How To Install and Get Started with Packer on Ubuntu 24.04 or Newer

Welcome to the Greenhost.cloud blog! Today, we’ll be diving into the world of infrastructure automation with HashiCorp Packer. Whether you’re looking to streamline your development process or create consistent machine images across multiple platforms, Packer is an invaluable tool. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to install Packer on Ubuntu 24.04 or newer and get you started with creating your first image.

What is Packer?

Packer is an open-source tool that enables you to create identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. It’s widely used for creating virtual machine images for cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, as well as for local environments using tools like VirtualBox and VMware. Packer helps to automate the workflow of building and deploying images, ensuring that your environments are consistent and repeatable.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have the following:

1. Ubuntu 24.04 or newer: Packer is compatible with the latest versions of Ubuntu.
2. Command Line Access: You will need terminal access to install Packer.
3. Curl or wget: These tools will be used to download Packer.

Steps to Install Packer

Step 1: Update Your System

Start by updating your system’s package index to ensure you have the latest repository information.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Download Packer

At the time of writing, the latest version of Packer can be found on the official Packer releases page. You can download it using wget or curl.

Here’s how to download the latest version using wget:

wget https://releases.hashicorp.com/packer/<latest_version>/packer_<latest_version>_linux_amd64.zip

Replace <latest_version> with the actual version number you wish to download (e.g., 1.8.4).

Step 3: Install Unzip (if necessary)

If you don’t have the unzip package installed, you can install it with:

sudo apt install unzip -y

Step 4: Unzip the Downloaded File

Once downloaded, unzip the Packer file:

unzip packer_<latest_version>_linux_amd64.zip

Step 5: Move Packer to a Directory in Your PATH

Next, move the packer binary to a directory that is included in your system’s PATH. The /usr/local/bin directory is a common choice:

sudo mv packer /usr/local/bin/

Step 6: Verify the Installation

To ensure Packer is installed correctly, run the following command:

packer version

You should see the installed version of Packer displayed.

Getting Started with Packer

Now that you have Packer installed, let’s create your first image.

Step 1: Create a Packer Template

Packer uses JSON or HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language) files as templates to define how images should be built. Create a new directory for your Packer project:

mkdir my-packer-project
cd my-packer-project

Now, create a file named ubuntu.json (or ubuntu.pkr.hcl for HCL format):

{
  "builders": [
    {
      "type": "amazon-ebs",
      "access_key": "YOUR_AWS_ACCESS_KEY",
      "secret_key": "YOUR_AWS_SECRET_KEY",
      "region": "us-east-1",
      "source_ami": "ami-0c55b159cbfafe1f0",
      "instance_type": "t2.micro",
      "ssh_username": "ubuntu",
      "ami_name": "packer-example {{timestamp}}"
    }
  ]
}

Note: In the above template, replace the YOUR_AWS_ACCESS_KEY and YOUR_AWS_SECRET_KEY with your actual AWS credentials. Also, adjust the source_ami to the base image you prefer.

Step 2: Build the Image

To build your image, run the following command in your terminal:

packer build ubuntu.json

Packer will execute the steps defined in your template, creating a new AMI in your specified region.

Step 3: Verify Your Image

Once the build is complete, you can log in to your AWS console and verify that your new AMI is available in the EC2 dashboard.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Packer on Ubuntu 24.04 and created your first image. Packer can be a powerful addition to your DevOps toolkit, enabling you to automate image creation and ensure consistency across your environments.

For more advanced usage, consider exploring Packer’s provisioners for installing software and configuring your images, as well as post-processing options for optimizing and managing your builds.

Thank you for reading! For more tips and tutorials on cloud computing and infrastructure management, stay tuned to the Greenhost.cloud blog!