Puppet - how can I copy a file to several user folders?

Question

Well I was using the info on this:

Puppet - Any way to copy predefined custom configuration files for software on clients from the puppet master (host)?

But I need some more elaborated, because I have several Desktops and are in use by 2 or 3 users each one, so I want to make a class for copy a shortcut in his desktops.

The computers are joined to a domain, so any user can log in any desktop, and his profile is created in every desktop.

I've tryed with this:

class applink {

  file { "/home/installer/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop":
       owner => installer,
       group => root,
       mode => 770,
       source => "puppet://$server/files/Workdesktop.desktop"            
 }

This is only for one user called "installer", how can do this for several users?

Can I use $USER for do this? Any Thoughts?

Thank You!

Solution 1

There are really two ways to do this: a definition or a virtual resource. I know more about definitions so that's the approach I'll describe. Read about virtual resources here, but be ready to get confused before you gain understanding.

To do this in a definition, create a manifest in your module structure to contain it; in your example it'd be in _modulepath_/applink/manifests/desktoplinks.pp

define applink::desktoplinks {
  file { "/home/$title/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop":
    owner => $title,
    group => root,
    source => "puppet://$server/files/Workdesktop.desktop",
  }
  # you could have others here if you wanted
}

Then to use it, you would call it with each user's name, perhaps all at once in an array:

applink::desktoplinks { [ "user1", "user2", "user3" ]: }

The trick is that the username is the "title" of the defined resource, so it is available inside the definition as $title. Read more about defined types here.

HTH

Solution 2

I just learned another way to do this. It's more of a syntax quirk than anything, but here you go:

file { ["/home/installer/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop",
        "/home/user/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop"]:
  owner => installer,
  group => root,
  mode => 770,
  source => "puppet://$server/files/Workdesktop.desktop"            
}

The key is specifying the title as an array instead of a string; Puppet will parse this as though you'd written the following:

file { "/home/installer/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop":
  owner => installer,
  group => root,
  mode => 770,
  source => "puppet://$server/files/Workdesktop.desktop"            
}
file { "/home/user/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop":
  owner => installer,
  group => root,
  mode => 770,
  source => "puppet://$server/files/Workdesktop.desktop"            
}

i.e., you get both File["/home/installer/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop"] and File["/home/user/Escritorio/Workdesktop.desktop"] bound in your configuration.

I suspect that this would work for many types of resources, but I haven't tested any other than file.