Data bags

A data bag is a global variable that is stored in JSON and can be accessed by Chef. It is indexed for searching and loaded by chef-client while executing the recipe.

We can use data bags directly in a JSON file or create them using Knife Solo. First, we will use a simpler approach, that is, updating the password with a JSON file.

Before we proceed further, we will create a JSON file under the same folder of Vagrantfile and use this file to run recipes. The benefit of this approach is that Chef-Solo requires a JSON file to execute recipes, and we can test our JSON file with Vagrant. The steps are as follows:

1. Create your file in the same folder where Vagrantfile exists:

   # wpblog.json
   {
       "wpblog":{
           "db_password": "dbpass1234"
      },
      "run_list": [
           "recipe[wpblog::default]"
       ]
   }

2. Comment on the add_recipe line in Vagrantfile and add the following code block in Vagrantfile:

   chef.json.merge!(JSON.parse(File.read("wpblog.json")))

   Now, Vagrantfile will look like the following...