--- name: "cf-promises" section: "8" platform: "linux" package: "cfengine3" version: "3.24.1-2" release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/cf-promises" --- # cf-promises(8) validate and analyze CFEngine policy code ## NAME cf-promises - validate and analyze CFEngine policy code ## SYNOPSIS **cf-promises** \[*OPTION*\]... \[*FILE*\] ## DESCRIPTION cf-promises is a tool for checking CFEngine policy code. It operates by first parsing policy code checing for syntax errors. Second, it validates the integrity of policy consisting of multiple files. Third, it checks for semantic errors, e.g. specific attribute set rules. Finally, cf-promises attempts to expose errors by partially evaluating the policy, resolving as many variable and classes promise statements as possible. At no point does cf-promises make any changes to the system. ## OPTIONS - \--workdir, -w value Override the work directory for testing (same as setting CFENGINE\_TEST\_OVERRIDE\_WORKDIR) - \--eval-functions, - value Evaluate functions during syntax checking (may catch more run-time errors). Possible values: 'yes', 'no'. Default is 'yes' - \--show-classes, - value Show discovered classes, including those defined in common bundles in policy. Optionally can take a regular expression. - \--show-vars, - value Show discovered variables, including those defined without dependency to user-defined classes in policy. Optionally can take a regular expression. - \--help, -h Print the help message - \--bundlesequence, -b value Use the specified bundlesequence for verification - \--debug, -d Enable debugging output - \--verbose, -v Output verbose information about the behaviour of cf-promises - \--log-level, -g value Specify how detailed logs should be. Possible values: 'error', 'warning', 'notice', 'info', 'verbose', 'debug' - \--dry-run, -n All talk and no action mode - make no changes, only inform of promises not kept - \--version, -V Output the version of the software - \--file, -f value Specify an alternative input file than the default. This option is overridden by FILE if supplied as argument. - \--define, -D value Define a list of comma separated classes to be defined at the start of execution - \--negate, -N value Define a list of comma separated classes to be undefined at the start of execution - \--inform, -I Print basic information about changes made to the system, i.e. promises repaired - \--diagnostic, -x Activate internal diagnostics (developers only) - \--policy-output-format, -p value Output the parsed policy. Possible values: 'none', 'cf', 'json' (this file only), 'cf-full', 'json-full' (all parsed promises). Default is 'none'. (experimental) - \--syntax-description, -s value Output a document describing the available syntax elements of CFEngine. Possible values: 'none', 'json'. Default is 'none'. - \--full-check, -c Ensure full policy integrity checks - \--warn, -W value Pass comma-separated \\|all to enable non-default warnings, or error=\\|all - \--color, -C value Enable colorized output. Possible values: 'always', 'auto', 'never'. If option is used, the default value is 'auto' - \--tag-release, -T value Tag a directory with promises.cf with cf\_promises\_validated and cf\_promises\_release\_id - \--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 ## 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-promises 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