Summary
In this chapter, we discovered how to use HCP Packer to manage the lifecycle for us. The mechanisms to produce and consume HCP Packer data are similar for Packer and Terraform in delivering a consistent experience. The HCP Packer API is evolving with new features, such as ancestry and family revocation, so be sure to check the documentation pages for the latest features. Also, make sure that the builder plugins you use support the HCP Packer features required and that the latest versions of these plugins are used.
In the next chapter, we will take everything we have done manually up to this point and apply automation. Automation will make Packer development much easier, as you don’t need to manually run build steps, and you will have checks to prevent you from making common mistakes as part of your process.
