Modules overview

You'll keep nearly all of your Puppet code in modules. Each module manages a specific task in your infrastructure, such as installing and configuring a piece of software. Modules serve as the basic building blocks of Puppet and are reusable and shareable.

Modules contain Puppet classes, defined types, tasks, task plans, functions, resource types and providers, and plug-ins such as custom types or facts. Modules must be installed in the Puppet modulepath. Puppet loads all content from every module in the modulepath, making this code available for use.

You can download and install modules from the PuppetForge. The Forge contains thousands of modules written by Puppet developers and the open source community for a wide variety of use cases. Expect to write at least a few of your own modules to meet specific needs in your infrastructure.

If you're using Code Manager or r10k, you'll manage modules with a Puppetfile. For smaller, manually managed infrastructures or proof of concept projects, you can install and manage modules with the puppet module command. See the related topic about installing modules for details.

The following video gives you an overview of modules: