How to Use the Command 'pulumi about' (with Examples)

The pulumi about command is a powerful and informative tool provided by Pulumi, an open-source infrastructure as code (IaC) tool. It is primarily used to gather and display vital information about the Pulumi environment in which you are working. Understanding your Pulumi environment can be crucial for troubleshooting, optimization, and ensuring compatibility between different components and versions within your infrastructure code.

Use Case 1: Print Information About the Pulumi Environment

Code:

pulumi about

Motivation:

This use case is aimed at users who wish to obtain a quick overview of the current Pulumi environment they are working in. This could include the Pulumi version, information about the system, relevant configuration settings, and supported backends. It is particularly useful for developers and system administrators who want to ensure that their environment setup is correct and for auditing purposes when changes need to be made.

Explanation:

The command pulumi about does not require any additional arguments to function. Upon execution, it reads the local environment configurations and outputs a summarized view of the environment settings. This provides a high-level understanding without overwhelming the user with unnecessary details.

Example Output:

CLI
Version:   v3.0.0
Go Version: go1.15.5
Go Compiler: gc
Architecture: amd64

Plugins
NAME    VERSION
aws     v4.3.0
azure   v3.4.0

Host
OS:                linux
Architecture:      amd64
PLATFORM SUPPORT   YES

Use Case 2: Print Information About the Pulumi Environment in JSON Format

Code:

pulumi about --json

Motivation:

Printing the environment information in JSON format is particularly beneficial when you need to programmatically parse or process this information using scripts or other software tools. This is ideal for users who are integrating Pulumi within automated pipelines or require the environment data to be consumed by other applications for further analysis and processing.

Explanation:

The --json flag modifies the output format of the pulumi about command. Instead of producing a human-readable text format, it transforms the output into a structured JSON format. This structured output is machine-readable and easily interpretable by various programming and scripting languages.

Example Output:

{
  "version": "v3.0.0",
  "goVersion": "go1.15.5",
  "os": "linux",
  "architecture": "amd64",
  "plugins": {
    "aws": "v4.3.0",
    "azure": "v3.4.0"
  }
}

Use Case 3: Print Information About the Pulumi Environment of a Specific Stack

Code:

pulumi about --stack stack_name

Motivation:

This use case is designed for those who manage multiple stacks and need to retrieve specific information related to a particular stack they are working with. This can be extremely helpful in scenarios where you want to verify the configuration or review settings pertinent to a specific infrastructure deployment context.

Explanation:

The --stack flag, followed by the desired stack’s name, tailors the environment information to reflect settings and configurations associated with the specified stack. This is especially useful for segregating environments and ensuring that stack-specific configurations meet expectations.

Example Output:

STACK
Name:  stack_name
Config:
    aws:region: us-west-2
    org: my-organization
Protected: true

Use Case 4: Display Help

Code:

pulumi about --help

Motivation:

Utilizing the help functionality is essential for both new users and seasoned administrators. It provides immediate guidance on how to use the command, details its various flags and options, and helps users quickly understand its capabilities without needing to resort to external documentation.

Explanation:

The --help flag is universally understood across many command-line interfaces as a way to access detailed help content. For the pulumi about command, executing this flag outputs a description of the command and its options, offering a toolbox reference guide at your fingertips.

Example Output:

Usage: pulumi about [options]

Displays information about the Pulumi environment.

Options:
  --json        Emit output as JSON
  --stack       Specify a stack to get information about
  -h, --help    Show help information

Conclusion:

The pulumi about command is a versatile tool that provides comprehensive insights into your Pulumi environment. Whether you’re a developer seeking quick overviews, an automation engineer needing formatted data for scripts, or an administrator looking for targeted stack information, pulumi about meets a wide range of needs, making it an indispensable part of the Pulumi CLI toolkit.