Puppet Include vs Inherits

February 13, 2025

Differences Between include and inherits in Puppet # In Puppet, including a class (include) and inheriting a class (inherits) serve very different purposes. Using include to Apply a Class # Purpose and Usage # To apply a class to a node To ensure the class is declared only once, even if include is called multiple times To apply parameterized classes when used with class {} syntax Key Characteristics # Executes the class immediately when it is included Works with parameterized classes when declared using class {} syntax Does not create a parent-child relationship Example: Using include to Apply a Class # class webserver { package { 'httpd': ensure => installed } service { 'httpd': ensure => running, enable => true, require => Package['httpd'], } } include webserver # Applies the class Example: Using class {} to Pass Parameters # class webserver ( String $package_name = 'httpd', ) { package { $package_name: ensure => installed } } class { 'webserver': package_name => 'nginx' } # Applies the class with parameters Using inherits to Create a Subclass # Purpose and Usage # To create a child class that inherits properties from a parent class To extend an existing class by adding more resources or overriding variables Useful for defining default behaviors in a base class and extending them in child classes Key Characteristics # Does not automatically apply the parent class Inherited class gets all resources from the parent but does not inherit parameters Cannot override parameters dynamically Example: Using inherits to Extend a Class # class base_webserver { package { 'httpd': ensure => installed } service { 'httpd': ensure => running, enable => true } } class custom_webserver inherits base_webserver { file { '/etc/httpd/conf. ...