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Using HCL with Packer

While Packer was initially created to allow users to use JSON to describe their desired image builds, it now also supported HashiCorp Configuration Language 2, which has some additional benefits to JSON, such as breaking up our build into reusable files. In this lab, we'll explore creating a parallel Amazon and Docker image build using HCL building blocks.

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Lab platform
Lab Info
Level
Intermediate
Last updated
Aug 10, 2025
Duration
30m

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Table of Contents
  1. Challenge

    Refactor the Sources
    1. Review the setup of the current build.
    2. Notice both builders and how they are set up.
    3. Let's now re-create the amazon-ebs build as our first source.
      • Be sure to update the access_key, secret_key, and subnet_id with the values provided on the lab page.
    4. Save and exit, and then do the same for Docker.
    5. Save and exit.
  2. Challenge

    Refactor the Builds
    1. Review the provisioners, noting how one uses the only option. This means we need to think about how we break up our build. Let's first create our production build.
    2. Add our dev build.
    3. Remove the last shell provisioner block and update the source.
  3. Challenge

    Test the Build
    1. Test the build.
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