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# Open-O Project CI Packer
[Packer][1] is a tool for automatically creating VM and container images,
configuring them and post-processing them into standard output formats.
We build Open-O's CI images via Packer.
## Building
You'll need to [install Packer][2], of course.
Open-O's Packer configuration is divided into build-specific variables,
output-specific templates and a set of shared provisioning scripts. To do a
specific build, combine the template for the desired output artifact type with
a variable file. To build a new builder instance the following would be done:
```
packer build -var-file=vars/cloud-env.json -var-file=vars/centos.json templates/builder.json
```
**NOTE:** vars/cloud-env.json is a gitignored file as it contains private
information. There is a vars/cloud-env.json.example file that may be used as a
base for creating the one needed.
This would build a bootable image in the Open-O CI cloud environment.
From a high level, the builds:
* Boot a specified base image in the cloud
* Run a set of shell scripts, listed in the template's shell provisioner
section, to do any configuration required by the builder.
* Execute a shutdown of the running instance
* Execute a 'nova image-create' operation against the shutdown instance.
* Perform a 'nova delete' operation against the shutdown instance.
[1]: https://www.packer.io/
[2]: https://www.packer.io/intro/getting-started/setup.html