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reverse order of two box components 

The metadata is optional whereas the box file is required, so it makes
sense to list the box file first.  It's also easier on the reader's
brain to start with the more obvious and easily understandable item
(which they'll probably be expecting to read about anyway) and save
the more surprising item till later.
This commit is contained in:
Adam Spiers 2014-05-02 21:43:38 +01:00
parent 606fc7a9e4
commit 0f8183426a
1 changed files with 39 additions and 39 deletions
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78
website/docs/source/v2/boxes/format.html.md
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@ -16,20 +16,53 @@ it automatically updates it internally to the new format.
Today, there are two different components:
* Box Metadata - This is a JSON document that specifies the name of the box,
a description, available versions, available providers, and URLs to the
actual box files (next component) for each provider and version. If this
metadata doesn't exist, a box file can still be added directly, but it
will not support versioning and updating.
* Box File - This is a compressed (`tar`, `tar.gz`, `zip`) file that is specific
to a single provider and can contain anything. Vagrant core doesn't ever
use the contents of this file. Instead, they are passed to the provider.
Therefore, a VirtualBox box file has different contents from a VMware
box file and so on.
* Box Metadata - This is a JSON document that specifies the name of the box,
a description, available versions, available providers, and URLs to the
actual box files (next component) for each provider and version. If this
metadata doesn't exist, a box file can still be added directly, but it
will not support versioning and updating.
Each component is covered in more detail below.
## Box File
The actual box file is the required portion for Vagrant. It is recommended
you always use a metadata file alongside a box file, but direct box files
are supported for legacy reasons in Vagrant.
Box files are compressed using `tar`, `tar.gz`, or `zip`. The contents of the
archive can be anything, and is specific to each
[provider](/v2/providers/index.html). Vagrant core itself only unpacks
the boxes for use later.
Within the archive, Vagrant does expect a single file: `metadata.json`.
This is a JSON file that is completely unrelated to the above "box metadata"
component. This file must contain at least the "provider" key with the
provider the box is for. Vagrant uses this to verify the provider of the
box. For example, if your box was for VirtualBox,
the `metadata.json` would look like this:
```json
{
"provider": "virtualbox"
}
```
If there is no `metadata.json` file or the file does not contain valid JSON
with at least a "provider" key, then Vagrant will error when adding the box,
because it can't verify the provider.
Other keys/values may be added to the metadata without issue. The value
of the metadata file is passed opaquely into Vagrant and plugins can make
use of it. At this point, Vagrant core does not use any other keys in this
file.
## Box Metadata
The metadata is an optional component for a box (but highly recommended)
@ -68,36 +101,3 @@ This JSON file can be passed directly to `vagrant box add` from the local
filesystem using a file path or via a URL, and Vagrant
will install the proper version of the box. If multiple providers are
available, Vagrant will ask what provider you want to use.
## Box File
The actual box file is the required portion for Vagrant. It is recommended
you always use a metadata file alongside a box file, but direct box files
are supported for legacy reasons in Vagrant.
Box files are compressed using `tar`, `tar.gz`, or `zip`. The contents of the
archive can be anything, and is specific to each
[provider](/v2/providers/index.html). Vagrant core itself only unpacks
the boxes for use later.
Within the archive, Vagrant does expect a single file: `metadata.json`.
This is a JSON file that is completely unrelated to the above "box metadata"
component. This file must contain at least the "provider" key with the
provider the box is for. Vagrant uses this to verify the provider of the
box. For example, if your box was for VirtualBox,
the `metadata.json` would look like this:
```json
{
"provider": "virtualbox"
}
```
If there is no `metadata.json` file or the file does not contain valid JSON
with at least a "provider" key, then Vagrant will error when adding the box,
because it can't verify the provider.
Other keys/values may be added to the metadata without issue. The value
of the metadata file is passed opaquely into Vagrant and plugins can make
use of it. At this point, Vagrant core does not use any other keys in this
file.