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windows-builder

build Windows machine images with Packer

Covers Windows PowerShell Deployment Packer

Description

Build Windows images with Packer using WinRM communicator and PowerShell provisioners. Use when creating Windows AMIs, Azure images, or VMware templates.

SKILL.md

Windows Builder

Platform-agnostic patterns for building Windows images with Packer.

Reference: Windows Builders

Note: Windows builds incur significant costs and time. Expect 45-120 minutes per build due to Windows Updates. Failed builds may leave resources running - always verify cleanup.

WinRM Communicator Setup

Windows requires WinRM for Packer communication.

AWS Example

source "amazon-ebs" "windows" {
  region        = "us-west-2"
  instance_type = "t3.medium"

  source_ami_filter {
    filters = {
      name = "Windows_Server-2022-English-Full-Base-*"
    }
    most_recent = true
    owners      = ["amazon"]
  }

  ami_name = "windows-server-2022-${local.timestamp}"

  communicator   = "winrm"
  winrm_username = "Administrator"
  winrm_use_ssl  = true
  winrm_insecure = true
  winrm_timeout  = "15m"

  user_data_file = "scripts/setup-winrm.ps1"
}

WinRM Setup Script (scripts/setup-winrm.ps1)

<powershell>
# Configure WinRM
winrm quickconfig -q
winrm set winrm/config '@{MaxTimeoutms="1800000"}'
winrm set winrm/config/service '@{AllowUnencrypted="true"}'
winrm set winrm/config/service/auth '@{Basic="true"}'

# Configure firewall
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="WinRM 5985" protocol=TCP dir=in localport=5985 action=allow
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="WinRM 5986" protocol=TCP dir=in localport=5986 action=allow

# Restart WinRM
net stop winrm
net start winrm
</powershell>

Azure Example

source "azure-arm" "windows" {
  client_id       = var.client_id
  client_secret   = var.client_secret
  subscription_id = var.subscription_id
  tenant_id       = var.tenant_id

  managed_image_resource_group_name = "images-rg"
  managed_image_name                = "windows-${local.timestamp}"

  os_type         = "Windows"
  image_publisher = "MicrosoftWindowsServer"
  image_offer     = "WindowsServer"
  image_sku       = "2022-datacenter-g2"

  location = "East US"
  vm_size  = "Standard_D2s_v3"

  # Azure auto-configures WinRM
  communicator   = "winrm"
  winrm_use_ssl  = true
  winrm_insecure = true
  winrm_timeout  = "15m"
  winrm_username = "packer"
}

PowerShell Provisioners

Install Software

build {
  sources = ["source.amazon-ebs.windows"]

  # Install Chocolatey
  provisioner "powershell" {
    inline = [
      "Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force",
      "iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))"
    ]
  }

  # Install applications
  provisioner "powershell" {
    inline = [
      "choco install -y googlechrome",
      "choco install -y 7zip",
    ]
  }

  # Install IIS
  provisioner "powershell" {
    inline = [
      "Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools"
    ]
  }
}

Windows Updates

provisioner "powershell" {
  inline = [
    "Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -Force",
    "Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force",
    "Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate",
    "Get-WindowsUpdate -Install -AcceptAll -AutoReboot",
  ]
  timeout = "2h"
}

# Wait for reboots
provisioner "windows-restart" {
  restart_timeout = "30m"
}

Cleanup

provisioner "powershell" {
  inline = [
    "# Clear temp files",
    "Remove-Item -Path 'C:\\Windows\\Temp\\*' -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue",
    "# Clear Windows Update cache",
    "Stop-Service -Name wuauserv -Force",
    "Remove-Item -Path 'C:\\Windows\\SoftwareDistribution\\*' -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue",
    "Start-Service -Name wuauserv",
  ]
}

Common Issues

WinRM Timeout

  • Increase winrm_timeout to 15m or more
  • Verify security group allows ports 5985/5986
  • Check user data script completed successfully

PowerShell Execution Policy

provisioner "powershell" {
  inline = [
    "Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force",
    "# Your commands here",
  ]
}

Long Build Times

  • Windows Updates can take 1-2 hours
  • Use pre-patched base images when available
  • Set provisioner timeout = "2h"

References

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