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wtf is packer?

andrewsomething/packer — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2020-05-14

GoAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 3/5DormantSetup · moderate

TL;DR

Automates building identical machine images across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and other platforms from a single configuration file, instead of setting each one up by hand.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((packer))
    What it does
      Builds machine images
      One config many platforms
      Parallel builds
    Tech Stack
      Go
      JSON config
    Use Cases
      Consistent cloud images
      Multi cloud deploys
      Vagrant boxes
    Platforms
      AWS
      Google Cloud
      Azure
      VMware
    Audience
      DevOps teams
      Infrastructure engineers

Code map

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filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Build identical machine images for AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure from one configuration file

REASON 2

Ensure consistent base images across every environment your team deploys to

REASON 3

Convert a built image into a Vagrant box for local development

REASON 4

Automate installing software onto a temporary machine and capturing it as a reusable image

What's in the stack?

GoJSON

How it stacks up

andrewsomething/packer42wim/fabio42wim/go-xmpp
LanguageGoGoGo
Last pushed2020-05-142018-02-042020-01-24
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity3/53/53/5
Audienceops devopsops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 1h+

Requires cloud provider credentials and a JSON config describing the target platform and software.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Write a Packer configuration that builds an AWS image with Redis pre-installed
Prompt 2
Show me how to build the same machine image in parallel on AWS and Google Cloud using Packer
Prompt 3
Explain how to convert a Packer-built image into a Vagrant box for local development
Prompt 4
Help me extend Packer with a plugin to target a platform it doesn't support out of the box

Frequently asked questions

wtf is packer?

Automates building identical machine images across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and other platforms from a single configuration file, instead of setting each one up by hand.

What language is packer written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, JSON.

Is packer actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2020-05-14).

How hard is packer to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is packer for?

Mainly ops devops.

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