# Configuring the Salt Minion

The Salt system is amazingly simple and easy to configure. The two components of the Salt system each have a respective configuration file. The salt-master is configured via the master configuration file, and the salt-minion is configured via the minion configuration file.

See also

example minion configuration file

The Salt Minion configuration is very simple. Typically, the only value that needs to be set is the master value so the minion knows where to locate its master.

By default, the salt-minion configuration will be in `/etc/salt/minion`. A notable exception is FreeBSD, where the configuration will be in `/usr/local/etc/salt/minion`.

## Minion Primary Configuration

### `master`

Default: `salt`

The hostname or IP address of the master. See `ipv6` for IPv6 connections to the master.

Default: `salt`

    master: salt

#### master:port Syntax

New in version 2015.8.0.

The `master` config option can also be set to use the master's IP in conjunction with a port number by default.

    master: localhost:1234

For IPv6 formatting with a port, remember to add brackets around the IP address before adding the port and enclose the line in single quotes to make it a string:

    master: '[2001:db8:85a3:8d3:1319:8a2e:370:7348]:1234'

Note

If a port is specified in the `master` as well as `master_port`, the `master_port` setting will be overridden by the `master` configuration.

#### List of Masters Syntax

The option can also be set to a list of masters, enabling multi-master mode.

    master:
      - address1
      - address2

Changed in version 2014.7.0: The master can be dynamically configured. The `master` value can be set to an module function which will be executed and will assume that the returning value is the ip or hostname of the desired master. If a function is being specified, then the `master_type` option must be set to `func`, to tell the minion that the value is a function to be run and not a fully-qualified domain name.

    master: module.function
    master_type: func

In addition, instead of using multi-master mode, the minion can be configured to use the list of master addresses as a failover list, trying the first address, then the second, etc. until the minion successfully connects. To enable this behavior, set `master_type` to `failover`:

    master:
      - address1
      - address2
    master_type: failover

### `color`

Default: `True`

By default output is colored. To disable colored output, set the color value to `False`.

### `ipv6`

Default: `None`

Whether the master should be connected over IPv6. By default salt minion will try to automatically detect IPv6 connectivity to master.

    ipv6: True

### `master_uri_format`

New in version 2015.8.0.

Specify the format in which the master address will be evaluated. Valid options are `default` or `ip_only`. If `ip_only` is specified, then the master address will not be split into IP and PORT, so be sure that only an IP (or domain name) is set in the `master` configuration setting.

    master_uri_format: ip_only

### `master_tops_first`

New in version 2018.3.0.

Default: `False`

SLS targets defined using the Master Tops system are normally executed after any matches defined in the Top File. Set this option to `True` to have the minion execute the Master Tops states first.

    master_tops_first: True

### `master_type`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Default: `str`

The type of the `master` variable. Can be `str`, `failover`, `func` or `disable`.

    master_type: str

If this option is `str` (default), multiple hot masters are configured. Minions can connect to multiple masters simultaneously (all master are "hot").

    master_type: failover

If this option is set to `failover`, `master` must be a list of master addresses. The minion will then try each master in the order specified in the list until it successfully connects. `master_alive_interval` must also be set, this determines how often the minion will verify the presence of the master.

    master_type: func

If the master needs to be dynamically assigned by executing a function instead of reading in the static master value, set this to `func`. This can be used to manage the minion's master setting from an execution module. By simply changing the algorithm in the module to return a new master ip/fqdn, restart the minion and it will connect to the new master.

As of version 2016.11.0 this option can be set to `disable` and the minion will never attempt to talk to the master. This is useful for running a masterless minion daemon.

    master_type: disable

### `max_event_size`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Default: `1048576`

Passing very large events can cause the minion to consume large amounts of memory. This value tunes the maximum size of a message allowed onto the minion event bus. The value is expressed in bytes.

    max_event_size: 1048576

### `enable_legacy_startup_events`

New in version 2019.2.0.

Default: `True`

When a minion starts up it sends a notification on the event bus with a tag that looks like this: `salt/minion/<minion_id>/start`. For historical reasons the minion also sends a similar event with an event tag like this: `minion_start`. This duplication can cause a lot of clutter on the event bus when there are many minions. Set `enable_legacy_startup_events: False` in the minion config to ensure only the `salt/minion/<minion_id>/start` events are sent. Beginning with the `3001` Salt release this option will default to `False`.

    enable_legacy_startup_events: True

### `master_failback`

New in version 2016.3.0.

Default: `False`

If the minion is in multi-master mode and the :conf_minion`master_type` configuration option is set to `failover`, this setting can be set to `True` to force the minion to fail back to the first master in the list if the first master is back online.

    master_failback: False

### `master_failback_interval`

New in version 2016.3.0.

Default: `0`

If the minion is in multi-master mode, the :conf_minion`master_type` configuration is set to `failover`, and the `master_failback` option is enabled, the master failback interval can be set to ping the top master with this interval, in seconds.

    master_failback_interval: 0

### `master_alive_interval`

Default: `0`

Configures how often, in seconds, the minion will verify that the current master is alive and responding. The minion will try to establish a connection to the next master in the list if it finds the existing one is dead.

    master_alive_interval: 30

### `master_shuffle`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Deprecated since version 2019.2.0.

Default: `False`

Warning

This option has been deprecated in Salt `2019.2.0`. Please use `random_master` instead.

    master_shuffle: True

### `random_master`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Changed in version 2019.2.0: The `master_failback` option can be used in conjunction with `random_master` to force the minion to fail back to the first master in the list if the first master is back online. Note that `master_type` must be set to `failover` in order for the `master_failback` setting to work.

Default: `False`

If `master` is a list of addresses, shuffle them before trying to connect to distribute the minions over all available masters. This uses Python's `random.shuffle` method.

If multiple masters are specified in the 'master' setting as a list, the default behavior is to always try to connect to them in the order they are listed. If `random_master` is set to True, the order will be randomized instead upon Minion startup. This can be helpful in distributing the load of many minions executing `salt-call` requests, for example, from a cron job. If only one master is listed, this setting is ignored and a warning is logged.

    random_master: True

Note

When the `failover`, `master_failback`, and `random_master` options are used together, only the "secondary masters" will be shuffled. The first master in the list is ignored in the `random.shuffle` call. See `master_failback` for more information.

### `retry_dns`

Default: `30`

Set the number of seconds to wait before attempting to resolve the master hostname if name resolution fails. Defaults to 30 seconds. Set to zero if the minion should shutdown and not retry.

    retry_dns: 30

### `retry_dns_count`

New in version 2018.3.4.

Default: `None`

Set the number of attempts to perform when resolving the master hostname if name resolution fails. By default the minion will retry indefinitely.

    retry_dns_count: 3

### `master_port`

Default: `4506`

The port of the master ret server, this needs to coincide with the ret_port option on the Salt master.

    master_port: 4506

### `publish_port`

Default: `4505`

The port of the master publish server, this needs to coincide with the publish_port option on the Salt master.

    publish_port: 4505

### `source_interface_name`

New in version 2018.3.0.

The name of the interface to use when establishing the connection to the Master.

Note

If multiple IP addresses are configured on the named interface, the first one will be selected. In that case, for a better selection, consider using the `source_address` option.

Note

To use an IPv6 address from the named interface, make sure the option `ipv6` is enabled, i.e., `ipv6: true`.

Note

If the interface is down, it will avoid using it, and the Minion will bind to `0.0.0.0` (all interfaces).

Warning

This option requires modern version of the underlying libraries used by the selected transport:

- `zeromq` requires `pyzmq` >= 16.0.1 and `libzmq` >= 4.1.6

- `tcp` requires `tornado` >= 4.5

Configuration example:

    source_interface_name: bond0.1234

### `source_address`

New in version 2018.3.0.

The source IP address or the domain name to be used when connecting the Minion to the Master. See `ipv6` for IPv6 connections to the Master.

Warning

This option requires modern version of the underlying libraries used by the selected transport:

- `zeromq` requires `pyzmq` >= 16.0.1 and `libzmq` >= 4.1.6

- `tcp` requires `tornado` >= 4.5

Configuration example:

    source_address: if-bond0-1234.sjc.us-west.internal

### `source_ret_port`

New in version 2018.3.0.

The source port to be used when connecting the Minion to the Master ret server.

Warning

This option requires modern version of the underlying libraries used by the selected transport:

- `zeromq` requires `pyzmq` >= 16.0.1 and `libzmq` >= 4.1.6

- `tcp` requires `tornado` >= 4.5

Configuration example:

    source_ret_port: 49017

### `source_publish_port`

New in version 2018.3.0.

The source port to be used when connecting the Minion to the Master publish server.

Warning

This option requires modern version of the underlying libraries used by the selected transport:

- `zeromq` requires `pyzmq` >= 16.0.1 and `libzmq` >= 4.1.6

- `tcp` requires `tornado` >= 4.5

Configuration example:

    source_publish_port: 49018

### `user`

Default: `root`

The user to run the Salt processes

    user: root

### `sudo_user`

Default: `''`

The user to run salt remote execution commands as via sudo. If this option is enabled then sudo will be used to change the active user executing the remote command. If enabled the user will need to be allowed access via the sudoers file for the user that the salt minion is configured to run as. The most common option would be to use the root user. If this option is set the `user` option should also be set to a non-root user. If migrating from a root minion to a non root minion the minion cache should be cleared and the minion pki directory will need to be changed to the ownership of the new user.

    sudo_user: root

### `pidfile`

Default: `/var/run/salt-minion.pid`

The location of the daemon's process ID file

    pidfile: /var/run/salt-minion.pid

### `root_dir`

Default: `/`

This directory is prepended to the following options: `pki_dir`, `cachedir`, `log_file`, `sock_dir`, and `pidfile`.

    root_dir: /

### `conf_file`

Default: `/etc/salt/minion`

The path to the minion's configuration file.

    conf_file: /etc/salt/minion

### `pki_dir`

Default: `/etc/salt/pki/minion`

The directory used to store the minion's public and private keys.

    pki_dir: /etc/salt/pki/minion

### `id`

Default: the system's hostname

See also

Salt Walkthrough

The Setting up a Salt Minion section contains detailed information on how the hostname is determined.

Explicitly declare the id for this minion to use. Since Salt uses detached ids it is possible to run multiple minions on the same machine but with different ids.

    id: foo.bar.com

### `minion_id_caching`

New in version 0.17.2.

Default: `True`

Caches the minion id to a file when the minion's `id` is not statically defined in the minion config. This setting prevents potential problems when automatic minion id resolution changes, which can cause the minion to lose connection with the master. To turn off minion id caching, set this config to `False`.

For more information, please see Issue #7558 and Pull Request #8488.

    minion_id_caching: True

### `append_domain`

Default: `None`

Append a domain to a hostname in the event that it does not exist. This is useful for systems where `socket.getfqdn()` does not actually result in a FQDN (for instance, Solaris).

    append_domain: foo.org

### `minion_id_remove_domain`

New in version 3000.

Default: `False`

Remove a domain when the minion id is generated as a fully qualified domain name (either by the user provided `id_function`, or by Salt). This is useful when the minions shall be named like hostnames. Can be a single domain (to prevent name clashes), or True, to remove all domains.

Examples:

  - minion_id_remove_domain = foo.org - FQDN = king_bob.foo.org --> minion_id = king_bob - FQDN = king_bob.bar.org --> minion_id = king_bob.bar.org

  - minion_id_remove_domain = True - FQDN = king_bob.foo.org --> minion_id = king_bob - FQDN = king_bob.bar.org --> minion_id = king_bob

For more information, please see issue #49212 and PR #49378.

    minion_id_remove_domain: foo.org

### `minion_id_lowercase`

Default: `False`

Convert minion id to lowercase when it is being generated. Helpful when some hosts get the minion id in uppercase. Cached ids will remain the same and not converted.

    minion_id_lowercase: True

### `cachedir`

Default: `/var/cache/salt/minion`

The location for minion cache data.

This directory may contain sensitive data and should be protected accordingly.

    cachedir: /var/cache/salt/minion

### `color_theme`

Default: `""`

Specifies a path to the color theme to use for colored command line output.

    color_theme: /etc/salt/color_theme

### `append_minionid_config_dirs`

Default: `[]` (the empty list) for regular minions, `['cachedir']` for proxy minions.

Append minion_id to these configuration directories. Helps with multiple proxies and minions running on the same machine. Allowed elements in the list: `pki_dir`, `cachedir`, `extension_modules`. Normally not needed unless running several proxies and/or minions on the same machine.

    append_minionid_config_dirs:
      - pki_dir
      - cachedir

### `verify_env`

Default: `True`

Verify and set permissions on configuration directories at startup.

    verify_env: True

Note

When set to `True` the verify_env option requires WRITE access to the configuration directory (/etc/salt/). In certain situations such as mounting /etc/salt/ as read-only for templating this will create a stack trace when `state.apply` is called.

### `cache_jobs`

Default: `False`

The minion can locally cache the return data from jobs sent to it, this can be a good way to keep track of the minion side of the jobs the minion has executed. By default this feature is disabled, to enable set cache_jobs to `True`.

    cache_jobs: False

### `grains`

Default: (empty)

See also

Using grains in a state

Statically assigns grains to the minion.

    grains:
      roles:
        - webserver
        - memcache
      deployment: datacenter4
      cabinet: 13
      cab_u: 14-15

### `grains_blacklist`

Default: `[]`

Each grains key will be compared against each of the expressions in this list. Any keys which match will be filtered from the grains. Exact matches, glob matches, and regular expressions are supported.

Note

Some states and execution modules depend on grains. Filtering may cause them to be unavailable or run unreliably.

New in version 3000.

    grains_blacklist:
      - cpu_flags
      - zmq*
      - ipv[46]

### `grains_cache`

Default: `False`

The minion can locally cache grain data instead of refreshing the data each time the grain is referenced. By default this feature is disabled, to enable set `grains_cache` to `True`.

    grains_cache: False

### `grains_cache_expiration`

Default: `300`

Grains cache expiration, in seconds. If the cache file is older than this number of seconds then the grains cache will be dumped and fully re-populated with fresh data. Defaults to 5 minutes. Will have no effect if `grains_cache` is not enabled.

    grains_cache_expiration: 300

### `grains_deep_merge`

New in version 2016.3.0.

Default: `False`

The grains can be merged, instead of overridden, using this option. This allows custom grains to defined different subvalues of a dictionary grain. By default this feature is disabled, to enable set grains_deep_merge to `True`.

    grains_deep_merge: False

For example, with these custom grains functions:

    def custom1_k1():
        return {"custom1": {"k1": "v1"}}

    def custom1_k2():
        return {"custom1": {"k2": "v2"}}

Without `grains_deep_merge`, the result would be:

    custom1:
      k1: v1

With `grains_deep_merge`, the result will be:

    custom1:
      k1: v1
      k2: v2

### `grains_refresh_every`

Default: `0`

The `grains_refresh_every` setting allows for a minion to periodically check its grains to see if they have changed and, if so, to inform the master of the new grains. This operation is moderately expensive, therefore care should be taken not to set this value too low.

Note: This value is expressed in minutes.

A value of 10 minutes is a reasonable default.

    grains_refresh_every: 0

### `grains_refresh_pre_exec`

New in version 3005.

Default: `False`

The `grains_refresh_pre_exec` setting allows for a minion to check its grains prior to the execution of any operation to see if they have changed and, if so, to inform the master of the new grains. This operation is moderately expensive, therefore care should be taken before enabling this behavior.

    grains_refresh_pre_exec: True

### `metadata_server_grains`

New in version 2017.7.0.

Default: `False`

Set this option to enable gathering of cloud metadata from `http://169.254.169.254/latest` for use in grains (see `here` for more information).

    metadata_server_grains: True

### `fibre_channel_grains`

Default: `False`

The `fibre_channel_grains` setting will enable the `fc_wwn` grain for Fibre Channel WWN's on the minion. Since this grain is expensive, it is disabled by default.

    fibre_channel_grains: True

### `iscsi_grains`

Default: `False`

The `iscsi_grains` setting will enable the `iscsi_iqn` grain on the minion. Since this grain is expensive, it is disabled by default.

    iscsi_grains: True

### `nvme_grains`

Default: `False`

The `nvme_grains` setting will enable the `nvme_nqn` grain on the minion. Since this grain is expensive, it is disabled by default.

    nvme_grains: True

### `mine_enabled`

New in version 2015.8.10.

Default: `True`

Determines whether or not the salt minion should run scheduled mine updates. If this is set to False then the mine update function will not get added to the scheduler for the minion.

    mine_enabled: True

### `mine_return_job`

New in version 2015.8.10.

Default: `False`

Determines whether or not scheduled mine updates should be accompanied by a job return for the job cache.

    mine_return_job: False

### `mine_functions`

Default: Empty

Designate which functions should be executed at mine_interval intervals on each minion. See this documentation on the Salt Mine for more information. Note these can be defined in the pillar for a minion as well.

> example minion configuration file

    mine_functions:
      test.ping: []
      network.ip_addrs:
        interface: eth0
        cidr: '10.0.0.0/8'

### `mine_interval`

Default: `60`

The number of minutes between mine updates.

    mine_interval: 60

### `sock_dir`

Default: `/var/run/salt/minion`

The directory where Unix sockets will be kept.

    sock_dir: /var/run/salt/minion

### `enable_fqdns_grains`

Default: `True`

In order to calculate the fqdns grain, all the IP addresses from the minion are processed with underlying calls to `socket.gethostbyaddr` which can take 5 seconds to be released (after reaching `socket.timeout`) when there is no fqdn for that IP. These calls to `socket.gethostbyaddr` are processed asynchronously, however, it still adds 5 seconds every time grains are generated if an IP does not resolve. In Windows grains are regenerated each time a new process is spawned. Therefore, the default for Windows is `False`. In many cases this value does not make sense to include for proxy minions as it will be FQDN for the host running the proxy minion process, so the default for proxy minions is `False``. All other OSes default to `True`. This options was added here.

    enable_fqdns_grains: False

### `enable_gpu_grains`

Default: `True`

Enable GPU hardware data for your master. Be aware that the minion can take a while to start up when lspci and/or dmidecode is used to populate the grains for the minion, so this can be set to `False` if you do not need these grains.

    enable_gpu_grains: False

### `outputter_dirs`

Default: `[]`

A list of additional directories to search for salt outputters in.

    outputter_dirs: []

### `backup_mode`

Default: `''`

Make backups of files replaced by `file.managed` and `file.recurse` state modules under `cachedir` in `file_backup` subdirectory preserving original paths. Refer to File State Backups documentation for more details.

    backup_mode: minion

### `acceptance_wait_time`

Default: `10`

The number of seconds to wait until attempting to re-authenticate with the master.

    acceptance_wait_time: 10

### `acceptance_wait_time_max`

Default: `0`

The maximum number of seconds to wait until attempting to re-authenticate with the master. If set, the wait will increase by `acceptance_wait_time` seconds each iteration.

    acceptance_wait_time_max: 0

### `rejected_retry`

Default: `False`

If the master rejects the minion's public key, retry instead of exiting. Rejected keys will be handled the same as waiting on acceptance.

    rejected_retry: False

### `random_reauth_delay`

Default: `10`

When the master key changes, the minion will try to re-auth itself to receive the new master key. In larger environments this can cause a syn-flood on the master because all minions try to re-auth immediately. To prevent this and have a minion wait for a random amount of time, use this optional parameter. The wait-time will be a random number of seconds between 0 and the defined value.

    random_reauth_delay: 60

### `master_tries`

New in version 2016.3.0.

Default: `1`

The number of attempts to connect to a master before giving up. Set this to `-1` for unlimited attempts. This allows for a master to have downtime and the minion to reconnect to it later when it comes back up. In 'failover' mode, which is set in the `master_type` configuration, this value is the number of attempts for each set of masters. In this mode, it will cycle through the list of masters for each attempt.

`master_tries` is different than `auth_tries` because `auth_tries` attempts to retry auth attempts with a single master. `auth_tries` is under the assumption that you can connect to the master but not gain authorization from it. `master_tries` will still cycle through all of the masters in a given try, so it is appropriate if you expect occasional downtime from the master(s).

    master_tries: 1

### `auth_tries`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Default: `7`

The number of attempts to authenticate to a master before giving up. Or, more technically, the number of consecutive SaltReqTimeoutErrors that are acceptable when trying to authenticate to the master.

    auth_tries: 7

### `auth_timeout`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Default: `5`

When waiting for a master to accept the minion's public key, salt will continuously attempt to reconnect until successful. This is the timeout value, in seconds, for each individual attempt. After this timeout expires, the minion will wait for `acceptance_wait_time` seconds before trying again. Unless your master is under unusually heavy load, this should be left at the default.

Note

For high latency networks try increasing this value

    auth_timeout: 5

### `auth_safemode`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Default: `False`

If authentication fails due to SaltReqTimeoutError during a ping_interval, this setting, when set to `True`, will cause a sub-minion process to restart.

    auth_safemode: False

### `ping_interval`

Default: `0`

Instructs the minion to ping its master(s) every n number of minutes. Used primarily as a mitigation technique against minion disconnects.

    ping_interval: 0

### `random_startup_delay`

Default: `0`

The maximum bound for an interval in which a minion will randomly sleep upon starting up prior to attempting to connect to a master. This can be used to splay connection attempts for cases where many minions starting up at once may place undue load on a master.

For example, setting this to `5` will tell a minion to sleep for a value between `0` and `5` seconds.

    random_startup_delay: 5

### `recon_default`

Default: `1000`

The interval in milliseconds that the socket should wait before trying to reconnect to the master (1000ms = 1 second).

    recon_default: 1000

### `recon_max`

Default: `10000`

The maximum time a socket should wait. Each interval the time to wait is calculated by doubling the previous time. If recon_max is reached, it starts again at the recon_default.

Short example:

  - reconnect 1: the socket will wait 'recon_default' milliseconds

  - reconnect 2: 'recon_default' * 2

  - reconnect 3: ('recon_default' * 2) * 2

  - reconnect 4: value from previous interval * 2

  - reconnect 5: value from previous interval * 2

  - reconnect x: if value >= recon_max, it starts again with recon_default

    recon_max: 10000

### `recon_randomize`

Default: `True`

Generate a random wait time on minion start. The wait time will be a random value between recon_default and recon_default + recon_max. Having all minions reconnect with the same recon_default and recon_max value kind of defeats the purpose of being able to change these settings. If all minions have the same values and the setup is quite large (several thousand minions), they will still flood the master. The desired behavior is to have time-frame within all minions try to reconnect.

    recon_randomize: True

### `loop_interval`

Default: `1`

The loop_interval sets how long in seconds the minion will wait between evaluating the scheduler and running cleanup tasks. This defaults to 1 second on the minion scheduler.

    loop_interval: 1

### `pub_ret`

Default: True

Some installations choose to start all job returns in a cache or a returner and forgo sending the results back to a master. In this workflow, jobs are most often executed with --async from the Salt CLI and then results are evaluated by examining job caches on the minions or any configured returners. WARNING: Setting this to False will disable returns back to the master.

    pub_ret: True

### `return_retry_timer`

Default: `5`

The default timeout for a minion return attempt.

    return_retry_timer: 5

### `return_retry_timer_max`

Default: `10`

The maximum timeout for a minion return attempt. If non-zero the minion return retry timeout will be a random int between `return_retry_timer` and `return_retry_timer_max`

    return_retry_timer_max: 10

### `return_retry_tries`

Default: `3`

The maximum number of retries for a minion return attempt.

    return_retry_tries: 3

### `cache_sreqs`

Default: `True`

The connection to the master ret_port is kept open. When set to False, the minion creates a new connection for every return to the master.

    cache_sreqs: True

### `ipc_mode`

Default: `ipc`

Windows platforms lack POSIX IPC and must rely on slower TCP based inter- process communications. `ipc_mode` is set to `tcp` on such systems.

    ipc_mode: ipc

### `tcp_pub_port`

Default: `4510`

Publish port used when `ipc_mode` is set to `tcp`.

    tcp_pub_port: 4510

### `tcp_pull_port`

Default: `4511`

Pull port used when `ipc_mode` is set to `tcp`.

    tcp_pull_port: 4511

### `transport`

Default: `zeromq`

Changes the underlying transport layer. ZeroMQ is the recommended transport while additional transport layers are under development. Supported values are `zeromq` and `tcp` (experimental). This setting has a significant impact on performance and should not be changed unless you know what you are doing!

    transport: zeromq

### `syndic_finger`

Default: `''`

The key fingerprint of the higher-level master for the syndic to verify it is talking to the intended master.

    syndic_finger: 'ab:30:65:2a:d6:9e:20:4f:d8:b2:f3:a7:d4:65:50:10'

### `http_connect_timeout`

New in version 2019.2.0.

Default: `20`

HTTP connection timeout in seconds. Applied when fetching files using tornado back-end. Should be greater than overall download time.

    http_connect_timeout: 20

### `http_request_timeout`

New in version 2015.8.0.

Default: `3600`

HTTP request timeout in seconds. Applied when fetching files using tornado back-end. Should be greater than overall download time.

    http_request_timeout: 3600

### `proxy_host`

Default: `''`

The hostname used for HTTP proxy access.

    proxy_host: proxy.my-domain

### `proxy_port`

Default: `0`

The port number used for HTTP proxy access.

    proxy_port: 31337

### `proxy_username`

Default: `''`

The username used for HTTP proxy access.

    proxy_username: charon

### `proxy_password`

Default: `''`

The password used for HTTP proxy access.

    proxy_password: obolus

### `no_proxy`

New in version 2019.2.0.

Default: `[]`

List of hosts to bypass HTTP proxy

Note

This key does nothing unless proxy_host etc is configured, it does not support any kind of wildcards.

    no_proxy: [ '127.0.0.1', 'foo.tld' ]

### `use_yamlloader_old`

New in version 2019.2.1.

Default: `False`

Use the pre-2019.2 YAML renderer. Uses legacy YAML rendering to support some legacy inline data structures. See the 2019.2.1 release notes for more details.

    use_yamlloader_old: False

## Docker Configuration

### `docker.update_mine`

New in version 2017.7.8,2018.3.3.

Changed in version 2019.2.0: The default value is now `False`

Default: `True`

If enabled, when containers are added, removed, stopped, started, etc., the mine will be updated with the results of `docker.ps verbose=True all=True host=True`. This mine data is used by `mine.get_docker`. Set this option to `False` to keep Salt from updating the mine with this information.

Note

This option can also be set in Grains or Pillar data, with Grains overriding Pillar and the minion config file overriding Grains.

Note

Disabling this will of course keep `mine.get_docker` from returning any information for a given minion.

    docker.update_mine: False

### `docker.compare_container_networks`

New in version 2018.3.0.

Default: `{'static': ['Aliases', 'Links', 'IPAMConfig'], 'automatic': ['IPAddress', 'Gateway', 'GlobalIPv6Address', 'IPv6Gateway']}`

Specifies which keys are examined by `docker.compare_container_networks`.

Note

This should not need to be modified unless new features added to Docker result in new keys added to the network configuration which must be compared to determine if two containers have different network configs. This config option exists solely as a way to allow users to continue using Salt to manage their containers after an API change, without waiting for a new Salt release to catch up to the changes in the Docker API.

    docker.compare_container_networks:
      static:
        - Aliases
        - Links
        - IPAMConfig
      automatic:
        - IPAddress
        - Gateway
        - GlobalIPv6Address
        - IPv6Gateway

### `optimization_order`

Default: `[0, 1, 2]`

In cases where Salt is distributed without .py files, this option determines the priority of optimization level(s) Salt's module loader should prefer.

Note

This option is only supported on Python 3.5+.

    optimization_order:
      - 2
      - 0
      - 1

## Minion Execution Module Management

### `disable_modules`

Default: `[]` (all execution modules are enabled by default)

The event may occur in which the administrator desires that a minion should not be able to execute a certain module.

However, the `sys` module is built into the minion and cannot be disabled.

This setting can also tune the minion. Because all modules are loaded into system memory, disabling modules will lower the minion's memory footprint.

Modules should be specified according to their file name on the system and not by their virtual name. For example, to disable `cmd`, use the string `cmdmod` which corresponds to `salt.modules.cmdmod`.

    disable_modules:
      - test
      - solr

### `disable_returners`

Default: `[]` (all returners are enabled by default)

If certain returners should be disabled, this is the place

    disable_returners:
      - mongo_return

### `whitelist_modules`

Default: `[]` (Module whitelisting is disabled. Adding anything to the config option will cause only the listed modules to be enabled. Modules not in the list will not be loaded.)

This option is the reverse of disable_modules. If enabled, only execution modules in this list will be loaded and executed on the minion.

Note that this is a very large hammer and it can be quite difficult to keep the minion working the way you think it should since Salt uses many modules internally itself. At a bare minimum you need the following enabled or else the minion won't start.

    whitelist_modules:
      - cmdmod
      - test
      - config

### `module_dirs`

Default: `[]`

A list of extra directories to search for Salt modules

    module_dirs:
      - /var/lib/salt/modules

### `returner_dirs`

Default: `[]`

A list of extra directories to search for Salt returners

    returner_dirs:
      - /var/lib/salt/returners

### `states_dirs`

Default: `[]`

A list of extra directories to search for Salt states

    states_dirs:
      - /var/lib/salt/states

### `grains_dirs`

Default: `[]`

A list of extra directories to search for Salt grains

    grains_dirs:
      - /var/lib/salt/grains

### `render_dirs`

Default: `[]`

A list of extra directories to search for Salt renderers

    render_dirs:
      - /var/lib/salt/renderers

### `utils_dirs`

Default: `[]`

A list of extra directories to search for Salt utilities

    utils_dirs:
      - /var/lib/salt/utils

### `cython_enable`

Default: `False`

Set this value to true to enable auto-loading and compiling of `.pyx` modules, This setting requires that `gcc` and `cython` are installed on the minion.

    cython_enable: False

### `enable_zip_modules`

New in version 2015.8.0.

Default: `False`

Set this value to true to enable loading of zip archives as extension modules. This allows for packing module code with specific dependencies to avoid conflicts and/or having to install specific modules' dependencies in system libraries.

    enable_zip_modules: False

### `providers`

Default: (empty)

A module provider can be statically overwritten or extended for the minion via the `providers` option. This can be done on an individual basis in an SLS file, or globally here in the minion config, like below.

    providers:
      service: systemd

### `modules_max_memory`

Default: `-1`

Specify a max size (in bytes) for modules on import. This feature is currently only supported on *NIX operating systems and requires psutil.

    modules_max_memory: -1

### `extmod_whitelist/extmod_blacklist`

New in version 2017.7.0.

By using this dictionary, the modules that are synced to the minion's extmod cache using saltutil.sync_* can be limited. If nothing is set to a specific type, then all modules are accepted. To block all modules of a specific type, whitelist an empty list.

    extmod_whitelist:
      modules:
        - custom_module
      engines:
        - custom_engine
      pillars: []

    extmod_blacklist:
      modules:
        - specific_module

Valid options:

> - beacons

> - clouds

> - sdb

> - modules

> - states

> - grains

> - renderers

> - returners

> - proxy

> - engines

> - output

> - utils

> - pillar

## Top File Settings

These parameters only have an effect if running a masterless minion.

### `state_top`

Default: `top.sls`

The state system uses a "top" file to tell the minions what environment to use and what modules to use. The state_top file is defined relative to the root of the base environment.

    state_top: top.sls

### `state_top_saltenv`

This option has no default value. Set it to an environment name to ensure that only the top file from that environment is considered during a highstate.

Note

Using this value does not change the merging strategy. For instance, if `top_file_merging_strategy` is set to `merge`, and `state_top_saltenv` is set to `foo`, then any sections for environments other than `foo` in the top file for the `foo` environment will be ignored. With `state_top_saltenv` set to `base`, all states from all environments in the `base` top file will be applied, while all other top files are ignored. The only way to set `state_top_saltenv` to something other than `base` and not have the other environments in the targeted top file ignored, would be to set `top_file_merging_strategy` to `merge_all`.

    state_top_saltenv: dev

### `top_file_merging_strategy`

Changed in version 2016.11.0: A `merge_all` strategy has been added.

Default: `merge`

When no specific fileserver environment (a.k.a. `saltenv`) has been specified for a highstate, all environments' top files are inspected. This config option determines how the SLS targets in those top files are handled.

When set to `merge`, the `base` environment's top file is evaluated first, followed by the other environments' top files. The first target expression (e.g. `'*'`) for a given environment is kept, and when the same target expression is used in a different top file evaluated later, it is ignored. Because `base` is evaluated first, it is authoritative. For example, if there is a target for `'*'` for the `foo` environment in both the `base` and `foo` environment's top files, the one in the `foo` environment would be ignored. The environments will be evaluated in no specific order (aside from `base` coming first). For greater control over the order in which the environments are evaluated, use `env_order`. Note that, aside from the `base` environment's top file, any sections in top files that do not match that top file's environment will be ignored. So, for example, a section for the `qa` environment would be ignored if it appears in the `dev` environment's top file. To keep use cases like this from being ignored, use the `merge_all` strategy.

When set to `same`, then for each environment, only that environment's top file is processed, with the others being ignored. For example, only the `dev` environment's top file will be processed for the `dev` environment, and any SLS targets defined for `dev` in the `base` environment's (or any other environment's) top file will be ignored. If an environment does not have a top file, then the top file from the `default_top` config parameter will be used as a fallback.

When set to `merge_all`, then all states in all environments in all top files will be applied. The order in which individual SLS files will be executed will depend on the order in which the top files were evaluated, and the environments will be evaluated in no specific order. For greater control over the order in which the environments are evaluated, use `env_order`.

    top_file_merging_strategy: same

### `env_order`

Default: `[]`

When `top_file_merging_strategy` is set to `merge`, and no environment is specified for a highstate, this config option allows for the order in which top files are evaluated to be explicitly defined.

    env_order:
      - base
      - dev
      - qa

### `default_top`

Default: `base`

When `top_file_merging_strategy` is set to `same`, and no environment is specified for a highstate (i.e. `environment` is not set for the minion), this config option specifies a fallback environment in which to look for a top file if an environment lacks one.

    default_top: dev

### `startup_states`

Default: `''`

States to run when the minion daemon starts. To enable, set `startup_states` to:

- `highstate`: Execute state.highstate

- `sls`: Read in the sls_list option and execute the named sls files

- `top`: Read top_file option and execute based on that file on the Master

    startup_states: ''

### `sls_list`

Default: `[]`

List of states to run when the minion starts up if `startup_states` is set to `sls`.

    sls_list:
      - edit.vim
      - hyper

### `start_event_grains`

Default: `[]`

List of grains to pass in start event when minion starts up.

    start_event_grains:
      - machine_id
      - uuid

### `top_file`

Default: `''`

Top file to execute if `startup_states` is set to `top`.

    top_file: ''

## State Management Settings

### `renderer`

Default: `jinja|yaml`

The default renderer used for local state executions

    renderer: jinja|json

### `test`

Default: `False`

Set all state calls to only test if they are going to actually make changes or just post what changes are going to be made.

    test: False

### `state_aggregate`

Default: `False`

Automatically aggregate all states that have support for `mod_aggregate` by setting to `True`.

    state_aggregate: True

Or pass a list of state module names to automatically aggregate just those types.

    state_aggregate:
      - pkg

### `state_verbose`

Default: `True`

Controls the verbosity of state runs. By default, the results of all states are returned, but setting this value to `False` will cause salt to only display output for states that failed or states that have changes.

    state_verbose: True

### `state_output`

Default: `full`

The state_output setting controls which results will be output full multi line:

- `full`, `terse` - each state will be full/terse

- `mixed` - only states with errors will be full

- `changes` - states with changes and errors will be full

`full_id`, `mixed_id`, `changes_id` and `terse_id` are also allowed; when set, the state ID will be used as name in the output.

    state_output: full

### `state_output_diff`

Default: `False`

The state_output_diff setting changes whether or not the output from successful states is returned. Useful when even the terse output of these states is cluttering the logs. Set it to True to ignore them.

    state_output_diff: False

### `state_output_profile`

Default: `True`

The `state_output_profile` setting changes whether profile information will be shown for each state run.

    state_output_profile: True

### `state_output_pct`

Default: `False`

The `state_output_pct` setting changes whether success and failure information as a percent of total actions will be shown for each state run.

    state_output_pct: False

### `state_compress_ids`

Default: `False`

The `state_compress_ids` setting aggregates information about states which have multiple "names" under the same state ID in the highstate output.

    state_compress_ids: False

### `autoload_dynamic_modules`

Default: `True`

autoload_dynamic_modules turns on automatic loading of modules found in the environments on the master. This is turned on by default. To turn off auto-loading modules when states run, set this value to `False`.

    autoload_dynamic_modules: True

### `clean_dynamic_modules`

Default: `True`

clean_dynamic_modules keeps the dynamic modules on the minion in sync with the dynamic modules on the master. This means that if a dynamic module is not on the master it will be deleted from the minion. By default this is enabled and can be disabled by changing this value to `False`.

    clean_dynamic_modules: True

Note

If `extmod_whitelist` is specified, modules which are not whitelisted will also be cleaned here.

### `saltenv`

Changed in version 2018.3.0: Renamed from `environment` to `saltenv`. If `environment` is used, `saltenv` will take its value. If both are used, `environment` will be ignored and `saltenv` will be used.

Normally the minion is not isolated to any single environment on the master when running states, but the environment can be isolated on the minion side by statically setting it. Remember that the recommended way to manage environments is to isolate via the top file.

    saltenv: dev

### `lock_saltenv`

New in version 2018.3.0.

Default: `False`

For purposes of running states, this option prevents using the `saltenv` argument to manually set the environment. This is useful to keep a minion which has the `saltenv` option set to `dev` from running states from an environment other than `dev`.

    lock_saltenv: True

### `snapper_states`

Default: False

The snapper_states value is used to enable taking snapper snapshots before and after salt state runs. This allows for state runs to be rolled back.

For snapper states to function properly snapper needs to be installed and enabled.

    snapper_states: True

### `snapper_states_config`

Default: `root`

Snapper can execute based on a snapper configuration. The configuration needs to be set up before snapper can use it. The default configuration is `root`, this default makes snapper run on SUSE systems using the default configuration set up at install time.

    snapper_states_config: root

## File Directory Settings

### `file_client`

Default: `remote`

The client defaults to looking on the master server for files, but can be directed to look on the minion by setting this parameter to `local`.

    file_client: remote

### `use_master_when_local`

Default: `False`

When using a local `file_client`, this parameter is used to allow the client to connect to a master for remote execution.

    use_master_when_local: False

### `file_roots`

Default:

    base:
      - /srv/salt

When using a local `file_client`, this parameter is used to setup the fileserver's environments. This parameter operates identically to the `master config parameter` of the same name.

    file_roots:
      base:
        - /srv/salt
      dev:
        - /srv/salt/dev/services
        - /srv/salt/dev/states
      prod:
        - /srv/salt/prod/services
        - /srv/salt/prod/states

### `fileserver_followsymlinks`

New in version 2014.1.0.

Default: `True`

By default, the file_server follows symlinks when walking the filesystem tree. Currently this only applies to the default roots fileserver_backend.

    fileserver_followsymlinks: True

### `fileserver_ignoresymlinks`

New in version 2014.1.0.

Default: `False`

If you do not want symlinks to be treated as the files they are pointing to, set `fileserver_ignoresymlinks` to `True`. By default this is set to False. When set to `True`, any detected symlink while listing files on the Master will not be returned to the Minion.

    fileserver_ignoresymlinks: False

### `hash_type`

Default: `sha256`

The hash_type is the hash to use when discovering the hash of a file on the local fileserver. The default is sha256, but md5, sha1, sha224, sha384, and sha512 are also supported.

    hash_type: sha256

## Pillar Configuration

### `pillar_roots`

Default:

    base:
      - /srv/pillar

When using a local `file_client`, this parameter is used to setup the pillar environments.

    pillar_roots:
      base:
        - /srv/pillar
      dev:
        - /srv/pillar/dev
      prod:
        - /srv/pillar/prod

### `on_demand_ext_pillar`

New in version 2016.3.6,2016.11.3,2017.7.0.

Default: `['libvirt', 'virtkey']`

When using a local `file_client`, this option controls which external pillars are permitted to be used on-demand using `pillar.ext`.

    on_demand_ext_pillar:
      - libvirt
      - virtkey
      - git

Warning

This will allow a masterless minion to request specific pillar data via `pillar.ext`, and may be considered a security risk. However, pillar data generated in this way will not affect the in-memory pillar data, so this risk is limited to instances in which states/modules/etc. (built-in or custom) rely upon pillar data generated by `pillar.ext`.

### `decrypt_pillar`

New in version 2017.7.0.

Default: `[]`

A list of paths to be recursively decrypted during pillar compilation.

    decrypt_pillar:
      - 'foo:bar': gpg
      - 'lorem:ipsum:dolor'

Entries in this list can be formatted either as a simple string, or as a key/value pair, with the key being the pillar location, and the value being the renderer to use for pillar decryption. If the former is used, the renderer specified by `decrypt_pillar_default` will be used.

### `decrypt_pillar_delimiter`

New in version 2017.7.0.

Default: `:`

The delimiter used to distinguish nested data structures in the `decrypt_pillar` option.

    decrypt_pillar_delimiter: '|'
    decrypt_pillar:
      - 'foo|bar': gpg
      - 'lorem|ipsum|dolor'

### `decrypt_pillar_default`

New in version 2017.7.0.

Default: `gpg`

The default renderer used for decryption, if one is not specified for a given pillar key in `decrypt_pillar`.

    decrypt_pillar_default: my_custom_renderer

### `decrypt_pillar_renderers`

New in version 2017.7.0.

Default: `['gpg']`

List of renderers which are permitted to be used for pillar decryption.

    decrypt_pillar_renderers:
      - gpg
      - my_custom_renderer

### `gpg_decrypt_must_succeed`

New in version 3005.

Default: `False`

If this is `True` and the ciphertext could not be decrypted, then an error is raised.

Sending the ciphertext through basically is never desired, for example if a state is setting a database password from pillar and gpg rendering fails, then the state will update the password to the ciphertext, which by definition is not encrypted.

Warning

The value defaults to `False` for backwards compatibility. In the `Chlorine` release, this option will default to `True`.

    gpg_decrypt_must_succeed: False

### `pillarenv`

Default: `None`

Isolates the pillar environment on the minion side. This functions the same as the environment setting, but for pillar instead of states.

    pillarenv: dev

### `pillarenv_from_saltenv`

New in version 2017.7.0.

Default: `False`

When set to `True`, the `pillarenv` value will assume the value of the effective saltenv when running states. This essentially makes `salt '*' state.sls mysls saltenv=dev` equivalent to `salt '*' state.sls mysls saltenv=dev pillarenv=dev`. If `pillarenv` is set, either in the minion config file or via the CLI, it will override this option.

    pillarenv_from_saltenv: True

### `pillar_raise_on_missing`

New in version 2015.5.0.

Default: `False`

Set this option to `True` to force a `KeyError` to be raised whenever an attempt to retrieve a named value from pillar fails. When this option is set to `False`, the failed attempt returns an empty string.

### `minion_pillar_cache`

New in version 2016.3.0.

Default: `False`

The minion can locally cache rendered pillar data under `cachedir`/pillar. This allows a temporarily disconnected minion to access previously cached pillar data by invoking salt-call with the --local and --pillar_root=:conf_minion:cachedir/pillar options. Before enabling this setting consider that the rendered pillar may contain security sensitive data. Appropriate access restrictions should be in place. By default the saved pillar data will be readable only by the user account running salt. By default this feature is disabled, to enable set minion_pillar_cache to `True`.

    minion_pillar_cache: False

### `file_recv_max_size`

New in version 2014.7.0.

Default: `100`

Set a hard-limit on the size of the files that can be pushed to the master. It will be interpreted as megabytes.

    file_recv_max_size: 100

### `pass_to_ext_pillars`

Specify a list of configuration keys whose values are to be passed to external pillar functions.

Suboptions can be specified using the ':' notation (i.e. `option:suboption`)

The values are merged and included in the `extra_minion_data` optional parameter of the external pillar function. The `extra_minion_data` parameter is passed only to the external pillar functions that have it explicitly specified in their definition.

If the config contains

    opt1: value1
    opt2:
      subopt1: value2
      subopt2: value3

    pass_to_ext_pillars:
      - opt1
      - opt2: subopt1

the `extra_minion_data` parameter will be

    {"opt1": "value1", "opt2": {"subopt1": "value2"}}

### `ssh_merge_pillar`

New in version 2018.3.2.

Default: `True`

Merges the compiled pillar data with the pillar data already available globally. This is useful when using `salt-ssh` or `salt-call --local` and overriding the pillar data in a state file:

    apply_showpillar:
      module.run:
        - name: state.apply
        - mods:
          - showpillar
        - kwargs:
              pillar:
                  test: "foo bar"

If set to `True`, the `showpillar` state will have access to the global pillar data.

If set to `False`, only the overriding pillar data will be available to the `showpillar` state.

## Security Settings

### `open_mode`

Default: `False`

Open mode can be used to clean out the PKI key received from the Salt master, turn on open mode, restart the minion, then turn off open mode and restart the minion to clean the keys.

    open_mode: False

### `master_finger`

Default: `''`

Fingerprint of the master public key to validate the identity of your Salt master before the initial key exchange. The master fingerprint can be found as `master.pub` by running "salt-key -F master" on the Salt master.

    master_finger: 'ba:30:65:2a:d6:9e:20:4f:d8:b2:f3:a7:d4:65:11:13'

### `keysize`

Default: `2048`

The size of key that should be generated when creating new keys.

    keysize: 2048

### `permissive_pki_access`

Default: `False`

Enable permissive access to the salt keys. This allows you to run the master or minion as root, but have a non-root group be given access to your pki_dir. To make the access explicit, root must belong to the group you've given access to. This is potentially quite insecure.

    permissive_pki_access: False

### `verify_master_pubkey_sign`

Default: `False`

Enables verification of the master-public-signature returned by the master in auth-replies. Please see the tutorial on how to configure this properly Multimaster-PKI with Failover Tutorial

New in version 2014.7.0.

    verify_master_pubkey_sign: True

If this is set to `True`, `master_sign_pubkey` must be also set to `True` in the master configuration file.

### `master_sign_key_name`

Default: `master_sign`

The filename without the .pub suffix of the public key that should be used for verifying the signature from the master. The file must be located in the minion's pki directory.

New in version 2014.7.0.

    master_sign_key_name: <filename_without_suffix>

### `autosign_grains`

New in version 2018.3.0.

Default: `not defined`

The grains that should be sent to the master on authentication to decide if the minion's key should be accepted automatically.

Please see the Autoaccept Minions from Grains documentation for more information.

    autosign_grains:
      - uuid
      - server_id

### `always_verify_signature`

Default: `False`

If `verify_master_pubkey_sign` is enabled, the signature is only verified if the public-key of the master changes. If the signature should always be verified, this can be set to `True`.

New in version 2014.7.0.

    always_verify_signature: True

### `cmd_blacklist_glob`

Default: `[]`

If `cmd_blacklist_glob` is enabled then any shell command called over remote execution or via salt-call will be checked against the glob matches found in the cmd_blacklist_glob list and any matched shell command will be blocked.

Note

This blacklist is only applied to direct executions made by the salt and salt-call commands. This does NOT blacklist commands called from states or shell commands executed from other modules.

New in version 2016.11.0.

    cmd_blacklist_glob:
      - 'rm * '
      - 'cat /etc/* '

### `cmd_whitelist_glob`

Default: `[]`

If `cmd_whitelist_glob` is enabled then any shell command called over remote execution or via salt-call will be checked against the glob matches found in the cmd_whitelist_glob list and any shell command NOT found in the list will be blocked. If cmd_whitelist_glob is NOT SET, then all shell commands are permitted.

Note

This whitelist is only applied to direct executions made by the salt and salt-call commands. This does NOT restrict commands called from states or shell commands executed from other modules.

New in version 2016.11.0.

    cmd_whitelist_glob:
      - 'ls * '
      - 'cat /etc/fstab'

### `ssl`

New in version 2016.11.0.

Default: `None`

TLS/SSL connection options. This could be set to a dictionary containing arguments corresponding to python `ssl.wrap_socket` method. For details see Tornado and Python documentation.

Note: to set enum arguments values like `cert_reqs` and `ssl_version` use constant names without ssl module prefix: `CERT_REQUIRED` or `PROTOCOL_SSLv23`.

    ssl:
        keyfile: <path_to_keyfile>
        certfile: <path_to_certfile>
        ssl_version: PROTOCOL_TLSv1_2

## Reactor Settings

### `reactor`

Default: `[]`

Defines a salt reactor. See the Reactor documentation for more information.

    reactor: []

### `reactor_refresh_interval`

Default: `60`

The TTL for the cache of the reactor configuration.

    reactor_refresh_interval: 60

### `reactor_worker_threads`

Default: `10`

The number of workers for the runner/wheel in the reactor.

    reactor_worker_threads: 10

### `reactor_worker_hwm`

Default: `10000`

The queue size for workers in the reactor.

    reactor_worker_hwm: 10000

## Thread Settings

### `multiprocessing`

Default: `True`

If `multiprocessing` is enabled when a minion receives a publication a new process is spawned and the command is executed therein. Conversely, if `multiprocessing` is disabled the new publication will be run executed in a thread.

    multiprocessing: True

### `process_count_max`

New in version 2018.3.0.

Default: `-1`

Limit the maximum amount of processes or threads created by `salt-minion`. This is useful to avoid resource exhaustion in case the minion receives more publications than it is able to handle, as it limits the number of spawned processes or threads. `-1` is the default and disables the limit.

    process_count_max: -1

## Minion Logging Settings

### `log_file`

Default: `/var/log/salt/minion`

The minion log can be sent to a regular file, local path name, or network location. See also `log_file`.

Examples:

    log_file: /var/log/salt/minion

    log_file: file:///dev/log

    log_file: udp://loghost:10514

### `log_level`

Default: `warning`

The level of messages to send to the console. See also `log_level`.

    log_level: warning

### `log_level_logfile`

Default: `warning`

The level of messages to send to the log file. See also `log_level_logfile`. When it is not set explicitly it will inherit the level set by `log_level` option.

    log_level_logfile: warning

### `log_datefmt`

Default: `%H:%M:%S`

The date and time format used in console log messages. See also `log_datefmt`.

    log_datefmt: '%H:%M:%S'

### `log_datefmt_logfile`

Default: `%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S`

The date and time format used in log file messages. See also `log_datefmt_logfile`.

    log_datefmt_logfile: '%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'

### `log_fmt_console`

Default: `[%(levelname)-8s] %(message)s`

The format of the console logging messages. See also `log_fmt_console`.

Note

Log colors are enabled in `log_fmt_console` rather than the `color` config since the logging system is loaded before the minion config.

Console log colors are specified by these additional formatters:

%(colorlevel)s %(colorname)s %(colorprocess)s %(colormsg)s

Since it is desirable to include the surrounding brackets, '[' and ']', in the coloring of the messages, these color formatters also include padding as well. Color LogRecord attributes are only available for console logging.

    log_fmt_console: '%(colorlevel)s %(colormsg)s'
    log_fmt_console: '[%(levelname)-8s] %(message)s'

### `log_fmt_logfile`

Default: `%(asctime)s,%(msecs)03d [%(name)-17s][%(levelname)-8s] %(message)s`

The format of the log file logging messages. See also `log_fmt_logfile`.

    log_fmt_logfile: '%(asctime)s,%(msecs)03d [%(name)-17s][%(levelname)-8s] %(message)s'

### `log_granular_levels`

Default: `{}`

This can be used to control logging levels more specifically. See also `log_granular_levels`.

### `log_rotate_max_bytes`

Default: `0`

The maximum number of bytes a single log file may contain before it is rotated. A value of 0 disables this feature. Currently only supported on Windows. On other platforms, use an external tool such as 'logrotate' to manage log files. `log_rotate_max_bytes`

### `log_rotate_backup_count`

Default: `0`

The number of backup files to keep when rotating log files. Only used if `log_rotate_max_bytes` is greater than 0. Currently only supported on Windows. On other platforms, use an external tool such as 'logrotate' to manage log files. `log_rotate_backup_count`

### `zmq_monitor`

Default: `False`

To diagnose issues with minions disconnecting or missing returns, ZeroMQ supports the use of monitor sockets to log connection events. This feature requires ZeroMQ 4.0 or higher.

To enable ZeroMQ monitor sockets, set 'zmq_monitor' to 'True' and log at a debug level or higher.

A sample log event is as follows:

    [DEBUG   ] ZeroMQ event: {'endpoint': 'tcp://127.0.0.1:4505', 'event': 512,
    'value': 27, 'description': 'EVENT_DISCONNECTED'}

All events logged will include the string `ZeroMQ event`. A connection event should be logged as the minion starts up and initially connects to the master. If not, check for debug log level and that the necessary version of ZeroMQ is installed.

### `tcp_authentication_retries`

Default: `5`

The number of times to retry authenticating with the salt master when it comes back online.

Zeromq does a lot to make sure when connections come back online that they reauthenticate. The tcp transport should try to connect with a new connection if the old one times out on reauthenticating.

-1 for infinite tries.

### `tcp_reconnect_backoff`

Default: `1`

The time in seconds to wait before attempting another connection with salt master when the previous connection fails while on TCP transport.

### `failhard`

Default: `False`

Set the global failhard flag. This informs all states to stop running states at the moment a single state fails

    failhard: False

## Include Configuration

Configuration can be loaded from multiple files. The order in which this is done is:

1. The minion config file itself

2. The files matching the glob in `default_include`

3. The files matching the glob in `include` (if defined)

Each successive step overrides any values defined in the previous steps. Therefore, any config options defined in one of the `default_include` files would override the same value in the minion config file, and any options defined in `include` would override both.

### `default_include`

Default: `minion.d/*.conf`

The minion can include configuration from other files. Per default the minion will automatically include all config files from minion.d/*.conf where minion.d is relative to the directory of the minion configuration file.

Note

Salt creates files in the `minion.d` directory for its own use. These files are prefixed with an underscore. A common example of this is the `_schedule.conf` file.

### `include`

Default: `not defined`

The minion can include configuration from other files. To enable this, pass a list of paths to this option. The paths can be either relative or absolute; if relative, they are considered to be relative to the directory the main minion configuration file lives in. Paths can make use of shell-style globbing. If no files are matched by a path passed to this option then the minion will log a warning message.

    # Include files from a minion.d directory in the same
    # directory as the minion config file
    include: minion.d/*.conf

    # Include a single extra file into the configuration
    include: /etc/roles/webserver

    # Include several files and the minion.d directory
    include:
      - extra_config
      - minion.d/*
      - /etc/roles/webserver

## Keepalive Settings

### `tcp_keepalive`

Default: `True`

The tcp keepalive interval to set on TCP ports. This setting can be used to tune Salt connectivity issues in messy network environments with misbehaving firewalls.

    tcp_keepalive: True

### `tcp_keepalive_cnt`

Default: `-1`

Sets the ZeroMQ TCP keepalive count. May be used to tune issues with minion disconnects.

    tcp_keepalive_cnt: -1

### `tcp_keepalive_idle`

Default: `300`

Sets ZeroMQ TCP keepalive idle. May be used to tune issues with minion disconnects.

    tcp_keepalive_idle: 300

### `tcp_keepalive_intvl`

Default: `-1`

Sets ZeroMQ TCP keepalive interval. May be used to tune issues with minion disconnects.

    tcp_keepalive_intvl': -1

## Frozen Build Update Settings

These options control how `salt.modules.saltutil.update()` works with esky frozen apps. For more information look at https://github.com/cloudmatrix/esky/.

### `update_url`

Default: `False` (Update feature is disabled)

The url to use when looking for application updates. Esky depends on directory listings to search for new versions. A webserver running on your Master is a good starting point for most setups.

    update_url: 'http://salt.example.com/minion-updates'

### `update_restart_services`

Default: `[]` (service restarting on update is disabled)

A list of services to restart when the minion software is updated. This would typically just be a list containing the minion's service name, but you may have other services that need to go with it.

    update_restart_services: ['salt-minion']

## Windows Software Repo Settings

These settings apply to all minions, whether running in masterless or master-minion mode.

### `winrepo_cache_expire_min`

New in version 2016.11.0.

Default: `1800`

If set to a nonzero integer, then passing `refresh=True` to functions in the `windows pkg module` will not refresh the windows repo metadata if the age of the metadata is less than this value. The exception to this is `pkg.refresh_db`, which will always refresh the metadata, regardless of age.

    winrepo_cache_expire_min: 1800

### `winrepo_cache_expire_max`

New in version 2016.11.0.

Default: `21600`

If the windows repo metadata is older than this value, and the metadata is needed by a function in the `windows pkg module`, the metadata will be refreshed.

    winrepo_cache_expire_max: 86400

### `winrepo_source_dir`

Default: `salt://win/repo-ng/`

The source location for the winrepo sls files.

    winrepo_source_dir: salt://win/repo-ng/

## Standalone Minion Windows Software Repo Settings

The following settings are for configuring the Windows Software Repository (winrepo) on a masterless minion. To run in masterless minion mode, set the `file_client` to `local` or run `salt-call` with the `--local` option

Important

These config options are only valid for minions running in masterless mode

### `winrepo_dir`

Changed in version 2015.8.0: Renamed from `win_repo` to `winrepo_dir`. This option did not have a default value until this version.

Default: `C:\salt\srv\salt\win\repo`

Location on the minion `file_roots` where winrepo files are kept. This is also where the `winrepo_remotes` are cloned to by `winrepo.update_git_repos`.

    winrepo_dir: 'D:\winrepo'

### `winrepo_dir_ng`

New in version 2015.8.0: A new ng repo was added.

Default: `C:\salt\srv\salt\win\repo-ng`

Location on the minion `file_roots` where winrepo files are kept for 2018.8.0 and later minions. This is also where the `winrepo_remotes` are cloned to by `winrepo.update_git_repos`.

    winrepo_dir_ng: /srv/salt/win/repo-ng

### `winrepo_cachefile`

Changed in version 2015.8.0: Renamed from `win_repo_cachefile` to `winrepo_cachefile`. Also, this option did not have a default value until this version.

Default: `winrepo.p`

The name of the winrepo cache file. The file will be created at root of the directory specified by `winrepo_dir_ng`.

    winrepo_cachefile: winrepo.p

### `winrepo_remotes`

Changed in version 2015.8.0: Renamed from `win_gitrepos` to `winrepo_remotes`. Also, this option did not have a default value until this version.

New in version 2015.8.0.

Default: `['https://github.com/saltstack/salt-winrepo.git']`

List of git repositories to checkout and include in the winrepo

    winrepo_remotes:
      - https://github.com/saltstack/salt-winrepo.git

To specify a specific revision of the repository, prepend a commit ID to the URL of the repository:

    winrepo_remotes:
      - '<commit_id> https://github.com/saltstack/salt-winrepo.git'

Replace `<commit_id>` with the SHA1 hash of a commit ID. Specifying a commit ID is useful in that it allows one to revert back to a previous version in the event that an error is introduced in the latest revision of the repo.

### `winrepo_remotes_ng`

New in version 2015.8.0: A new ng repo was added.

Default: `['https://github.com/saltstack/salt-winrepo-ng.git']`

List of git repositories to checkout and include in the winrepo for 2015.8.0 and later minions.

    winrepo_remotes_ng:
      - https://github.com/saltstack/salt-winrepo-ng.git

To specify a specific revision of the repository, prepend a commit ID to the URL of the repository:

    winrepo_remotes_ng:
      - '<commit_id> https://github.com/saltstack/salt-winrepo-ng.git'

Replace `<commit_id>` with the SHA1 hash of a commit ID. Specifying a commit ID is useful in that it allows one to revert back to a previous version in the event that an error is introduced in the latest revision of the repo.