Packer: Shell script fails with permission denied, using sudo

[mikkoc]

ERROR:
/tmp/script.sh: 3: /tmp/script.sh: cannot create /root/.bashrc: Permission denied

SNIPPET:

  "builders": [{
    "type": "amazon-ebs",
    "access_key": "{{user `aws_access_key`}}",
    "secret_key": "{{user `aws_secret_key`}}",
    "region": "eu-west-1",
    "source_ami": "ami-0307d674",
    "instance_type": "c3.2xlarge",
    "ssh_username": "ubuntu",
    "ami_name": "packer-build-slave-0.1-{{timestamp}}"
  }
  ],
  "provisioners": [
    {
    "type": "shell",
    "inline": [
      "sudo apt-get install -y ksh",
      "sudo echo 'source /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh' >> /root/.bashrc"
    ]
    },

The failing line:
sudo echo 'source /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh' >> /root/.bashrc

works fine with the Vagrant shell provisioner, and also executing it manually, after logging in with SSH.
The "sudo apt-get" command works fine as well.

Please advise.
Thanks

[rickard-von-essen]

You can't do like that, since you only sudo the _echo 'source..._ part no the redirect.

"sudo echo 'source /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh' >> /root/.bashrc"

Try something like:

"sudo bash -c \"echo 'source /etc/profile.d/rvm.sh' >> /root/.bashrc\""

And please try in a shell before automating.

[Binternet]

This also happens when I'm running this:
sudo echo "test" > /root/something

Using a standalone .sh file when I'm running a provisioner with type: shell

[rickard-von-essen]

@Binternet yes see my previous answer.

[Binternet]

@rickard-von-essen Got it, thanks.
Any reason why you need to use this syntax in packer and not just plain sudo command?

By the way, I've tried cat multiple lines into a file, quite annoying getting it to work via packer.

[rickard-von-essen]

sudo echo "test" > /root/something never works, regardless of Packer. Everything after the redirect (>) is executed as the non-privileged user, that's just how shells works.

The only thing getting a bit more annoying in Packer with inline scripts are that you need to (json) quote ", but if you have trouble with that it's time to switch to scripts.

[rickard-von-essen]

You can ask for general help with Packer and automation on _IRC #packer-tool, Freenode_ or the mailing list.

[thaniri]

It's probably a permissions error on whatever you're trying to echo into.

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