Getting Started with AutoPkg Recipes

What is the primary use case of an AutoPkg Recipe?

To determine if a new version of software has been released since the last run of the recipe, and if so, download it, process it, and import it into a software distribution system. Any software distribution system could be used, but there is existing support for the following: BigFix, Filewave, Jamf Pro, LANrev, Munki, SCCM, and more.

What is an AutoPkg Recipe?

It is a sequence of repeatable steps defined in a YAML file (or historically an Apple Plist XML file) that are run by AutoPkg.

Example: WindowsUpdateCatalog.download.recipe

Recipes can run another recipe automatically by declaring it as a parent recipe of the current recipe. This allows independent and shareable steps to be separated and maintained independently.

Example: WindowsUpdateCatalog.bigfix.recipe

A very common use case is that a single download recipe is used by many different child recipes that further process the downloaded file.

What are the typical steps of an AutoPkg run?

1. Download Recipe:
   1. Determine the download URL (unless it is static)
   2. Determine if the download has changed
   3. Download the file(s)
   4. Check security of file (signatures, virustotal, or others)
   5. Optional: Determine further metadata about the file (version, hashes, size, etc)
2. Software Deployment Recipe:
   1. Optional: Determine further metadata about the file (version, hashes, size, etc)
   2. Process the files as needed (potentially repackage)
   3. Import the new version into a software distribution system
   4. Optional: Deploy to test systems

Each of these steps could be broken down into multiple sub steps, or in some cases, combined into a single step.