Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Puppet open source fork OpenVox arrives

news
Jan 25, 20252 mins

OpenVox is a drop-in replacement for Puppet that uses the same commands, settings, modules, and extensions, maintainer Vox Pupuli said.

close up view of wooden puppets Pinochios with long noses red hats white collars red shirts with yellow buttons
Credit: www.twin-loc.fr

The Vox Pupuli collective group has announced the first release of OpenVox, a community-maintained open source implementation of the Puppet configuration management system.

Introduced January 21, the OpenVox automation framework is designed to be a drop-in replacement for Puppet, but currently comes with a caveat: “Be aware, of course, that even though you can type the same commands, use all the same modules and extensions, and configure the same settings, OpenVox is not yet tested to the same standard that Puppet is,” Ben Ford of Vox Pupuli wrote in a blog post announcing the release.

OpenVox began as a Puppet mirror by Overlook Infratech providing community packages when Perforce discontinued public packaging efforts in late-2024, according to Vox Pupuli, which considers the project a “soft fork” because they intend to maintain downstream compatibility for as long as possible. Vox Pupuli says it has created a Puppet Standards Steering Committee to set the direction of features and language evolutions and has invited Perforce to participate.

Instructions for installing OpenVox and guidance for uninstalling Puppet can be found at voxpupuli.org.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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