Troubleshooting file servers

File server modules can be tricky to troubleshoot, because so many of the pieces need to be in place before others are usable. But there are some tricks that you can keep in mind.

Start small

I've tried to present the functions that are necessary, in the order that is easiest for writing and troubleshooting. While envs() cannot be called directly, it is easy to write, and can be debugged while working on file_list() and dir_list(). And those two functions are easy to troubleshoot using the cp.list_master and cp.list_master_dirs functions, respectively.

Test on a Minion

While file server modules are designed to be used on the Master, it is possible to test them on a Minion. Be sure to define all of the appropriate configurations in the minion configuration file instead of the master file. Use salt-call --local to issue commands, and regularly wipe both the local cache (in /var/salt/cache/) and any files that were downloaded using cp.get_file.