cloud-init Cloud Config use of {name}

[bug-meister]

I'm starting to work with cloud-init and Cloud Configs. Setting the hostname is straighforward via:

hostname: {name}

This looks somewhat like a jinja template. Is the standard...

## template: jinja

...implicit here, or is this a special implementation? Can {name}, for example, be used elsewhere? Does it require the jinja format of {{ ref }} or not? If jinja is needed, I assume both python and jinja need to be installed in when the template is created, correct? I need to write a simple config file with the hostname in it.

What is the recommended approach? Thanks!

[bvitnik]

@bug-meister Nope. This is not Jinja nor any other kind of templating engine. This is a simple search-and-replace kind of implementation and is limited to name and %, the later being VM index. From the docs:

Xen Orchestra offers the ability to insert variables such as the virtual machine name {name} or a virtual machine index %. However, the expressive power is limited to the graphical interface. For instance, it is not possible to build a series of virtual machines with complex values or from external data.

Reference:

• https://docs.xcp-ng.org/guides/create-use-custom-xcpng-ubuntu-templates/

In other words, there is no advanced templating of cloud-init configuration but you could probably template it outside XenOrchestra and apply it via Terraform:

• https://registry.terraform.io/providers/vatesfr/xenorchestra/latest/docs/resources/vm