Configure gemrc to specify a local gem repository for Puppet📍

My deployment is not connected to the internet. Where do I put my gemrc file to specify a local gem repository for Puppet?

Version and installation information

PE version: 5.0 and later 
Installation type: Standard

Solution

Sometimes gems need to be installed on agents, sometimes on the primary server, and sometimes both. Since puppetserver is a JVM, sometimes the gem needs to be installed into the puppetserver JVM. With that in mind, we have steps for each of these contexts.

To use gemrc on Puppet agents and/or the primary server

Complete these steps on all agents that install gems from an internal gem repo. If you need external network access, you might want to set a proxy server up.

The configuration file for customizing management and installation of gems used with Puppet is /opt/puppetlabs/puppet/etc/gemrc. This directory does not exist by default, so you must create it.

1. Create the directory:

   mkdir /opt/puppetlabs/puppet/etc/

2. Copy your gemrc file to the directory:

   cp <YOUR GEMRC FILE> /opt/puppetlabs/puppet/etc/gemrc

3. Verify your configuration change by running:

   /opt/puppetlabs/puppet/bin/gem environment

To use gemrc in the puppetserver JVM

To use gemrc with the puppetserver command, you must install the .gemrc in the home directory of the user executing the puppetserver command on the primary server. We suggest that you add the .gemrc to both the root and puppet user for consistency.

Copy the .gemrc to the appropriate directory as needed, for example:

• For the puppet user:

  cp <YOUR GEMRC FILE> ~puppet/.gemrc

• For the root user:

  cp <YOUR GEMRC FILE> /root/.gemrc

Additional Resources

• Clarify puppetserver gemrc
• Puppetserver using Ruby Gems