--- name: "cf-agent" section: "8" platform: "linux" package: "cfengine3" version: "3.24.1-2" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/cf-agent" --- # cf-agent(8) evaluate CFEngine policy code and actuate change to the system. ## NAME cf-agent - evaluate CFEngine policy code and actuate change to the system. ## SYNOPSIS **cf-agent** \[*OPTION*\]... \[*FILE*\] ## DESCRIPTION cf-agent evaluates policy code and makes changes to the system. Policy bundles are evaluated in the order of the provided bundlesequence (this is normally specified in the common control body). For each bundle, cf-agent groups promise statements according to their type. Promise types are then evaluated in a preset order to ensure fast system convergence to policy. ## OPTIONS - \--bootstrap, -B value Bootstrap CFEngine to the given policy server IP, hostname or :avahi (automatic detection) - \--bundlesequence, -b value Set or override bundlesequence from command line - \--workdir, -w value Override the default /var/cfengine work directory for testing (same as setting CFENGINE\_TEST\_OVERRIDE\_WORKDIR) - \--debug, -d Enable debugging output - \--define, -D value Define a list of comma separated classes to be defined at the start of execution - \--self-diagnostics, -x value Run checks to diagnose a CFEngine agent installation - \--dry-run, -n All talk and no action mode - make no changes, only inform of promises not kept - \--file, -f value Specify an alternative input file than the default. This option is overridden by FILE if supplied as argument. - \--help, -h Print the help message - \--inform, -I Print basic information about changes made to the system, i.e. promises repaired - \--log-level, -g value Specify how detailed logs should be. Possible values: 'error', 'warning', 'notice', 'info', 'verbose', 'debug' - \--negate, -N value Define a list of comma separated classes to be undefined at the start of execution - \--no-lock, -K Ignore locking constraints during execution (ifelapsed/expireafter) if "too soon" to run - \--verbose, -v Output verbose information about the behaviour of the agent - \--version, -V Output the version of the software - \--timing-output, -t Output timing information on console when in verbose mode - \--trust-server, -T value Possible values: 'yes' (default, trust the server when bootstrapping), 'no' (server key must already be trusted) - \--color, -C value Enable colorized output. Possible values: 'always', 'auto', 'never'. If option is used, the default value is 'auto' - \--no-extensions, -E Disable extension loading (used while upgrading) - \--timestamp, -l Log timestamps on each line of log output - \--ignore-preferred-augments, - Ignore def\_preferred.json file in favor of def.json - \--log-modules, - value Enable even more detailed debug logging for specific areas of the implementation. Use together with '-d'. Use --log-modules=help for a list of available modules - \--no-augments, - Do not load augments (def.json) - \--no-host-specific-data, - Do not load host-specific data (host\_specific.json) - \--show-evaluated-classes, - value Show \*final\* evaluated classes, including those defined in common bundles in policy. Optionally can take a regular expression. - \--show-evaluated-vars, - value Show \*final\* evaluated variables, including those defined without dependency to user-defined classes in policy. Optionally can take a regular expression. - \--skip-bootstrap-policy-run, - Do not run policy as the last step of the bootstrap process - \--skip-bootstrap-service-start, - Do not start CFEngine services as part of the bootstrap process - \--skip-db-check, - value Do not run database integrity checks and repairs at startup - \--simulate, - value Run in simulate mode, either 'manifest', 'manifest-full' or 'diff' ## CFENGINE CFEngine provides automated configuration management of large-scale computer systems. A system administrator describes the desired state of a system using CFEngine policy code. The program **cf-agent** reads policy code and attempts to bring the current system state to the desired state described. Policy code is downloaded by **cf-agent** from a **cf-serverd** daemon. The daemon **cf-execd** is responsible for running **cf-agent** periodically.\ Documentation for CFEngine is available at https://docs.cfengine.com/. ## PROMISE THEORY CFEngine is built on principles from promise theory, proposed by Mark Burgess in 2004. Promise theory is a model of voluntary cooperation between individual, autonomous actors or agents who publish their intentions to one another in the form of promises. A promise is a declaration of intent whose purpose is to increase the recipient's certainty about a claim of past, present or future behaviour. For a promise to increase certainty, the recipient needs to trust the promiser, but trust can also be built on the verification that previous promises have been kept, thus trust plays a symbiotic relationship with promises. \ For an introduction to promise theory, please see http://arxiv.org/abs/0810.3294/ ## AVAILABILITY cf-agent is part of CFEngine.\ Binary packages may be downloaded from https://cfengine.com/download/.\ The source code is available at https://github.com/cfengine/ ## BUGS Please see the public bug-tracker at https://northerntech.atlassian.net/projects/CFE/.\ GitHub pull-requests may be submitted to https://github.com/cfengine/core/. ## SEE ALSO [**cf-promises**(8)](/cf-promises/8.md), [**cf-agent**(8)](/cf-agent/8.md), [**cf-serverd**(8)](/cf-serverd/8.md), [**cf-execd**(8)](/cf-execd/8.md), [**cf-monitord**(8)](/cf-monitord/8.md), [**cf-runagent**(8)](/cf-runagent/8.md), [**cf-key**(8)](/cf-key/8.md) ## AUTHOR Mark Burgess and Northern.tech AS