NoMethodError: undefined method `path' for Chef::Resource::Execute

[jtimberman]

In Chef 12, using an execute resource with a path attribute results in a NoMethodError exception.

More details coming, wanted to get this created.

[jjasghar]

We saw this in the rabbitmq cookbook: rabbitmq/chef-cookbook#175

[jtimberman]

This is missing because path was removed from the execute resource in commit 28fd0c9. Per the commit message, there was no implementation of this in underlying providers. If cookbooks worked prior to Chef 12, then it may be only by accident - it's hard to know without a case-by-case evaluation (and we certainly can't do that for everything). The right thing to do is to use the environment attribute to set the path. As an implementation example:

execute "mycommand" do
  environment "PATH" => "/my/path/to/bin:#{ENV["PATH"]}"
end

Note that environment overwrites the entire $PATH here, as it is not additive, hence the string interpolation w/ ENV['PATH'] (the $PATH that chef was executed under).

[jtimberman]

Per @sersut:

In Chef 11 we had a path attribute for the execute resource but it was not honored by the provider and was not being used. For cleanup we've removed this in Chef 12. This change made client to raise an error rather than accepting and not using it when path attribute is used in execute resource. Workaround is to use environment attribute to set PATH in the execute resource.

We'll note this as a known issue in the release blog post for Chef 12, and ensure the appropriate documentation is updated.

[kwilczynski]

I would propose adding a deprecation warning there (to the Chef client, not to cookbook). A big fat one. Primarily to ease customers into the transition where we introduce braking change in the API. There is a big difference between path doing nothing and path not being there. My humble opinion on the subject.

[lamont-granquist]

Yeah we probably should have had a deprecation warning first in a world with perfect process, but I think this has shipped in a dot-0 major release and the breakage is acceptable and the new behavior is correct, and we should not revert.

[hulu1522]

Just a note, it is also affecting the postgresql::ruby recipe here:

https://github.com/hw-cookbooks/postgresql/blob/develop/recipes/ruby.rb#L88

[jtimberman]

@hulu1522 That isn't related to this issue, which addresses removal of the path attribute from the execute resource, which means this no longer works:

execute "mycommand" do
  path "/home/mystuff/bin:#{ENV['PATH']}"
end

The issue with the postgresql::ruby cookbook is separate and any failure there should be filed as an issue against that cookbook (if one doesn't exist).

[jtimberman]

I see you found the issue 🍰. I'll reply there.

[adamhjk]

We should put this back in. It's a tiny fix that doesn't cause any problems to anyone, and hopefully cut a release. Feel free to put a deprecation warning back in.

[sersut]

Fixed with #2571