Features
Gain productivity through standardizing automation
Adopt images as code
Automate image creation across clouds.
Images as code
Compose Packer config files using HCL.
Collaborate with VCS
Connect to VCS for image source code.
Parallel builds
Create images in parallel for multiple deployment environments from a single source file.
Cloud providers
Deploy images to major cloud providers from a single source file.
Image visibility
View and search state of images across all workspaces.
Image ancestry
View image descendants/dependencies.
Audit logs
Gain visibility into HCP Packer usage and stream audit logs to Amazon CloudWatch and Datadog.
Standardize best practices across your organization
Track and govern all images throughout your infrastructure estate.
Artifact registry
Publish golden images to the HCP Packer artifact registry.
Policy and enforcement
Create one security and compliance workflow for images that are provisioned across multiple clouds and private infrastructure.
Image channels
Reference image channels to always use the correct artifact version.
Channel assignment history
See when image versions were made available and who released them.
Health checks
Validate image health with Terraform continuous validation.
Image revocation
Set end-of-life dates for images and automate revocation with downstream builds across image pipelines.
Integrator ecosystem
Integrate with technology partners such as VMware, VirtualBox, and Docker. Use the 50+ community plugins including Ansible, Openstack, and Nutanix.
Scale for self-service, visibility, and optimization
Integrate Packer into the image workflows your team uses every day.
Image pipelines
Change a golden image once and update all downstream builds.
Dynamic image updates
Use the HCP provider Packer data source to manage images in Terraform.
Self-serve platform
Promote artifacts for downstream consumers, query through Terraform using HCL, and deploy with no-code provisioning.
Inherited revocation
Revoke just the base image or all associated downstream dependencies.
Channel rollback
Choose to roll back channels to previous version as part of artifact revocation.
Integrate with your existing platforms
Provisioners
Customize images with integrated and third-party tools to meet your application requirements.
Common use cases for Packer
Automated machine images
Create identical machine images for multiple platforms from a single source configuration. By codifying commonly used base images as golden images, they can be standardized, secured, and updated using automation.
Golden image pipeline
Automate updates for base images and downstream builds. Track image metadata, including parent/child ancestry relationships, to identify out-of-date builds. Extend image management to provisioning workflows with Terraform integration. Identify the correct version of images for downstream consumers to use by assigning image iterations to custom channels.
Image compliance
Codify security hardening and compliance baselines to ensure golden images are consistent. Using channels in the Packer image registry, the approved version of every image is discoverable and vulnerable images can be revoked to prevent their use.
Get started with Packer
Packer standardizes and automates the process of building system images. Get started for free and pay only for what you use.