Retrieving the randomized name Packer has selected.

[JRobertsDS]

Thanks for this project!
I am flummoxed in trying to retrieve the name that Packer has selected for the final image (.vhd) file.
The packer docs here: https://www.packer.io/docs/builders/azure/arm
say that Packer creates a random value and uses it to name many things including the final OS Disk Name, "pkros" + randomValue, and that's what appears in the storage account on azure.
I'd love to retrieve that random value during the build, but yowza, it's not obvious to me how to do it. Ideas?

[miketimofeev]

Hi @JRobertsDS! The most useful parameter is https://www.packer.io/docs/builders/azure/arm#capture_container_name
It allows you to specify the image name prefix thus it will be much easier to find the final image by this prefix, for example, you can use the timestamp as a prefix.

[JRobertsDS]

Thanks! The 'pkros' images were not the only ones in the storage account; they were not affected by changes to the parms. But there was a second container of images and their .json files, hiding more levels deep in the storage account, and with names which were controllable via the parms.

[miketimofeev]

pkros is a temporary file, which is deleted after the image is generated. The prefix should affect both resulting vhds and json files.

[JRobertsDS]

Thanks. That part worked like a champ. I appreciate your help!

[Malaw80s]

Hi @miketimofeev and @JRobertsDS,

I'm trying to capture the OSDiskUri value, so it can be used in another stage in my pipeline.
I looked at the discussion and link prived above but still was not able to wrap my head around the solution :(

my question is how can i get/capture/know the randmized value "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx" and used it later to create my OSDiskUri value?

The text here is from the link that was provided above:
capture_container_name (string) - Destination container name. Essentially the "directory" where your VHD will be organized in Azure. The captured VHD's URL will be https://<storage_account>.blob.core.windows.net/system/Microsoft.Compute/Images/<capture_container_name>/<capture_name_prefix>.xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.vhd

Thank you

[miketimofeev]

I believe it's not possible. The option I see here is to use a capture name prefix and then retrieve the full URL in the next step after the image is generated and use it further.

[al-cheb]

Set the environment variables PACKER_LOG=1 and PACKER_LOG_PATH=packer.log after the image generation is completed parse OSDiskUri from the packer.log file.

[Malaw80s]

Thanks @miketimofeev and @al-cheb, I'll check and report back

[Malaw80s]

Hi @al-cheb,
do I need to set the environment variables in my pipeline, or do I need to make the changes in the code repository?

example in pipeline:
$env:PACKER_LOG=1
$env:PACKER_LOG_PATH="packerlog.txt"

Import-Module $(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_actions_virtual-environments/helpers/GenerateResourcesAndImage.ps1

GenerateResourcesAndImage -SubscriptionId $(SubscriptionId) -ResourceGroupName "$(ResourceGroupName)" -ImageGenerationRepositoryRoot "$(System.DefaultWorkingDirectory)/_actions_virtual-environments" -ImageType $(ImageType) -AzureLocation "$(AzureLocation)" -AzureClientId $(AzureClientId) -AzureClientSecret $(AzureClientSecret) -AzureTenantId $(AzureTenantId)

Or in code repo: