization error: \n\n%s\n", err)
+		plugin.CleanupClients()
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
 	setupSignalHandlers(env)
 
-	exitCode, err := env.Cli(os.Args[1:])
+	exitCode, err := env.Cli(args)
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error executing CLI: %s\n", err.Error())
+		plugin.CleanupClients()
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
@@ -105,6 +117,23 @@ func main() {
 	os.Exit(exitCode)
 }
 
+// extractMachineReadable checks the args for the machine readable
+// flag and returns whether or not it is on. It modifies the args
+// to remove this flag.
+func extractMachineReadable(args []string) ([]string, bool) {
+	for i, arg := range args {
+		if arg == "-machine-readable" {
+			// We found it. Slice it out.
+			result := make([]string, len(args)-1)
+			copy(result, args[:i])
+			copy(result[i:], args[i+1:])
+			return result, true
+		}
+	}
+
+	return args, false
+}
+
 func loadConfig() (*config, error) {
 	var config config
 	if err := decodeConfig(bytes.NewBufferString(defaultConfig), &config); err != nil {

packer/build.go

@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ const (
 	// This is the key in configurations that is set to "true" when Packer
 	// force build is enabled.
 	ForceConfigKey = "packer_force"
+
+	// This key contains a map[string]string of the user variables for
+	// template processing.
+	UserVariablesConfigKey = "packer_user_variables"
 )
 
 // A Build represents a single job within Packer that is responsible for
@@ -35,7 +39,7 @@ type Build interface {
 
 	// Prepare configures the various components of this build and reports
 	// any errors in doing so (such as syntax errors, validation errors, etc.)
-	Prepare() error
+	Prepare(v map[string]string) error
 
 	// Run runs the actual builder, returning an artifact implementation
 	// of what is built. If anything goes wrong, an error is returned.
@@ -73,6 +77,7 @@ type coreBuild struct {
 	hooks          map[string][]Hook
 	postProcessors [][]coreBuildPostProcessor
 	provisioners   []coreBuildProvisioner
+	variables      map[string]string
 
 	debug         bool
 	force         bool
@@ -102,8 +107,9 @@ func (b *coreBuild) Name() string {
 }
 
 // Prepare prepares the build by doing some initialization for the builder
-// and any hooks. This _must_ be called prior to Run.
-func (b *coreBuild) Prepare() (err error) {
+// and any hooks. This _must_ be called prior to Run. The parameter is the
+// overrides for the variables within the template (if any).
+func (b *coreBuild) Prepare(userVars map[string]string) (err error) {
 	b.l.Lock()
 	defer b.l.Unlock()
 
@@ -113,11 +119,37 @@ func (b *coreBuild) Prepare() (err error) {
 
 	b.prepareCalled = true
 
+	// Compile the variables
+	variables := make(map[string]string)
+	for k, v := range b.variables {
+		variables[k] = v
+	}
+
+	if userVars != nil {
+		errs := make([]error, 0)
+		for k, v := range userVars {
+			if _, ok := variables[k]; !ok {
+				errs = append(
+					errs, fmt.Errorf("Unknown user variable: %s", k))
+				continue
+			}
+
+			variables[k] = v
+		}
+
+		if len(errs) > 0 {
+			return &MultiError{
+				Errors: errs,
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	packerConfig := map[string]interface{}{
-		BuildNameConfigKey:   b.name,
-		BuilderTypeConfigKey: b.builderType,
-		DebugConfigKey:       b.debug,
-		ForceConfigKey:       b.force,
+		BuildNameConfigKey:     b.name,
+		BuilderTypeConfigKey:   b.builderType,
+		DebugConfigKey:         b.debug,
+		ForceConfigKey:         b.force,
+		UserVariablesConfigKey: variables,
 	}
 
 	// Prepare the builder
@@ -181,11 +213,10 @@ func (b *coreBuild) Run(originalUi Ui, cache Cache) ([]Artifact, error) {
 	hook := &DispatchHook{hooks}
 	artifacts := make([]Artifact, 0, 1)
 
-	// The builder just has a normal Ui, but prefixed
-	builderUi := &PrefixedUi{
-		fmt.Sprintf("==> %s", b.Name()),
-		fmt.Sprintf("    %s", b.Name()),
-		originalUi,
+	// The builder just has a normal Ui, but targetted
+	builderUi := &TargettedUi{
+		Target: b.Name(),
+		Ui:     originalUi,
 	}
 
 	log.Printf("Running builder: %s", b.builderType)
@@ -208,10 +239,9 @@ PostProcessorRunSeqLoop:
 	for _, ppSeq := range b.postProcessors {
 		priorArtifact := builderArtifact
 		for i, corePP := range ppSeq {
-			ppUi := &PrefixedUi{
-				fmt.Sprintf("==> %s (%s)", b.Name(), corePP.processorType),
-				fmt.Sprintf("    %s (%s)", b.Name(), corePP.processorType),
-				originalUi,
+			ppUi := &TargettedUi{
+				Target: fmt.Sprintf("%s (%s)", b.Name(), corePP.processorType),
+				Ui:     originalUi,
 			}
 
 			builderUi.Say(fmt.Sprintf("Running post-processor: %s", corePP.processorType))

packer/build_test.go

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ func testBuild() *coreBuild {
 				coreBuildPostProcessor{&TestPostProcessor{artifactId: "pp"}, "testPP", 42, true},
 			},
 		},
+		variables: make(map[string]string),
 	}
 }
 
@@ -30,6 +31,15 @@ func testBuilder() *TestBuilder {
 	return &TestBuilder{}
 }
 
+func testDefaultPackerConfig() map[string]interface{} {
+	return map[string]interface{}{
+		BuildNameConfigKey:     "test",
+		BuilderTypeConfigKey:   "foo",
+		DebugConfigKey:         false,
+		ForceConfigKey:         false,
+		UserVariablesConfigKey: make(map[string]string),
+	}
+}
 func TestBuild_Name(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
@@ -39,18 +49,12 @@ func TestBuild_Name(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestBuild_Prepare(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
-
-	packerConfig := map[string]interface{}{
-		BuildNameConfigKey:   "test",
-		BuilderTypeConfigKey: "foo",
-		DebugConfigKey:       false,
-		ForceConfigKey:       false,
-	}
+	packerConfig := testDefaultPackerConfig()
 
 	build := testBuild()
 	builder := build.builder.(*TestBuilder)
 
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	assert.True(builder.prepareCalled, "prepare should be called")
 	assert.Equal(builder.prepareConfig, []interface{}{42, packerConfig}, "prepare config should be 42")
 
@@ -67,7 +71,7 @@ func TestBuild_Prepare(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestBuild_Prepare_Twice(t *testing.T) {
 	build := testBuild()
-	if err := build.Prepare(); err != nil {
+	if err := build.Prepare(nil); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("bad error: %s", err)
 	}
 
@@ -82,24 +86,20 @@ func TestBuild_Prepare_Twice(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}()
 
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 }
 
 func TestBuild_Prepare_Debug(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
-	packerConfig := map[string]interface{}{
-		BuildNameConfigKey:   "test",
-		BuilderTypeConfigKey: "foo",
-		DebugConfigKey:       true,
-		ForceConfigKey:       false,
-	}
+	packerConfig := testDefaultPackerConfig()
+	packerConfig[DebugConfigKey] = true
 
 	build := testBuild()
 	builder := build.builder.(*TestBuilder)
 
 	build.SetDebug(true)
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	assert.True(builder.prepareCalled, "prepare should be called")
 	assert.Equal(builder.prepareConfig, []interface{}{42, packerConfig}, "prepare config should be 42")
 
@@ -109,6 +109,64 @@ func TestBuild_Prepare_Debug(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(prov.prepConfigs, []interface{}{42, packerConfig}, "prepare should be called with proper config")
 }
 
+func TestBuildPrepare_variables_default(t *testing.T) {
+	packerConfig := testDefaultPackerConfig()
+	packerConfig[UserVariablesConfigKey] = map[string]string{
+		"foo": "bar",
+	}
+
+	build := testBuild()
+	build.variables["foo"] = "bar"
+	builder := build.builder.(*TestBuilder)
+
+	err := build.Prepare(nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if !builder.prepareCalled {
+		t.Fatal("prepare should be called")
+	}
+
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(builder.prepareConfig[1], packerConfig) {
+		t.Fatalf("prepare bad: %#v", builder.prepareConfig[1])
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildPrepare_variables_nonexist(t *testing.T) {
+	build := testBuild()
+	build.variables["foo"] = "bar"
+
+	err := build.Prepare(map[string]string{"bar": "baz"})
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("should have had error")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildPrepare_variables_override(t *testing.T) {
+	packerConfig := testDefaultPackerConfig()
+	packerConfig[UserVariablesConfigKey] = map[string]string{
+		"foo": "baz",
+	}
+
+	build := testBuild()
+	build.variables["foo"] = "bar"
+	builder := build.builder.(*TestBuilder)
+
+	err := build.Prepare(map[string]string{"foo": "baz"})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if !builder.prepareCalled {
+		t.Fatal("prepare should be called")
+	}
+
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(builder.prepareConfig[1], packerConfig) {
+		t.Fatalf("prepare bad: %#v", builder.prepareConfig[1])
+	}
+}
+
 func TestBuild_Run(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
@@ -116,7 +174,7 @@ func TestBuild_Run(t *testing.T) {
 	ui := testUi()
 
 	build := testBuild()
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	artifacts, err := build.Run(ui, cache)
 	assert.Nil(err, "should not error")
 	assert.Equal(len(artifacts), 2, "should have two artifacts")
@@ -152,7 +210,7 @@ func TestBuild_Run_Artifacts(t *testing.T) {
 	build := testBuild()
 	build.postProcessors = [][]coreBuildPostProcessor{}
 
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	artifacts, err := build.Run(ui, cache)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
@@ -177,7 +235,7 @@ func TestBuild_Run_Artifacts(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	artifacts, err = build.Run(ui, cache)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
@@ -205,7 +263,7 @@ func TestBuild_Run_Artifacts(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	artifacts, err = build.Run(ui, cache)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
@@ -235,7 +293,7 @@ func TestBuild_Run_Artifacts(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	artifacts, err = build.Run(ui, cache)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
@@ -262,7 +320,7 @@ func TestBuild_Run_Artifacts(t *testing.T) {
 		},
 	}
 
-	build.Prepare()
+	build.Prepare(nil)
 	artifacts, err = build.Run(ui, cache)
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)

packer/communicator_test.go

@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ func TestRemoteCmd_StartWithUi(t *testing.T) {
 		Stdout: rcOutput,
 	}
 
-	testUi := &ReaderWriterUi{
+	testUi := &BasicUi{
 		Reader: new(bytes.Buffer),
 		Writer: uiOutput,
 	}

packer/environment.go

@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ type EnvironmentConfig struct {
 func DefaultEnvironmentConfig() *EnvironmentConfig {
 	config := &EnvironmentConfig{}
 	config.Commands = make([]string, 0)
-	config.Ui = &ReaderWriterUi{
+	config.Ui = &BasicUi{
 		Reader: os.Stdin,
 		Writer: os.Stdout,
 	}
@@ -293,12 +293,18 @@ func (e *coreEnvironment) printHelp() {
 			synopsis = command.Synopsis()
 		}
 
+		// Machine-readable output of the available command
+		e.ui.Machine("command", key, synopsis)
+
 		// Pad the key with spaces so that they're all the same width
 		key = fmt.Sprintf("%v%v", key, strings.Repeat(" ", maxKeyLen-len(key)))
 
 		// Output the command and the synopsis
 		e.ui.Say(fmt.Sprintf("    %v     %v", key, synopsis))
 	}
+
+	e.ui.Say("\nGlobally recognized options:")
+	e.ui.Say("    -machine-readable    Machine-readable output format.")
 }
 
 // Returns the UI for the environment. The UI is the interface that should

packer/environment_test.go

@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ func init() {
 
 func testEnvironment() Environment {
 	config := DefaultEnvironmentConfig()
-	config.Ui = &ReaderWriterUi{
+	config.Ui = &BasicUi{
 		Reader: new(bytes.Buffer),
 		Writer: new(bytes.Buffer),
 	}
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ func TestEnvironment_DefaultConfig_Ui(t *testing.T) {
 	config := DefaultEnvironmentConfig()
 	assert.NotNil(config.Ui, "default UI should not be nil")
 
-	rwUi, ok := config.Ui.(*ReaderWriterUi)
-	assert.True(ok, "default UI should be ReaderWriterUi")
+	rwUi, ok := config.Ui.(*BasicUi)
+	assert.True(ok, "default UI should be BasicUi")
 	assert.Equal(rwUi.Writer, os.Stdout, "default UI should go to stdout")
 	assert.Equal(rwUi.Reader, os.Stdin, "default UI should read from stdin")
 }
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ func TestEnvironment_DefaultCli_Help(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// A little lambda to help us test the output actually contains help
 	testOutput := func() {
-		buffer := defaultEnv.Ui().(*ReaderWriterUi).Writer.(*bytes.Buffer)
+		buffer := defaultEnv.Ui().(*BasicUi).Writer.(*bytes.Buffer)
 		output := buffer.String()
 		buffer.Reset()
 		assert.True(strings.Contains(output, "usage: packer"), "should print help")
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ func TestEnvironmentProvisioner_Error(t *testing.T) {
 func TestEnvironment_SettingUi(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
-	ui := &ReaderWriterUi{
+	ui := &BasicUi{
 		Reader: new(bytes.Buffer),
 		Writer: new(bytes.Buffer),
 	}

packer/rpc/build.go

@@ -30,8 +30,8 @@ func (b *build) Name() (result string) {
 	return
 }
 
-func (b *build) Prepare() (err error) {
-	if cerr := b.client.Call("Build.Prepare", new(interface{}), &err); cerr != nil {
+func (b *build) Prepare(v map[string]string) (err error) {
+	if cerr := b.client.Call("Build.Prepare", v, &err); cerr != nil {
 		return cerr
 	}
 
@@ -86,8 +86,8 @@ func (b *BuildServer) Name(args *interface{}, reply *string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (b *BuildServer) Prepare(args interface{}, reply *error) error {
-	*reply = b.build.Prepare()
+func (b *BuildServer) Prepare(v map[string]string, reply *error) error {
+	*reply = b.build.Prepare(v)
 	return nil
 }
 

packer/rpc/build_test.go

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ var testBuildArtifact = &testArtifact{}
 type testBuild struct {
 	nameCalled     bool
 	prepareCalled  bool
+	prepareVars    map[string]string
 	runCalled      bool
 	runCache       packer.Cache
 	runUi          packer.Ui
@@ -28,8 +29,9 @@ func (b *testBuild) Name() string {
 	return "name"
 }
 
-func (b *testBuild) Prepare() error {
+func (b *testBuild) Prepare(v map[string]string) error {
 	b.prepareCalled = true
+	b.prepareVars = v
 	return nil
 }
 
@@ -78,8 +80,15 @@ func TestBuildRPC(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.True(b.nameCalled, "name should be called")
 
 	// Test Prepare
-	bClient.Prepare()
+	bClient.Prepare(map[string]string{"foo": "bar"})
 	assert.True(b.prepareCalled, "prepare should be called")
+	if len(b.prepareVars) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("bad vars: %#v", b.prepareVars)
+	}
+
+	if b.prepareVars["foo"] != "bar" {
+		t.Fatalf("bad vars: %#v", b.prepareVars)
+	}
 
 	// Test Run
 	cache := new(testCache)

packer/rpc/init.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import "encoding/gob"
 
 func init() {
 	gob.Register(new(map[string]interface{}))
+	gob.Register(new(map[string]string))
 	gob.Register(make([]interface{}, 0))
 	gob.Register(new(BasicError))
 }

packer/rpc/ui.go

@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@ type UiServer struct {
 	ui packer.Ui
 }
 
+// The arguments sent to Ui.Machine
+type UiMachineArgs struct {
+	Category string
+	Args     []string
+}
+
 func (u *Ui) Ask(query string) (result string, err error) {
 	err = u.client.Call("Ui.Ask", query, &result)
 	return
@@ -28,6 +34,17 @@ func (u *Ui) Error(message string) {
 	}
 }
 
+func (u *Ui) Machine(t string, args ...string) {
+	rpcArgs := &UiMachineArgs{
+		Category: t,
+		Args:     args,
+	}
+
+	if err := u.client.Call("Ui.Machine", rpcArgs, new(interface{})); err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+}
+
 func (u *Ui) Message(message string) {
 	if err := u.client.Call("Ui.Message", message, new(interface{})); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
@@ -52,6 +69,13 @@ func (u *UiServer) Error(message *string, reply *interface{}) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (u *UiServer) Machine(args *UiMachineArgs, reply *interface{}) error {
+	u.ui.Machine(args.Category, args.Args...)
+
+	*reply = nil
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (u *UiServer) Message(message *string, reply *interface{}) error {
 	u.ui.Message(*message)
 	*reply = nil

packer/rpc/ui_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package rpc
 import (
 	"cgl.tideland.biz/asserts"
 	"net/rpc"
+	"reflect"
 	"testing"
 )
 
@@ -11,6 +12,9 @@ type testUi struct {
 	askQuery       string
 	errorCalled    bool
 	errorMessage   string
+	machineCalled  bool
+	machineType    string
+	machineArgs    []string
 	messageCalled  bool
 	messageMessage string
 	sayCalled      bool
@@ -28,6 +32,12 @@ func (u *testUi) Error(message string) {
 	u.errorMessage = message
 }
 
+func (u *testUi) Machine(t string, args ...string) {
+	u.machineCalled = true
+	u.machineType = t
+	u.machineArgs = args
+}
+
 func (u *testUi) Message(message string) {
 	u.messageCalled = true
 	u.messageMessage = message
@@ -72,4 +82,18 @@ func TestUiRPC(t *testing.T) {
 
 	uiClient.Say("message")
 	assert.Equal(ui.sayMessage, "message", "message should be correct")
+
+	uiClient.Machine("foo", "bar", "baz")
+	if !ui.machineCalled {
+		t.Fatal("machine should be called")
+	}
+
+	if ui.machineType != "foo" {
+		t.Fatalf("bad type: %#v", ui.machineType)
+	}
+
+	expected := []string{"bar", "baz"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(ui.machineArgs, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", ui.machineArgs)
+	}
 }

packer/template.go

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 package packer
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure"
+	jsonutil "github.com/mitchellh/packer/common/json"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"sort"
 )
 
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import (
 // "interface{}" pointers since we actually don't know what their contents
 // are until we read the "type" field.
 type rawTemplate struct {
+	Variables      map[string]string
 	Builders       []map[string]interface{}
 	Hooks          map[string][]string
 	Provisioners   []map[string]interface{}
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@ type rawTemplate struct {
 // The Template struct represents a parsed template, parsed into the most
 // completed form it can be without additional processing by the caller.
 type Template struct {
+	Variables      map[string]string
 	Builders       map[string]rawBuilderConfig
 	Hooks          map[string][]string
 	PostProcessors [][]rawPostProcessorConfig
@@ -65,31 +67,8 @@ type rawProvisionerConfig struct {
 // way.
 func ParseTemplate(data []byte) (t *Template, err error) {
 	var rawTplInterface interface{}
-	err = json.Unmarshal(data, &rawTplInterface)
+	err = jsonutil.Unmarshal(data, &rawTplInterface)
 	if err != nil {
-		syntaxErr, ok := err.(*json.SyntaxError)
-		if !ok {
-			return
-		}
-
-		// We have a syntax error. Extract out the line number and friends.
-		// https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/golang-nuts/fizimmXtVfc
-		newline := []byte{'\x0a'}
-
-		// Calculate the start/end position of the line where the error is
-		start := bytes.LastIndex(data[:syntaxErr.Offset], newline) + 1
-		end := len(data)
-		if idx := bytes.Index(data[start:], newline); idx >= 0 {
-			end = start + idx
-		}
-
-		// Count the line number we're on plus the offset in the line
-		line := bytes.Count(data[:start], newline) + 1
-		pos := int(syntaxErr.Offset) - start - 1
-
-		err = fmt.Errorf("Error in line %d, char %d: %s\n%s",
-			line, pos, syntaxErr, data[start:end])
-
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -123,11 +102,17 @@ func ParseTemplate(data []byte) (t *Template, err error) {
 	}
 
 	t = &Template{}
+	t.Variables = make(map[string]string)
 	t.Builders = make(map[string]rawBuilderConfig)
 	t.Hooks = rawTpl.Hooks
 	t.PostProcessors = make([][]rawPostProcessorConfig, len(rawTpl.PostProcessors))
 	t.Provisioners = make([]rawProvisionerConfig, len(rawTpl.Provisioners))
 
+	// Gather all the variables
+	for k, v := range rawTpl.Variables {
+		t.Variables[k] = v
+	}
+
 	// Gather all the builders
 	for i, v := range rawTpl.Builders {
 		var raw rawBuilderConfig
@@ -247,6 +232,17 @@ func ParseTemplate(data []byte) (t *Template, err error) {
 	return
 }
 
+// ParseTemplateFile takes the given template file and parses it into
+// a single template.
+func ParseTemplateFile(path string) (*Template, error) {
+	data, err := ioutil.ReadFile(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	return ParseTemplate(data)
+}
+
 func parsePostProvisioner(i int, rawV interface{}) (result []map[string]interface{}, errors []error) {
 	switch v := rawV.(type) {
 	case string:
@@ -412,6 +408,7 @@ func (t *Template) Build(name string, components *ComponentFinder) (b Build, err
 		hooks:          hooks,
 		postProcessors: postProcessors,
 		provisioners:   provisioners,
+		variables:      t.Variables,
 	}
 
 	return

packer/template_test.go

@@ -2,11 +2,47 @@ package packer
 
 import (
 	"cgl.tideland.biz/asserts"
+	"io/ioutil"
 	"reflect"
 	"sort"
 	"testing"
 )
 
+func testComponentFinder() *ComponentFinder {
+	builderFactory := func(n string) (Builder, error) { return testBuilder(), nil }
+	ppFactory := func(n string) (PostProcessor, error) { return new(TestPostProcessor), nil }
+	provFactory := func(n string) (Provisioner, error) { return new(TestProvisioner), nil }
+	return &ComponentFinder{
+		Builder:       builderFactory,
+		PostProcessor: ppFactory,
+		Provisioner:   provFactory,
+	}
+}
+
+func TestParseTemplateFile_basic(t *testing.T) {
+	data := `
+	{
+		"builders": [{"type": "something"}]
+	}
+	`
+
+	tf, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "packer")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+	tf.Write([]byte(data))
+	tf.Close()
+
+	result, err := ParseTemplateFile(tf.Name())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if len(result.Builders) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", result.Builders)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestParseTemplate_Basic(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
@@ -300,6 +336,28 @@ func TestParseTemplate_Provisioners(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NotNil(result.Provisioners[0].rawConfig, "should have raw config")
 }
 
+func TestParseTemplate_Variables(t *testing.T) {
+	data := `
+	{
+		"variables": {
+			"foo": "bar",
+			"bar": ""
+		},
+
+		"builders": [{"type": "something"}]
+	}
+	`
+
+	result, err := ParseTemplate([]byte(data))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	if result.Variables == nil || len(result.Variables) != 2 {
+		t.Fatalf("bad vars: %#v", result.Variables)
+	}
+}
+
 func TestTemplate_BuildNames(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
@@ -613,3 +671,39 @@ func TestTemplate_Build_ProvisionerOverride(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(len(coreBuild.provisioners), 1, "should have one provisioner")
 	assert.Equal(len(coreBuild.provisioners[0].config), 2, "should have two configs on the provisioner")
 }
+
+func TestTemplateBuild_variables(t *testing.T) {
+	data := `
+	{
+		"variables": {
+			"foo": "bar"
+		},
+
+		"builders": [
+			{
+				"name": "test1",
+				"type": "test-builder"
+			}
+		]
+	}
+	`
+
+	template, err := ParseTemplate([]byte(data))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	build, err := template.Build("test1", testComponentFinder())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+
+	coreBuild, ok := build.(*coreBuild)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("couldn't convert!")
+	}
+
+	if len(coreBuild.variables) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("bad vars: %#v", coreBuild.variables)
+	}
+}

packer/ui.go

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 	"unicode"
 )
 
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ type Ui interface {
 	Say(string)
 	Message(string)
 	Error(string)
+	Machine(string, ...string)
 }
 
 // ColoredUi is a UI that is colored using terminal colors.
@@ -42,23 +44,32 @@ type ColoredUi struct {
 	Ui         Ui
 }
 
-// PrefixedUi is a UI that wraps another UI implementation and adds a
-// prefix to all the messages going out.
-type PrefixedUi struct {
-	SayPrefix     string
-	MessagePrefix string
-	Ui            Ui
+// TargettedUi is a UI that wraps another UI implementation and modifies
+// the output to indicate a specific target. Specifically, all Say output
+// is prefixed with the target name. Message output is not prefixed but
+// is offset by the length of the target so that output is lined up properly
+// with Say output. Machine-readable output has the proper target set.
+type TargettedUi struct {
+	Target string
+	Ui     Ui
 }
 
-// The ReaderWriterUi is a UI that writes and reads from standard Go
-// io.Reader and io.Writer.
-type ReaderWriterUi struct {
+// The BasicUI is a UI that reads and writes from a standard Go reader
+// and writer. It is safe to be called from multiple goroutines. Machine
+// readable output is simply logged for this UI.
+type BasicUi struct {
 	Reader      io.Reader
 	Writer      io.Writer
 	l           sync.Mutex
 	interrupted bool
 }
 
+// MachineReadableUi is a UI that only outputs machine-readable output
+// to the given Writer.
+type MachineReadableUi struct {
+	Writer io.Writer
+}
+
 func (u *ColoredUi) Ask(query string) (string, error) {
 	return u.Ui.Ask(u.colorize(query, u.Color, true))
 }
@@ -80,6 +91,11 @@ func (u *ColoredUi) Error(message string) {
 	u.Ui.Error(u.colorize(message, color, true))
 }
 
+func (u *ColoredUi) Machine(t string, args ...string) {
+	// Don't colorize machine-readable output
+	u.Ui.Machine(t, args...)
+}
+
 func (u *ColoredUi) colorize(message string, color UiColor, bold bool) string {
 	if !u.supportsColors() {
 		return message
@@ -107,33 +123,43 @@ func (u *ColoredUi) supportsColors() bool {
 	return cygwin
 }
 
-func (u *PrefixedUi) Ask(query string) (string, error) {
-	return u.Ui.Ask(u.prefixLines(u.SayPrefix, query))
+func (u *TargettedUi) Ask(query string) (string, error) {
+	return u.Ui.Ask(u.prefixLines(true, query))
 }
 
-func (u *PrefixedUi) Say(message string) {
-	u.Ui.Say(u.prefixLines(u.SayPrefix, message))
+func (u *TargettedUi) Say(message string) {
+	u.Ui.Say(u.prefixLines(true, message))
 }
 
-func (u *PrefixedUi) Message(message string) {
-	u.Ui.Message(u.prefixLines(u.MessagePrefix, message))
+func (u *TargettedUi) Message(message string) {
+	u.Ui.Message(u.prefixLines(false, message))
 }
 
-func (u *PrefixedUi) Error(message string) {
-	u.Ui.Error(u.prefixLines(u.SayPrefix, message))
+func (u *TargettedUi) Error(message string) {
+	u.Ui.Error(u.prefixLines(true, message))
 }
 
-func (u *PrefixedUi) prefixLines(prefix, message string) string {
+func (u *TargettedUi) Machine(t string, args ...string) {
+	// Prefix in the target, then pass through
+	u.Ui.Machine(fmt.Sprintf("%s,%s", u.Target, t), args...)
+}
+
+func (u *TargettedUi) prefixLines(arrow bool, message string) string {
+	arrowText := "==>"
+	if !arrow {
+		arrowText = strings.Repeat(" ", len(arrowText))
+	}
+
 	var result bytes.Buffer
 
 	for _, line := range strings.Split(message, "\n") {
-		result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%s: %s\n", prefix, line))
+		result.WriteString(fmt.Sprintf("%s %s: %s\n", arrowText, u.Target, line))
 	}
 
 	return strings.TrimRightFunc(result.String(), unicode.IsSpace)
 }
 
-func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Ask(query string) (string, error) {
+func (rw *BasicUi) Ask(query string) (string, error) {
 	rw.l.Lock()
 	defer rw.l.Unlock()
 
@@ -177,7 +203,7 @@ func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Ask(query string) (string, error) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Say(message string) {
+func (rw *BasicUi) Say(message string) {
 	rw.l.Lock()
 	defer rw.l.Unlock()
 
@@ -188,7 +214,7 @@ func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Say(message string) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Message(message string) {
+func (rw *BasicUi) Message(message string) {
 	rw.l.Lock()
 	defer rw.l.Unlock()
 
@@ -199,7 +225,7 @@ func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Message(message string) {
 	}
 }
 
-func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Error(message string) {
+func (rw *BasicUi) Error(message string) {
 	rw.l.Lock()
 	defer rw.l.Unlock()
 
@@ -209,3 +235,48 @@ func (rw *ReaderWriterUi) Error(message string) {
 		panic(err)
 	}
 }
+
+func (rw *BasicUi) Machine(t string, args ...string) {
+	log.Printf("machine readable: %s %#v", t, args)
+}
+
+func (u *MachineReadableUi) Ask(query string) (string, error) {
+	return "", errors.New("machine-readable UI can't ask")
+}
+
+func (u *MachineReadableUi) Say(message string) {
+	u.Machine("ui", "say", message)
+}
+
+func (u *MachineReadableUi) Message(message string) {
+	u.Machine("ui", "message", message)
+}
+
+func (u *MachineReadableUi) Error(message string) {
+	u.Machine("ui", "error", message)
+}
+
+func (u *MachineReadableUi) Machine(category string, args ...string) {
+	now := time.Now().UTC()
+
+	// Determine if we have a target, and set it
+	target := ""
+	commaIdx := strings.Index(category, ",")
+	if commaIdx > -1 {
+		target = category[0:commaIdx]
+		category = category[commaIdx+1:]
+	}
+
+	// Prepare the args
+	for i, v := range args {
+		args[i] = strings.Replace(v, ",", "%!(PACKER_COMMA)", -1)
+		args[i] = strings.Replace(args[i], "\r", "\\r", -1)
+		args[i] = strings.Replace(args[i], "\n", "\\n", -1)
+	}
+	argsString := strings.Join(args, ",")
+
+	_, err := fmt.Fprintf(u.Writer, "%d,%s,%s,%s\n", now.Unix(), target, category, argsString)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+}

packer/ui_test.go

@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@ package packer
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"cgl.tideland.biz/asserts"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 )
 
-func testUi() *ReaderWriterUi {
-	return &ReaderWriterUi{
+func testUi() *BasicUi {
+	return &BasicUi{
 		Reader: new(bytes.Buffer),
 		Writer: new(bytes.Buffer),
 	}
@@ -36,23 +37,26 @@ func TestColoredUi(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestPrefixedUi(t *testing.T) {
+func TestTargettedUi(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
 	bufferUi := testUi()
-	prefixUi := &PrefixedUi{"mitchell", "bar", bufferUi}
+	targettedUi := &TargettedUi{
+		Target: "foo",
+		Ui:     bufferUi,
+	}
 
-	prefixUi.Say("foo")
-	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "mitchell: foo\n", "should have prefix")
+	targettedUi.Say("foo")
+	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "==> foo: foo\n", "should have prefix")
 
-	prefixUi.Message("foo")
-	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "bar: foo\n", "should have prefix")
+	targettedUi.Message("foo")
+	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "    foo: foo\n", "should have prefix")
 
-	prefixUi.Error("bar")
-	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "mitchell: bar\n", "should have prefix")
+	targettedUi.Error("bar")
+	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "==> foo: bar\n", "should have prefix")
 
-	prefixUi.Say("foo\nbar")
-	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "mitchell: foo\nmitchell: bar\n", "should multiline")
+	targettedUi.Say("foo\nbar")
+	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "==> foo: foo\n==> foo: bar\n", "should multiline")
 }
 
 func TestColoredUi_ImplUi(t *testing.T) {
@@ -63,23 +67,23 @@ func TestColoredUi_ImplUi(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestPrefixedUi_ImplUi(t *testing.T) {
+func TestTargettedUi_ImplUi(t *testing.T) {
 	var raw interface{}
-	raw = &PrefixedUi{}
+	raw = &TargettedUi{}
 	if _, ok := raw.(Ui); !ok {
-		t.Fatalf("PrefixedUi must implement Ui")
+		t.Fatalf("TargettedUi must implement Ui")
 	}
 }
 
-func TestReaderWriterUi_ImplUi(t *testing.T) {
+func TestBasicUi_ImplUi(t *testing.T) {
 	var raw interface{}
-	raw = &ReaderWriterUi{}
+	raw = &BasicUi{}
 	if _, ok := raw.(Ui); !ok {
-		t.Fatalf("ReaderWriterUi must implement Ui")
+		t.Fatalf("BasicUi must implement Ui")
 	}
 }
 
-func TestReaderWriterUi_Error(t *testing.T) {
+func TestBasicUi_Error(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
 	bufferUi := testUi()
@@ -91,7 +95,7 @@ func TestReaderWriterUi_Error(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "5\n", "formatting")
 }
 
-func TestReaderWriterUi_Say(t *testing.T) {
+func TestBasicUi_Say(t *testing.T) {
 	assert := asserts.NewTestingAsserts(t, true)
 
 	bufferUi := testUi()
@@ -103,9 +107,59 @@ func TestReaderWriterUi_Say(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(readWriter(bufferUi), "5\n", "formatting")
 }
 
+func TestMachineReadableUi_ImplUi(t *testing.T) {
+	var raw interface{}
+	raw = &MachineReadableUi{}
+	if _, ok := raw.(Ui); !ok {
+		t.Fatalf("MachineReadableUi must implement Ui")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestMachineReadableUi(t *testing.T) {
+	var data, expected string
+
+	buf := new(bytes.Buffer)
+	ui := &MachineReadableUi{Writer: buf}
+
+	// No target
+	ui.Machine("foo", "bar", "baz")
+	data = strings.SplitN(buf.String(), ",", 2)[1]
+	expected = ",foo,bar,baz\n"
+	if data != expected {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %s", data)
+	}
+
+	// Target
+	buf.Reset()
+	ui.Machine("mitchellh,foo", "bar", "baz")
+	data = strings.SplitN(buf.String(), ",", 2)[1]
+	expected = "mitchellh,foo,bar,baz\n"
+	if data != expected {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %s", data)
+	}
+
+	// Commas
+	buf.Reset()
+	ui.Machine("foo", "foo,bar")
+	data = strings.SplitN(buf.String(), ",", 2)[1]
+	expected = ",foo,foo%!(PACKER_COMMA)bar\n"
+	if data != expected {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %s", data)
+	}
+
+	// New lines
+	buf.Reset()
+	ui.Machine("foo", "foo\n")
+	data = strings.SplitN(buf.String(), ",", 2)[1]
+	expected = ",foo,foo\\n\n"
+	if data != expected {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", data)
+	}
+}
+
 // This reads the output from the bytes.Buffer in our test object
 // and then resets the buffer.
-func readWriter(ui *ReaderWriterUi) (result string) {
+func readWriter(ui *BasicUi) (result string) {
 	buffer := ui.Writer.(*bytes.Buffer)
 	result = buffer.String()
 	buffer.Reset()

packer/version.go

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import (
 var GitCommit string
 
 // The version of packer.
-const Version = "0.2.3"
+const Version = "0.3.0"
 
 // Any pre-release marker for the version. If this is "" (empty string),
 // then it means that it is a final release. Otherwise, this is the
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ command-line flags for this command.`
 }
 
 func (versionCommand) Run(env Environment, args []string) int {
+	env.Ui().Machine("version", Version)
+	env.Ui().Machine("version-prelease", VersionPrerelease)
+	env.Ui().Machine("version-commit", GitCommit)
+
 	var versionString bytes.Buffer
 	fmt.Fprintf(&versionString, "Packer v%s", Version)
 	if VersionPrerelease != "" {

packer_test.go

@@ -1 +1,35 @@
 package main
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestExtractMachineReadable(t *testing.T) {
+	var args, expected, result []string
+	var mr bool
+
+	// Not
+	args = []string{"foo", "bar", "baz"}
+	result, mr = extractMachineReadable(args)
+	expected = []string{"foo", "bar", "baz"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(result, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", result)
+	}
+
+	if mr {
+		t.Fatal("should not be mr")
+	}
+
+	// Yes
+	args = []string{"foo", "-machine-readable", "baz"}
+	result, mr = extractMachineReadable(args)
+	expected = []string{"foo", "baz"}
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(result, expected) {
+		t.Fatalf("bad: %#v", result)
+	}
+
+	if !mr {
+		t.Fatal("should be mr")
+	}
+}

provisioner/file/provisioner.go

@@ -9,11 +9,15 @@ import (
 )
 
 type config struct {
+	common.PackerConfig `mapstructure:",squash"`
+
 	// The local path of the file to upload.
 	Source string
 
 	// The remote path where the local file will be uploaded to.
 	Destination string
+
+	tpl *common.Template
 }
 
 type Provisioner struct {
@@ -26,9 +30,29 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	p.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	p.config.tpl.UserVars = p.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
 
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"source":      &p.config.Source,
+		"destination": &p.config.Destination,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = p.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
 	if _, err := os.Stat(p.config.Source); err != nil {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
 			fmt.Errorf("Bad source '%s': %s", p.config.Source, err))

provisioner/file/provisioner_test.go

@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ func (su *stubUi) Ask(string) (string, error) {
 func (su *stubUi) Error(string) {
 }
 
+func (su *stubUi) Machine(string, ...string) {
+}
+
 func (su *stubUi) Message(string) {
 }
 

provisioner/salt-masterless/provisioner.go

@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import (
 const DefaultTempConfigDir = "/tmp/salt"
 
 type Config struct {
+	common.PackerConfig `mapstructure:",squash"`
+
 	// If true, run the salt-bootstrap script
 	SkipBootstrap bool   `mapstructure:"skip_bootstrap"`
 	BootstrapArgs string `mapstructure:"bootstrap_args"`
@@ -24,6 +26,8 @@ type Config struct {
 
 	// Where files will be copied before moving to the /srv/salt directory
 	TempConfigDir string `mapstructure:"temp_config_dir"`
+
+	tpl *common.Template
 }
 
 type Provisioner struct {
@@ -36,6 +40,12 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	p.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	p.config.tpl.UserVars = p.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	if p.config.TempConfigDir == "" {
 		p.config.TempConfigDir = DefaultTempConfigDir
 	}
@@ -43,12 +53,26 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
 
-	if p.config.LocalStateTree == "" {
-		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
-			errors.New("Please specify a local_state_tree"))
-	} else if _, err := os.Stat(p.config.LocalStateTree); err != nil {
-		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
-			errors.New("local_state_tree must exist and be accessible"))
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"bootstrap_args":   &p.config.BootstrapArgs,
+		"local_state_tree": &p.config.LocalStateTree,
+		"temp_config_dir":  &p.config.TempConfigDir,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = p.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	if p.config.LocalStateTree != "" {
+		if _, err := os.Stat(p.config.LocalStateTree); err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
+				errors.New("local_state_tree must exist and be accessible"))
+		}
 	}
 
 	if errs != nil && len(errs.Errors) > 0 {
@@ -74,7 +98,11 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Provision(ui packer.Ui, comm packer.Communicator) error {
 
 	ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Creating remote directory: %s", p.config.TempConfigDir))
 	cmd := &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: fmt.Sprintf("mkdir -p %s", p.config.TempConfigDir)}
-	if err = cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
+	if err = cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil || cmd.ExitStatus != 0 {
+		if err == nil {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("Bad exit status: %d", cmd.ExitStatus)
+		}
+
 		return fmt.Errorf("Error creating remote salt state directory: %s", err)
 	}
 
@@ -85,20 +113,22 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Provision(ui packer.Ui, comm packer.Communicator) error {
 
 	ui.Message(fmt.Sprintf("Moving %s to /srv/salt", p.config.TempConfigDir))
 	cmd = &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: fmt.Sprintf("sudo mv %s /srv/salt", p.config.TempConfigDir)}
-	if err = cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
+	if err = cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil || cmd.ExitStatus != 0 {
+		if err == nil {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("Bad exit status: %d", cmd.ExitStatus)
+		}
+
 		return fmt.Errorf("Unable to move %s to /srv/salt: %d", p.config.TempConfigDir, err)
 	}
 
 	ui.Message("Running highstate")
 	cmd = &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: "sudo salt-call --local state.highstate -l info"}
-	if err = cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Error executing highstate: %s", err)
-	}
+	if err = cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil || cmd.ExitStatus != 0 {
+		if err == nil {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("Bad exit status: %d", cmd.ExitStatus)
+		}
 
-	ui.Message("Removing /srv/salt")
-	cmd = &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: "sudo rm -r /srv/salt"}
-	if err = cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("Unable to remove /srv/salt: %d", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("Error executing highstate: %s", err)
 	}
 
 	return nil

provisioner/shell/provisioner.go

@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ package shell
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
-	"bytes"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/common"
@@ -13,12 +12,13 @@ import (
 	"log"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
-	"text/template"
 )
 
 const DefaultRemotePath = "/tmp/script.sh"
 
 type config struct {
+	common.PackerConfig `mapstructure:",squash"`
+
 	// An inline script to execute. Multiple strings are all executed
 	// in the context of a single shell.
 	Inline []string
@@ -45,9 +45,7 @@ type config struct {
 	// can be used to inject the environment_vars into the environment.
 	ExecuteCommand string `mapstructure:"execute_command"`
 
-	// Packer configurations, these come from Packer itself
-	PackerBuildName   string `mapstructure:"packer_build_name"`
-	PackerBuilderType string `mapstructure:"packer_builder_type"`
+	tpl *common.Template
 }
 
 type Provisioner struct {
@@ -65,6 +63,12 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	p.config.tpl, err = common.NewTemplate()
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	p.config.tpl.UserVars = p.config.PackerUserVars
+
 	// Accumulate any errors
 	errs := common.CheckUnusedConfig(md)
 
@@ -101,6 +105,38 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		p.config.Scripts = []string{p.config.Script}
 	}
 
+	templates := map[string]*string{
+		"inline_shebang": &p.config.InlineShebang,
+		"script":         &p.config.Script,
+		"remote_path":    &p.config.RemotePath,
+	}
+
+	for n, ptr := range templates {
+		var err error
+		*ptr, err = p.config.tpl.Process(*ptr, nil)
+		if err != nil {
+			errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+				errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s: %s", n, err))
+		}
+	}
+
+	sliceTemplates := map[string][]string{
+		"inline":           p.config.Inline,
+		"scripts":          p.config.Scripts,
+		"environment_vars": p.config.Vars,
+	}
+
+	for n, slice := range sliceTemplates {
+		for i, elem := range slice {
+			var err error
+			slice[i], err = p.config.tpl.Process(elem, nil)
+			if err != nil {
+				errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(
+					errs, fmt.Errorf("Error processing %s[%d]: %s", n, i, err))
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	if len(p.config.Scripts) == 0 && p.config.Inline == nil {
 		errs = packer.MultiErrorAppend(errs,
 			errors.New("Either a script file or inline script must be specified."))
@@ -193,11 +229,15 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Provision(ui packer.Ui, comm packer.Communicator) error {
 		flattendVars := strings.Join(envVars, " ")
 
 		// Compile the command
-		var command bytes.Buffer
-		t := template.Must(template.New("command").Parse(p.config.ExecuteCommand))
-		t.Execute(&command, &ExecuteCommandTemplate{flattendVars, p.config.RemotePath})
+		command, err := p.config.tpl.Process(p.config.ExecuteCommand, &ExecuteCommandTemplate{
+			Vars: flattendVars,
+			Path: p.config.RemotePath,
+		})
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("Error processing command: %s", err)
+		}
 
-		cmd := &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: command.String()}
+		cmd := &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: command}
 		log.Printf("Executing command: %s", cmd.Command)
 		if err := cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("Failed executing command: %s", err)

scripts/build.sh

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ DIR="$( cd -P "$( dirname "$SOURCE" )/.." && pwd )"
 cd $DIR
 
 # Get the git commit
-GIT_COMMIT=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)
+GIT_COMMIT=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
 GIT_DIRTY=$(test -n "`git status --porcelain`" && echo "+CHANGES" || true)
 
 # Compile the main Packer app

website/source/community/index.html.markdown

@@ -48,5 +48,18 @@ list as contributors come and go.
 		</div>
 	</div>
 
+	<div class="person">
+		<img class="pull-left" src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/2f7fc9cb7558e3ea48f5a86fa90a78da.png?s=125">
+		<div class="bio">
+			<h3>Mark Peek (<a href="https://github.com/markpeek">@markpeek</a>)</h3>
+			<p>
+			In addition to Packer, Mark Peek helps maintain
+			various open source projects such as
+			<a href="https://github.com/cloudtools">cloudtools</a> and
+			<a href="https://github.com/ironport">IronPort Python libraries</a>.
+			Mark is also a <a href="https://FreeBSD.org">FreeBSD committer</a>.</p>
+		</div>
+	</div>
+
 	<div class="clearfix"></div>
 </div>

website/source/docs/builders/amazon-chroot.html.markdown

@@ -62,8 +62,8 @@ Required:
 
 * `ami_name` (string) - The name of the resulting AMI that will appear
   when managing AMIs in the AWS console or via APIs. This must be unique.
-  To help make this unique, certain template parameters are available for
-  this value, which are documented below.
+  To help make this unique, use a function like `timestamp` (see
+  [configuration templates](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html) for more info)
 
 * `secret_key` (string) - The secret key used to communicate with AWS.
   If not specified, Packer will attempt to read this from environmental
@@ -78,6 +78,21 @@ Required:
 
 Optional:
 
+* `ami_description` (string) - The description to set for the resulting
+  AMI(s). By default this description is empty.
+
+* `ami_groups` (array of string) - A list of groups that have access
+  to launch the resulting AMI(s). By default no groups have permission
+  to launch the AMI.
+
+* `ami_product_codes` (array of string) - A list of product codes to
+  associate with the AMI. By default no product codes are associated with
+  the AMI.
+
+* `ami_users` (array of string) - A list of account IDs that have access
+  to launch the resulting AMI(s). By default no additional users other than the user
+  creating the AMI has permissions to launch it.
+
 * `chroot_mounts` (list of list of strings) - This is a list of additional
   devices to mount into the chroot environment. This configuration parameter
   requires some additional documentation which is in the "Chroot Mounts" section
@@ -115,22 +130,10 @@ Here is a basic example. It is completely valid except for the access keys:
   "access_key": "YOUR KEY HERE",
   "secret_key": "YOUR SECRET KEY HERE",
   "source_ami": "ami-e81d5881",
-  "ami_name": "packer-amazon-chroot {{.CreateTime}}"
+  "ami_name": "packer-amazon-chroot {{timestamp}}"
 }
 </pre>
 
-## AMI Name Variables
-
-The AMI name specified by the `ami_name` configuration variable is actually
-treated as a [configuration template](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html).
-Packer provides a set of variables that it will replace
-within the AMI name. This helps ensure the AMI name is unique, as AWS requires.
-
-The available variables are shown below:
-
-* `CreateTime` - This will be replaced with the Unix timestamp of when
-  the AMI was built.
-
 ## Chroot Mounts
 
 The `chroot_mounts` configuration can be used to mount additional devices

website/source/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html.markdown

@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ Required:
 
 * `ami_name` (string) - The name of the resulting AMI that will appear
   when managing AMIs in the AWS console or via APIs. This must be unique.
-  To help make this unique, certain template parameters are available for
-  this value, which are documented below.
+  To help make this unique, use a function like `timestamp` (see
+  [configuration templates](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html) for more info)
 
 * `instance_type` (string) - The EC2 instance type to use while building
   the AMI, such as "m1.small".
@@ -58,6 +58,21 @@ Required:
 
 Optional:
 
+* `ami_description` (string) - The description to set for the resulting
+  AMI(s). By default this description is empty.
+
+* `ami_groups` (array of string) - A list of groups that have access
+  to launch the resulting AMI(s). By default no groups have permission
+  to launch the AMI.
+
+* `ami_product_codes` (array of string) - A list of product codes to
+  associate with the AMI. By default no product codes are associated with
+  the AMI.
+
+* `ami_users` (array of string) - A list of account IDs that have access
+  to launch the resulting AMI(s). By default no additional users other than the user
+  creating the AMI has permissions to launch it.
+
 * `iam_instance_profile` (string) - The name of an
   [IAM instance profile](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/instance-profiles.html)
   to launch the EC2 instance with.
@@ -80,6 +95,14 @@ Optional:
 
 * `tags` (object of key/value strings) - Tags applied to the AMI.
 
+* `user_data` (string) - User data to apply when launching the instance.
+  Note that you need to be careful about escaping characters due to the
+  templates being JSON. It is often more convenient to use `user_data_file`,
+  instead.
+
+* `user_data_file` (string) - Path to a file that will be used for the
+  user data when launching the instance.
+
 * `vpc_id` (string) - If launching into a VPC subnet, Packer needs the
   VPC ID in order to create a temporary security group within the VPC.
 
@@ -96,7 +119,7 @@ Here is a basic example. It is completely valid except for the access keys:
   "source_ami": "ami-de0d9eb7",
   "instance_type": "t1.micro",
   "ssh_username": "ubuntu",
-  "ami_name": "packer-quick-start {{.CreateTime}}",
+  "ami_name": "packer-quick-start {{timestamp}}",
 }
 </pre>
 
@@ -121,22 +144,10 @@ Here is an example using the optional AMI tags. This will add the tags
   "source_ami": "ami-de0d9eb7",
   "instance_type": "t1.micro",
   "ssh_username": "ubuntu",
-  "ami_name": "packer-quick-start {{.CreateTime}}",
+  "ami_name": "packer-quick-start {{timestamp}}",
   "tags": {
     "OS_Version": "Ubuntu",
     "Release": "Latest"
   }
 }
 </pre>
-
-## AMI Name Variables
-
-The AMI name specified by the `ami_name` configuration variable is actually
-treated as a [configuration template](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html).
-Packer provides a set of variables that it will replace
-within the AMI name. This helps ensure the AMI name is unique, as AWS requires.
-
-The available variables are shown below:
-
-* `CreateTime` - This will be replaced with the Unix timestamp of when
-  the AMI was built.

website/source/docs/builders/amazon-instance.html.markdown

@@ -41,8 +41,8 @@ Required:
 
 * `ami_name` (string) - The name of the resulting AMI that will appear
   when managing AMIs in the AWS console or via APIs. This must be unique.
-  To help make this unique, certain template parameters are available for
-  this value, which are documented below.
+  To help make this unique, use a function like `timestamp` (see
+  [configuration templates](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html) for more info)
 
 * `instance_type` (string) - The EC2 instance type to use while building
   the AMI, such as "m1.small".
@@ -73,12 +73,27 @@ Required:
 
 Optional:
 
+* `ami_description` (string) - The description to set for the resulting
+  AMI(s). By default this description is empty.
+
+* `ami_groups` (array of string) - A list of groups that have access
+  to launch the resulting AMI(s). By default no groups have permission
+  to launch the AMI.
+
+* `ami_product_codes` (array of string) - A list of product codes to
+  associate with the AMI. By default no product codes are associated with
+  the AMI.
+
+* `ami_users` (array of string) - A list of account IDs that have access
+  to launch the resulting AMI(s). By default no additional users other than the user
+  creating the AMI has permissions to launch it.
+
 * `bundle_destination` (string) - The directory on the running instance
   where the bundled AMI will be saved prior to uploading. By default this is
   "/tmp". This directory must exist and be writable.
 
 * `bundle_prefix` (string) - The prefix for files created from bundling
-  the root volume. By default this is "image-{{.Createtime}}". The `CreateTime`
+  the root volume. By default this is "image-{{timestamp}}". The `timestamp`
   variable should be used to make sure this is unique, otherwise it can
   collide with other created AMIs by Packer in your account.
 
@@ -111,6 +126,14 @@ Optional:
 
 * `tags` (object of key/value strings) - Tags applied to the AMI.
 
+* `user_data` (string) - User data to apply when launching the instance.
+  Note that you need to be careful about escaping characters due to the
+  templates being JSON. It is often more convenient to use `user_data_file`,
+  instead.
+
+* `user_data_file` (string) - Path to a file that will be used for the
+  user data when launching the instance.
+
 * `vpc_id` (string) - If launching into a VPC subnet, Packer needs the
   VPC ID in order to create a temporary security group within the VPC.
 
@@ -140,7 +163,7 @@ Here is a basic example. It is completely valid except for the access keys:
   "x509_key_path": "x509.key",
   "x509_upload_path": "/tmp",
 
-  "ami_name": "packer-quick-start {{.CreateTime}}"
+  "ami_name": "packer-quick-start {{timestamp}}"
 }
 </pre>
 
@@ -151,18 +174,6 @@ the section above for more information on what environmental variables Packer
 will look for.
 </div>
 
-## AMI Name Variables
-
-The AMI name specified by the `ami_name` configuration variable is actually
-treated as a [configuration template](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html).
-Packer provides a set of variables that it will replace
-within the AMI name. This helps ensure the AMI name is unique, as AWS requires.
-
-The available variables are shown below:
-
-* `CreateTime` - This will be replaced with the Unix timestamp of when
-  the AMI was built.
-
 ## Custom Bundle Commands
 
 A lot of the process required for creating an instance-store backed AMI
@@ -202,6 +213,14 @@ sudo -n ec2-bundle-vol \
 The available template variables should be self-explanatory based on the
 parameters they're used to satisfy the `ec2-bundle-vol` command.
 
+<div class="alert alert-block">
+  <strong>Warning!</strong> Some versions of ec2-bundle-vol silently
+ignore all .pem and .gpg files during the bundling of the AMI, which can
+cause problems on some systems, such as Ubuntu. You may want to
+customize the bundle volume command to include those files (see the
+<code>--no-filter</code> option of ec2-bundle-vol).
+</div>
+
 ### Bundle Upload Command
 
 The default value for `bundle_upload_command` is shown below. It is split

website/source/docs/builders/digitalocean.html.markdown

@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@ Optional:
   which is the 512MB droplet.
 
 * `snapshot_name` (string) - The name of the resulting snapshot that will
-  appear in your account. This must be unique. To help make this unique,
-  certain template parameters are available for this value, and are documented
-  below.
+  appear in your account. This must be unique.
+  To help make this unique, use a function like `timestamp` (see
+  [configuration templates](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html) for more info)
 
 * `ssh_port` (int) - The port that SSH will be available on. Defaults to port
   22.
@@ -83,17 +83,6 @@ own access tokens:
 }
 </pre>
 
-## Snapshot Name Variables
-
-The `snapshot_name` for a DigitalOcean image must be unique. The configuration
-variable is actually treated as a [configuration template](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html) and has various variables available to help keep this unique. Read
-the prior linked page for information on syntax if you're unfamiliar with it.
-
-The available variables are shown below:
-
-* `CreateTime` - This will be replaced with the Unix timestamp of when the
-  image is created.
-
 ## Finding Image, Region, and Size IDs
 
 Unfortunately, finding a list of available values for `image_id`, `region_id`,

website/source/docs/command-line/build.html.markdown

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 ---
 layout: "docs"
+page_title: "Build - Command-Line"
 ---
 
 # Command-Line: Build
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ artifacts that are created will be outputted at the end of the build.
   In general, a builder supporting the forced build will remove the artifacts from
   the previous build. This will allow the user to repeat a build without having to
   manually clean these artifacts beforehand.
-  
+
 * `-except=foo,bar,baz` - Builds all the builds except those with the given
   comma-separated names. Build names by default are the names of their builders,
   unless a specific `name` attribute is specified within the configuration.

website/source/docs/command-line/fix.html.markdown

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 layout: "docs"
-page_title: "Command-line: Fix"
+page_title: "Fix - Command-Line"
 ---
 
 # Command-Line: Fix

website/source/docs/command-line/machine-readable.html.markdown

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+---
+layout: "docs"
+page_title: "Machine-Readable Output - Command-Line"
+---
+
+# Machine-Readable Output
+
+By default, the output of Packer is very human-readable. It uses nice
+formatting, spacing, and colors in order to make Packer a pleasure to use.
+However, Packer was built with automation in mind. To that end, Packer
+supports a fully machine-readable output setting, allowing you to use
+Packer in automated environments.
+
+The machine-readable output format is easy to use and read and was made
+with Unix tools in mind, so it is awk/sed/grep/etc. friendly.
+
+## Enabling
+
+The machine-readable output format can be enabled by passing the
+`-machine-readable` flag to any Packer command. This immediately enables
+all output to become machine-readable on stdout. Logging, if enabled,
+continues to appear on stderr. An example of the output is shown
+below:
+
+```
+$ packer -machine-readable version
+1376289459,,version,0.2.4
+1376289459,,version-prerelease,
+1376289459,,version-commit,eed6ece
+1376289459,,ui,say,Packer v0.2.4.dev (eed6ece+CHANGES)
+```
+
+The format will be covered in more detail later. But as you can see,
+the output immediately becomes machine-friendly. Try some other commands
+with the `-machine-readable` flag to see!
+
+## Format
+
+The machine readable format is a line-oriented, comma-delimeted text
+format. This makes it extremely to parse using standard Unix tools such
+as awk or grep in addition to full programming languages like Ruby or
+Python.
+
+The format is:
+
+```
+timestamp,target,type,data...
+```
+
+Each component is explained below:
+
+* **timestamp** is a Unix timestamp in UTC of when the message was
+  printed.
+
+* **target** is the target of the following output. This is empty if
+  the message is related to Packer globally. Otherwise, this is generally
+  a build name so you can relate output to a specific build while parallel
+  builds are running.
+
+* **type** is the type of machine-readable message being outputted. There
+  are a set of standard types which are covered later, but each component
+  of Packer (builders, provisioners, etc.) may output their own custom types
+  as well, allowing the machine-readable output to be infinitely flexible.
+
+* **data** is zero or more comma-seperated values associated with the prior
+  type. The exact amount and meaning of this data is type-dependent, so you
+  must read the documentation associated with the type to understand fully.
+
+Within the format, if data contains a comma, it is replaced with
+`%!(PACKER_COMMA)`. This was preferred over an escape character such as
+`\'` because it is more friendly to tools like awk.
+
+Newlines within the format are replaced with their respective standard
+escape sequence. Newlines become a literal `\n` within the output. Carriage
+returns become a literal `\r`.
+
+## Message Types
+
+The set of machine-readable message types can be found in the
+[machine-readable format](/docs/machine-readable/index.html)
+complete documentation section. This section contains documentation
+on all the message types exposed by Packer core as well as all the
+components that ship with Packer by default.

website/source/docs/command-line/validate.html.markdown

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 ---
 layout: "docs"
+page_title: "Validate - Command-Line"
 ---
 
 # Command-Line: Validate

website/source/docs/machine-readable/command-build.html.markdown

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+---
+layout: "docs_machine_readable"
+page_title: "Command: build - Machine-Readable Reference"
+---
+
+# Build Command Types
+
+These are the machine-readable types that exist as part of the output
+of `packer build`.
+
+<dl>
+	<dt>artifact (>= 2)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		Information about an artifact of the targetted item. This is a
+		fairly complex (but uniform!) machine-readable type that contains
+		subtypes. The subtypes are documented within this page in the
+		syntax of "artifact subtype: SUBTYPE". The number of arguments within
+		that subtype is in addition to the artifact args.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: index</strong> - The zero-based index of the
+		artifact being described. This goes up to "artifact-count" (see
+		below).
+		</p>
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 2: subtype</strong> - The subtype that describes
+		the remaining arguments. See the documentation for the
+		subtype docs throughout this page.
+		</p>
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 3..n: subtype data</strong> - Zero or more additional
+		data points related to the subtype. The exact count and meaning
+		of this subtypes comes from the subtype documentation.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>artifact-count (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		The number of artifacts associated with the given target.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: count</strong> - The number of artifacts as
+		a base 10 integer.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>artifact subtype: builder-id (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		The unique ID of the builder that created this artifact.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: id</strong> - The unique ID of the builder.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>artifact subtype: file (2)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		A single file associated with the artifact. There are 0 to
+		"files-count" of these entries to describe every file that is
+		part of the artifact.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: index</strong> - Zero-based index of the file.
+		This goes from 0 to "files-count" minus one.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 2: filename</strong> - The filename.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>artifact subtype: files-count (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		The number of files associated with this artifact. Not all
+		artifacts have files associated with it.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: count</strong> - The number of files.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>artifact subtype: id (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		The ID (if any) of the artifact that was built. Not all artifacts
+		have associated IDs. For example, AMIs built have IDs associated
+		with them, but VirtualBox images do not. The exact format of the ID
+		is specific to the builder.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: id</strong> - The ID of the artifact.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>artifact subtype: nil (0)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		If present, this means that the artifact was nil, or that the targetted
+		build completed successfully but no artifact was created.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>artifact subtype: string (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		The human-readable string description of the artifact provided by
+		the artifact itself.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: string</strong> - The string output for the artifact.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+</dl>

website/source/docs/machine-readable/command-version.html.markdown

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+---
+layout: "docs_machine_readable"
+page_title: "Command: version - Machine-Readable Reference"
+---
+
+# Version Command Types
+
+These are the machine-readable types that exist as part of the output
+of `packer version`.
+
+<dl>
+	<dt>version (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>The version number of Packer running.</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: version</strong> - The version of Packer running,
+		only including the major, minor, and patch versions. Example:
+		"0.2.4".
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>version-commit (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>The SHA1 of the Git commit that built this version of Packer.</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: commit SHA1</strong> - The SHA1 of the commit.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+
+	<dt>version-prerelease (1)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		The prerelease tag (if any) for the running version of Packer. This
+		can be "beta", "dev", "alpha", etc. If this is empty, you can assume
+		it is a release version running.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: prerelease name</strong> - The name of the
+		prerelease tag.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+</dl>

website/source/docs/machine-readable/general.html.markdown

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+---
+layout: "docs_machine_readable"
+page_title: "General Types - Machine-Readable Reference"
+---
+
+# General Types
+
+These are the machine-readable types that can appear in almost any
+machine-readable output and are provided by Packer core itself.
+
+<dl>
+	<dt>ui (2)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>
+		Specifies the output and type of output that would've normally
+		gone to the console if Packer wasn't running in human-readable
+		mode.
+		</p>
+
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: type</strong> - The type of UI message that would've
+		been outputted. Can be "say", "message", or "error".
+		</p>
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 2: output</strong> - The UI message that would have
+		been outputted.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+</dl>

website/source/docs/machine-readable/index.html.markdown

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+---
+layout: "docs_machine_readable"
+page_title: "Machine-Readable Reference"
+---
+
+# Machine-Readable Reference
+
+This is the reference for the various message categories for Packer
+[machine-readable output](/docs/command-line/machine-readable.html).
+Please read that page if you're unfamiliar with the general format and
+usage for the machine-readable output.
+
+The layout of this reference is split into where the types come from.
+There are a set of core types that are from Packer core itself. Then
+there are types that come from various components of Packer such as the
+builders, provisioners, and more.
+
+Within each section, the format of the documentation is the following:
+
+<br>
+
+<dl>
+	<dt>type-name (data-count)</dt>
+	<dd>
+		<p>Description of the type.</p>
+		<p>
+		<strong>Data 1: name</strong> - Description.
+		</p>
+	</dd>
+</dl>

website/source/docs/provisioners/salt-masterless.html.markdown

@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ layout: "docs"
 
 Type: `salt-masterless`
 
-The salt-masterless provisioner provisions machines built by Packer using [Salt](http://saltstack.com/) states.
+The `salt-masterless` provisioner provisions machines built by Packer using
+[Salt](http://saltstack.com/) states, without connecting to a Salt master.
 
 ## Basic Example
 
@@ -15,7 +16,6 @@ The example below is fully functional.
 <pre class="prettyprint">
 {
     "type": "salt-masterless",
-    "bootstrap_args": "git v0.16.0"
     "local_state_tree": "/Users/me/salt"
 }
 </pre>
@@ -24,15 +24,21 @@ The example below is fully functional.
 
 The reference of available configuration options is listed below. The only required argument is the path to your local salt state tree.
 
-Required:
-
-* `local_state_tree` (string) - The path to your local [state tree](http://docs.saltstack.com/ref/states/highstate.html#the-salt-state-tree). This will be uploaded to the `/srv/salt` on the remote, and removed before shutdown.
-
 Optional:
 
-* `skip_bootstrap` (boolean) - By default the salt provisioner runs [salt bootstrap](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap) to install salt. Set this to true to skip this step.
+* `local_state_tree` (string) - The path to your local
+  [state tree](http://docs.saltstack.com/ref/states/highstate.html#the-salt-state-tree).
+  This will be uploaded to the `/srv/salt` on the remote.
 
-* `boostrap_args` (string) -
-  Arguments to send to the bootstrap script. Usage is somewhat documented on [github](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap), but the [script itself](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap/blob/develop/bootstrap-salt.sh) has more detailed usage instructions. By default, no arguments are sent to the script.
+* `skip_bootstrap` (boolean) - By default the salt provisioner runs
+  [salt bootstrap](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap) to install
+  salt. Set this to true to skip this step.
 
-* `temp_config_dir` (string) - Where your local state tree will be copied before moving to the `/srv/salt` directory. Default is `/tmp/salt`.
+* `boostrap_args` (string) - Arguments to send to the bootstrap script. Usage
+  is somewhat documented on [github](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap),
+  but the [script itself](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap/blob/develop/bootstrap-salt.sh)
+  has more detailed usage instructions. By default, no arguments are sent to
+  the script.
+
+* `temp_config_dir` (string) - Where your local state tree will be copied
+  before moving to the `/srv/salt` directory. Default is `/tmp/salt`.

website/source/docs/provisioners/salt.html.markdown

@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
----
-layout: "docs"
----
-
-# Salt Masterless Provisioner
-
-Type: `salt-masterless`
-
-The `salt-masterless` provisioner provisions machines built by Packer using
-[Salt](http://saltstack.com/) states, without connecting to a Salt master.
-
-## Basic Example
-
-The example below is fully functional.
-
-<pre class="prettyprint">
-{
-    "type": "salt-masterless",
-    "local_state_tree": "/Users/me/salt"
-}
-</pre>
-
-## Configuration Reference
-
-The reference of available configuration options is listed below. The only required argument is the path to your local salt state tree.
-
-Required:
-
-* `local_state_tree` (string) - The path to your local
-  [state tree](http://docs.saltstack.com/ref/states/highstate.html#the-salt-state-tree).
-  This will be uploaded to the `/srv/salt` on the remote, and removed before
-  shutdown.
-
-Optional:
-
-* `skip_bootstrap` (boolean) - By default the salt provisioner runs
-  [salt bootstrap](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap) to install
-  salt. Set this to true to skip this step.
-
-* `boostrap_args` (string) - Arguments to send to the bootstrap script. Usage
-  is somewhat documented on [github](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap),
-  but the [script itself](https://github.com/saltstack/salt-bootstrap/blob/develop/bootstrap-salt.sh)
-  has more detailed usage instructions. By default, no arguments are sent to
-  the script.
-
-* `temp_config_dir` (string) - Where your local state tree will be copied
-  before moving to the `/srv/salt` directory. Default is `/tmp/salt`.

website/source/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html.markdown

@@ -1,37 +1,36 @@
 ---
 layout: "docs"
+page_title: "Configuration Templates"
 ---
 
 # Configuration Templates
 
-Certain configuration parameters within templates are themselves a
-type of "template." These are not Packer templates, but text templates,
-where variables can be used to modify the value of a configuration parameter
-during runtime.
+All strings within templates are processed by a common Packer templating
+engine, where variables and functions can be used to modify the value of
+a configuration parameter at runtime.
 
-For example, the `ami_name` configuration for the [AMI builder](/docs/builders/amazon-ebs.html)
-is a template. An example value may be `My Packer AMI {{.CreateTime}}`. At
-runtime, this will be turned into `My Packer AMI 1370900368`, where the
-"CreateTime" variable was replaced with the Unix timestamp of when the
-AMI was actually created.
+For example, the `{{timestamp}}` function can be used in any string to
+generate the current timestamp. This is useful for configurations that require
+unique keys, such as AMI names. By setting the AMI name to something like
+`My Packer AMI {{timestamp}}`, the AMI name will be unique down to the second.
 
-This sort of templating is pervasive throughout Packer. Instead of documenting
-the templating syntax in each location, it is documented once here so
-you know how to use it.
+In addition to globally available functions like timestamp shown before,
+some configurations have special local variables that are available only
+for that configuration. These are recognizable because they're prefixed by
+a period, such as `{{.Name}}`.
 
-<div class="alert alert-info">
-<strong>For advanced users:</strong> The templates are actually parsed and executed
-using Go's <a href="http://golang.org/pkg/text/template/">text/template</a>
-package. It therefore supports the complete template syntax.
-</div>
+The complete syntax is covered in the next section, followed by a reference
+of globally available functions.
 
 ## Syntax
 
-99% of the time all you'll need within configuration templates are variables.
-Variables are accessed by using `{{.VARIABLENAME}}`. The "." prefixing the
-variable name signals that you're accessing a variable on the root
-template object. All template directives go between braces. Here is a piece
-of a VMware VMX template that uses variables:
+The syntax of templates is extremely simple. Anything template related
+happens within double-braces: `{{ }}`. Variables are prefixed with a period
+and capitalized, such as `{{.Variable}}` and functions are just directly
+within the braces, such as `{{timestamp}}`.
+
+Here is an example from the VMware VMX template that shows configuration
+templates in action:
 
 <pre>
 .encoding = "UTF-8"
@@ -47,3 +46,11 @@ resulting in a VMX that looks like this:
 displayName = "packer"
 guestOS = "otherlinux"
 </pre>
+
+## Global Functions
+
+While some configuration settings have local variables specific to only that
+configuration, a set of functions are available globally for use in _any string_
+in Packer templates. These are listed below for reference.
+
+* ``timestamp`` - The current Unix timestamp in UTC.

website/source/docs/templates/introduction.html.markdown

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Along with each key, it is noted whether it is required or not.
   information on how to define and configure a provisioner, read the
   sub-section on [configuring provisioners in templates](/docs/templates/provisioners.html).
 
-* `post-processors` (optional) is an array of one or more objects that defines the 
+* `post-processors` (optional) is an array of one or more objects that defines the
   various post-processing steps to take with the built images. This is an optional
   field. If not specified, then no post-processing will be done. For more
   information on what post-processors do and how they're defined, read the
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ missing valid AWS access keys. Otherwise, it would work properly with
       "source_ami": "ami-de0d9eb7",
       "instance_type": "t1.micro",
       "ssh_username": "ubuntu",
-      "ami_name": "packer {{.CreateTime}}"
+      "ami_name": "packer {{timestamp}}"
     }
   ],
 

website/source/docs/templates/user-variables.html.markdown

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+---
+layout: "docs"
+page_title: "User Variables in Templates"
+---
+
+# User Variables
+
+User variables allow your templates to be further configured with variables
+from the command-line, environmental variables, or files. This lets you
+parameterize your templates so that you can keep secret tokens,
+environment-specific data, and other types of information out of your
+templates. This maximizes the portablility and shareability of the template.
+
+Using user variables expects you know how
+[configuration templates](/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html) work.
+If you don't know how configuration templates work yet, please read that
+page first.
+
+## Usage
+
+User variables must first be defined in a `variables` section within your
+template. Even if you want a variable to default to an empty string, it
+must be defined. This explicitivity makes it easy for newcomers to your
+template to understand what can be modified using variables in your template.
+
+The `variables` section is a simple key/value mapping of the variable
+name to a default value. A default value can be the empty string. An
+example is shown below:
+
+<pre class="prettyprint">
+{
+  "variables": {
+    "aws_access_key": "",
+    "aws_secret_key": ""
+  },
+
+  "builders": [{
+    "type": "amazon-ebs",
+    "access_key": "{{user `aws_access_key`}}",
+    "secret_key": "{{user `aws_secret_key`}}",
+    ...
+  }]
+}
+</pre>
+
+In the above example, the template defines two variables: `aws_access_key` and
+`aws_secret_key`. They default to empty values.
+Later, the variables are used within the builder we defined in order to
+configure the actual keys for the Amazon builder.
+
+Using the variables is extremely easy. Variables are used by calling
+the user function in the form of <code>{{user &#96;variable&#96;}}</code>.
+This function can be used in _any string_ within the template, in
+builders, provisioners, _anything_. The user variable is available globally
+within the template.
+
+## Setting Variables
+
+Now that we covered how to define and use variables within a template,
+the next important point is how to actually set these variables. Packer
+exposes two methods for setting variables: from the command line or
+from a file.
+
+### From the Command Line
+
+To set variables from the command line, the `-var` flag is used as
+a parameter to `packer build` (and some other commands). Continuing our example
+above, we could build our template using the command below. The command
+is split across multiple lines for readability, but can of course be a single
+line.
+
+```
+$ packer build \
+    -var 'aws_access_key=foo' \
+    -var 'aws_secret_key=bar' \
+    template.json
+```
+
+As you can see, the `-var` flag can be specified multiple times in order
+to set multiple variables. Also, variables set later on the command-line
+override earlier set variables if it has already been set.
+
+Finally, variables set from the command-line override all other methods
+of setting variables. So if you specify a variable in a file (the next
+method shown), you can override it using the command-line.
+
+### From a File
+
+Variables can also be set from an external JSON file. The `-var-file`
+flag reads a file containing a basic key/value mapping of variables to
+values and sets those variables. The JSON file is simple:
+
+<pre class="prettyprint">
+{
+  "aws_access_key": "foo",
+  "aws_secret_key": "bar"
+}
+</pre>
+
+It is a single JSON object where the keys are variables and the values are
+the variable values. Assuming this file is in `variables.json`, we can
+build our template using the following command:
+
+```
+$ packer build -var-file=variables.json template.json
+```
+
+The `-var-file` flag can be specified multiple times and variables from
+multiple files will be read and applied. As you'd expect, variables read
+from files specified later override a variable set earlier if it has
+already been set.
+
+And as mentioned above, no matter where a `-var-file` is specified, a
+`-var` flag on the command line will always override any variables from
+a file.

website/source/intro/getting-started/build-image.html.markdown

@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ briefly. Create a file `example.json` and fill it with the following contents:
     "source_ami": "ami-de0d9eb7",
     "instance_type": "t1.micro",
     "ssh_username": "ubuntu",
-    "ami_name": "packer-example {{.CreateTime}}"
+    "ami_name": "packer-example {{timestamp}}"
   }]
 }
 </pre>

website/source/layouts/docs.erb

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 			<li><a href="/docs/command-line/build.html">Build</a></li>
 			<li><a href="/docs/command-line/fix.html">Fix</a></li>
 			<li><a href="/docs/command-line/validate.html">Validate</a></li>
+			<li><a href="/docs/command-line/machine-readable.html">Machine-Readable Output</a></li>
 		</ul>
 
 		<ul>
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@
 			<li><a href="/docs/templates/provisioners.html">Provisioners</a></li>
 			<li><a href="/docs/templates/post-processors.html">Post-Processors</a></li>
 			<li><a href="/docs/templates/configuration-templates.html">Configuration Templates</a></li>
+			<li><a href="/docs/templates/user-variables.html">User Variables</a></li>
 			<li><a href="/docs/templates/veewee-to-packer.html">Veewee-to-Packer</a></li>
 		</ul>