Chef : Bootstrapping a node multiple times

Question

I am testing multiple cookbooks and with each cookbook I am bootstrapping my node repeatedly (only for testing purpose).
When I run chef-client on my node, I get below error:

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[2017-04-17T20:13:20-07:00] WARN: Failed to read the private key /etc/chef/client.pem: #<Errno::EACCES: Permission denied @ rb_sysopen - /etc/chef/client.pem>

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Chef encountered an error attempting to create the client "XXXX.com"
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Private Key Not Found:
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Your private key could not be loaded. If the key file exists, ensure that it is 
readable by chef-client.

Relevant Config Settings:
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validation_key "/etc/chef/validation.pem"

Platform:
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x86_64-linux

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I am using validatorless bootstrap (--bootstrap-vault-json). Can someone let me know why I am getting this error. I remember that i was able to run "chef-client" during initial bootstrapping.

coderanger coderanger · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-18T06:10:27

Without pointing out the obvious too much, this means either you removed the private key file /etc/chef/client.pem or you're not running Chef as root so it can't read that file. Make sure you are using sudo chef-client if you aren't already root.

Chef : Bootstrapping a node multiple times

1 Answers