Developer tools are essential for programmers and other software developers. Chef Workstation is one such powerful DevOps software tool used by developers and system administrators for creating, testing, and managing Chef recipes. It allows you to manage your infrastructure as code, making it easier to replicate and deploy.
In this article, we'll show you how to download and install Chef Workstation as well as several other development tools. We'll also provide links to additional resources that can help you get started with Chef. After following these instructions, you'll be able to start coding like a pro. So whether you're a beginner or an experienced developer, we have something for everyone.
How to Download Chef Workstation?
Welcome to our step-by-step guide on downloading one of the best tools for DevOps Chef Workstation. These steps will take you through downloading the Chef Workstation on your computer.
- Once the file has finished downloading, open it and follow the prompts to install Chef Workstation on your system.
After you have got a successful download, Chef is not as easy as it seems. So, seek out assistance with the best Chef online course available and make your learning curve go higher and higher.
Chef Workstation is designed to support a wide range of operating systems and hardware architectures. Currently, they are compatible with the following platforms:
Supported Platform | OS Version |
---|
Amazon Linux | 2 |
Windows | 10, 11, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, Server 2016, Server 2019, Server 2022 |
Apple macOS | 10.15, 11, 12 |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux / CentOS | 7.x, 8.x |
Debian | 9, 10, 11 |
Ubuntu | 16.04, 18.04, 20.04 |
System Requirements
Considering Chef Workstation as one the best tools for DevOps, your computer just needs to meet a few normal system requirements. These include:
- 4GB of RAM
- 8GB of disk space
You may also need extra memory and space for certain features, namely Test Kitchen that creates and manages the virtual test environments.
For Linux systems, you need a graphical windows manager running that supports the tray icons. Depending on your distribution, you may have to install additional libraries as well.
How to Install Chef Workstations?
Installing Chef Workstation gives you everything you need to start with one of the top tools for DevOps - Chef. It includes all the tools necessary to develop, test and run your Chef cookbooks. But before you can start using Chef Workstation, you need to install it on your system. The process is simple and only requires a few steps to get started. Here are the steps below for different supported OS.
Installation on Windows OS
- Go through the prompts on the screen and accept the license agreement to install the Chef Workstation. Your default file location is C:\opscode\Chef-workstation\ directory but one can make changes during the installation process.
Further, you can also install the Chef Workstation on Windows via the Chocolatey package manager.
choco install Chef-workstation
Chef Workstation: Installation on Mac OS
- Go through the on-screen instructions and install the Chef Workstation.
Moreover, you can also install Chef Workstation via the Homebrew package manager:
brew install --cask Chef-workstation
Chef Workstation For Linux
Go to the Chef Workstation downloads and choose the appropriate download package as per your OS.
For Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Follow wget https://packages.Chef.io/files/stable/Chef-workstation/21.10.640/el/8/Chef-workstation-21.10.640-1.el8.x86_64.rpm
Debian/Ubuntu
Follow wget https://packages.Chef.io/files/stable/Chef-workstation/21.10.640/ubuntu/20.04/Chef-workstation_21.10.640-1_amd64.deb
You can install Chef Workstation through your distribution's package manager. Here is how -
For Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Follow yum localinstall Chef-workstation-21.10.640-1.el8.x86_64.rpm
Debian/Ubuntu
Follow dpkg -i Chef-workstation_21.10.640-1_amd64.deb
Verify the Installation
To verify the Chef Workstation installation, you need to run the Chef-v command:
This will return the given versions of the installed Chef tool:
Chef Workstation version: 21.10.640 |
Chef InSpec version: 4.46.13 |
Test Kitchen version: 3.1.0 |
Chef Habitat version: 1.6.351 |
Chef Infra Client version: 17.6.18 |
Cookstyle version: 7.25.6 |
Chef CLI version: 5.4.2 |
Upgrading
To upgrade your Chef workstation version, first ensure that you have the latest version of the ChefDK. You can check this by running Chef -v. If you do not have the latest version, you can download it from the Chef website as mentioned above. Once you have the latest ChefDK, you can upgrade your existing cookbooks by running the following Chef execute command: Chef update. This will update all of the dependencies in your cookbooks to the latest version.
If you have any cookbooks incompatible with the new version of Chef, they will be outputted to a file called UpdateFailures.log. You can then either fix these cookbooks or delete them. Finally, run Chef-client to update your local copy of the Chef server. Following these steps, you can ensure that your Chef workstation is always up-to-date and ready to use.
Uninstalling Chef Workstation
Different operating systems have different ways of uninstalling Chef Workstation. Here are the instructions for uninstalling some of the most popular operating systems.
Windows OS
- Start the Control Panel.
- Click on Programs and Features.
- Locate Chef Workstation in the list of installed programs and click on it.
- Click on the Uninstall button.
- Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the uninstallation process.
- Restart your computer when prompted.
- Chef Workstation should now be uninstalled from your system.
MacOS
To uninstall Chef Workstation on MacOS, first open a terminal window and enter the following command: uninstall_Chef_workstation
Linux OS
Follow the steps below to uninstall Chef Workstation in Linux OS.
Open the terminal window and type up the following command: sudo dpkg -P Chef-workstation
Open the terminal window and type up the following command: sudo yum remove Chef-workstation
Available Versions of Chef Workstation
The Chef Workstation latest stable version 22.7.1006 is available for different versions of Amazon Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS, macOS, Ubuntu Linux and Windows. Here is the list of all the different OS versions for a successful Chef Workstation Download.
For Windows OS
WINDOWS OS | LATEST VERSION | DOWNLOAD NOW |
---|
Windows 2022 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Windows 11 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Windows 2019 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Windows 2016 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Windows 10 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Windows 2012r2 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Windows 2012 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Windows 8 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Windows and then start the download afterwards.
For Ubuntu Linux
LINUX OS | LATEST VERSION | DOWNLOAD |
---|
Ubuntu Linux 20.04 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Ubuntu Linux 18.04 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Ubuntu Linux 16.04 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Ubuntu Linux and then start the download afterwards.
For MacOS
MacOS | LATEST VERSION | DOWNLOAD |
---|
macOS 12 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
macOS 12 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
macOS 11 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
macOS 10.15 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of macOS and then start the download afterwards.
For Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS
Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS | LATEST VERSION | DOWNLOAD |
---|
Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 8 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 7 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS and then start the download afterwards.
For Debian GNU/Linux OS
Debian GNU/Linux OS | LATEST VERSION | DOWNLOAD |
---|
Debian GNU/Linux 11 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Debian GNU/Linux 10 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Debian GNU/Linux 9 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
Note: As you access the above download links, you need to choose your version of Debian GNU/Linux OS and then start the download afterwards.
For Amazon Linux
Amazon Linux OS | LATEST VERSION | DOWNLOAD |
---|
Amazon Linux 2 | 22.7.1006 | EASY DOWNLOAD |
As you have figured out everything from installation to download of one of the best tools for DevOps- Chef, it is time to get your hands on online DevOps courses and take a step ahead in your DevOps goals.
Other Chef Downloads
Considering Chef as one of the best tools for DevOps, you may need to download some extra Chef agents. We have provided a detailed overview along with the download links below.
Run-time Agents
Run-time agents are components installed on a server along with Chef Infra Client. They perform tasks on behalf of the Chef Infra Client, such as gathering node data, executing recipes, and reporting to the Chef Infra Server. The run-time Chef agent is written in Ruby and packaged as a Gem. It is open source and available on GitHub. In addition to the run-time agent, there are several other projects that extend the functionality of Chef Infra. These include:
Chef Infra Client: The Chef Infra Client is a Ruby-based application that performs all of the actual work of configuring and maintaining your nodes.
To download the Chef Infra Client, go to the link: https://www.Chef.io/downloads/tools/infra-client and look out for your supported OS platforms. Falling under version 17.10.3, you can make a suitable download for AIX, Amazon Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS, FreeBSD, macOS, SUSE Linux, Enterprise Server, Solaris, Ubuntu Linux and Windows.
Chef Inspec Client: A testing and auditing tool that helps verify compliance with security and policy requirements.
Download the Chef Inspec Client
and make your download as per your supported OS. Falling under version 5.18.14, you can download this run-time agent for Amazon Linux, Debian GNU/Linux, Red Hat Enterprise, Linux/CentOS, macOS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Ubuntu Linux and Windows.
Chef Habitat: A Chef automation platform that enables developers to build, deploy, and manage applications across any infrastructure.
Download this run-time agent, and choose the download option among Linux, MacOS and Windows.
Each of these tools provides additional functionality that can be used to further automate your infrastructure.
Servers and Management Tools
In addition to the core Chef downloads, there are several additional CM tools that can be used to manage Chef environments.
- Chef Automate: It provides a web-based interface for managing Chef Infra Server and all of its associated data. This tool is only compatible with Linux and for an easy download, you need to just follow this link.
- Chef Infra Server: This is a standalone server that provides all of the core functionality of Chef Automate, including recipe management, node management, and integration with external systems. This tool falls under the version 15.0.9. To download Chef infra server, tap on this link. Moreover, you need to choose from different OS including Amazon Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Ubuntu Linux.
- Chef Habitat Builder: It is one of the best configuration management tools for building and managing containers using the Habitat package manager. It includes a web-based user interface and Command line interface (CLI) for managing containers, and integrates with popular container orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes and Mesosphere. To get a successful download of this tool, follow this link. Further, you need to choose the download option from Linux, macOS and Windows OS.
Compliance and Security Tools
As any system administrator knows, compliance and security are essential considerations when managing any network. There are a variety of tools available to help meet these objectives, and Chef offers a comprehensive suite of products to help meet the challenges of compliance and security.
- Chef Cloud Security: It is designed to help organizations secure their cloud environments and meet compliance standards. It provides various features, including the ability to automatically assess and remediate compliance issues, deploy security controls, and monitor activity in the cloud. To download this security tool, follow this link and start your download.
- Chef Automate: This provides a central platform for managing compliance and security across your entire infrastructure. For an easy download, you just need to follow this link.
- Chef Infra Server: This provides a central repository for all of your compliance and security configurations. To download Chef infra server, tap on this link.
- Chef InSpec Client: It helps you to verify and enforce compliance policies across your network. To download the Chef Inspec Client, follow this link.
Deprecated Tools
While Chef is no longer releasing new versions of its Backend and Manage tools, they are still available for download.
- Chef Backend: It is a server provisioning tool that allows you to manage your infrastructure automation using code. It is compatible with a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, and macOS. Download this tool under version 3.1.1, and choose your version of OS.
- Chef Manage: it is a web-based interface that provides a turnkey solution for managing your Chef infrastructure. It includes a recipe builder, node management, and role-based access control. While these tools are no longer supported by Chef, they can still be useful for managing your infrastructure. Download this tool under version 3.3.66 and choose your version of OS.
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Conclusion
Chef Workstation is a powerful tool for developers that allows you to manage your code, configure tools, files, and applications. In this post, we’ve shown you how easy it is to download and install Chef Workstation on your computer. We’ve also highlighted some of the key features of the software so you can start using it right away. If you have any questions about Chef Workstation or other developer tools, please let us know. Our team is happy to help!