Feature resquest: No way to delete a grain which has a nested key

[tomlaredo]

Description of Issue

Currently, there is no way to delete a grain which has a nested key.
https://docs.saltstack.com/en/latest/ref/modules/all/salt.modules.grains.html

Actions that allow nested keys:

• grains.get
• grains.append
• grains.item (even if the doc doesn't mention this capability)
• grains.remove
• grains.set

Actions that do NOT allow nested keys but should allow them:

• grains.delval
• grains.setval
• grains.setvals

Then, it's impossible to remove a grain like "foo:bar:config", even with a grains.delval "foo:bar:config" destructive=True

Versions Report

Salt Version:
Salt: 2015.8.8.2

Dependency Versions:
Jinja2: 2.7.3
M2Crypto: 0.21.1
Mako: Not Installed
PyYAML: 3.11
PyZMQ: 14.4.0
Python: 2.7.9 (default, Mar 1 2015, 12:57:24)
RAET: Not Installed
Tornado: 4.2.1
ZMQ: 4.0.5
cffi: 0.8.6
cherrypy: 3.5.0
dateutil: 2.2
gitdb: Not Installed
gitpython: Not Installed
ioflo: Not Installed
libgit2: Not Installed
libnacl: Not Installed
msgpack-pure: Not Installed
msgpack-python: 0.4.2
mysql-python: Not Installed
pycparser: 2.10
pycrypto: 2.6.1
pygit2: Not Installed
python-gnupg: Not Installed
smmap: Not Installed
timelib: Not Installed

System Versions:
dist: debian 8.4
machine: x86_64
release: 2.6.32-19-pve
system: debian 8.4

[jfindlay]

@tomlaredo, thanks for the report.

[ccrivelli]

Same with Salt 2016.3.1 on Centos7:

# salt --versions-report
Salt Version:
           Salt: 2016.3.1

Dependency Versions:
           cffi: Not Installed
       cherrypy: Not Installed
       dateutil: 2.5.3
          gitdb: Not Installed
      gitpython: Not Installed
          ioflo: Not Installed
         Jinja2: 2.7.2
        libgit2: Not Installed
        libnacl: Not Installed
       M2Crypto: Not Installed
           Mako: Not Installed
   msgpack-pure: Not Installed
 msgpack-python: 0.4.7
   mysql-python: Not Installed
      pycparser: Not Installed
       pycrypto: 2.6.1
         pygit2: Not Installed
         Python: 2.7.5 (default, Nov 20 2015, 02:00:19)
   python-gnupg: Not Installed
         PyYAML: 3.11
          PyZMQ: 14.7.0
           RAET: Not Installed
          smmap: Not Installed
        timelib: 0.2.4
        Tornado: 4.2.1
            ZMQ: 4.0.5

System Versions:
           dist: centos 7.2.1511 Core
        machine: x86_64
        release: 3.10.0-327.10.1.el7.x86_64
         system: Linux
        version: CentOS Linux 7.2.1511 Core

[Deshke]

anything on this?

[pepoluan]

Gosh, this hasn't been fixed yet?

[xinomahc]

still no fix or workaround for removing a nested key?

[d101nelson]

A co-worker mentioned this to me the other day and it looks to work. I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned in this issue:

$salt-call sys.state_doc grains.absent
local:
    ----------
    grains:
        
        Manage grains on the minion
        ===========================
        
        This state allows for grains to be set.
        Grains set or altered this way are stored in the 'grains'
        file on the minions, by default at: /etc/salt/grains
        
        Note: This does NOT override any grains set in the minion file.
    grains.absent:
        
            New in version 2014.7.0
        
            Delete a grain from the grains config file
        
            name
                The grain name
        
            destructive
                If destructive is True, delete the entire grain. If
                destructive is False, set the grain's value to None. Defaults to False.
        
            force
                If force is True, the existing grain will be overwritten
                regardless of its existing or provided value type. Defaults to False
        
                New in version v2015.8.2
        
            delimiter
                A delimiter different from the default can be provided.
        
                New in version v2015.8.2
        
            Changed in version v2015.8.2
        
            This state now support nested grains and complex values. It is also more
            conservative: if a grain has a value that is a list or a dict, it will
            not be removed unless the `force` parameter is True.
        
              grain_name:
                grains.absent: []

Even though salt-call is used below, one can also use salt * to target minions.

Examples:

# salt-call grains.set 'x:y:z' 'foo'
local:
    ----------
    changes:
        ----------
        x:
            ----------
            y:
                ----------
                z:
                    foo
    comment:
    result:
        True


# salt-call state.single grains.absent x:y:z       
local:
----------
          ID: x:y:z
    Function: grains.absent
      Result: True
     Comment: Value for grain x:y:z was set to None
     Started: 08:01:41.849917
    Duration: 93.728 ms
     Changes:   
              ----------                                                                                                                                                                                                         
              grain:
                  x:y:z
              value:
                  None

Summary for local
------------
Succeeded: 1 (changed=1)
Failed:    0
------------
Total states run:     1
Total run time:  93.728 ms


# salt-call state.single grains.absent x:y:z destructive=True
local:
----------
          ID: x:y:z
    Function: grains.absent
      Result: True
     Comment: Grain x:y:z was deleted
     Started: 08:02:07.607170
    Duration: 120.602 ms
     Changes:   
              ----------
              deleted:
                  x:y:z

Summary for local
------------
Succeeded: 1 (changed=1)
Failed:    0
------------
Total states run:     1
Total run time: 120.602 ms


# salt-call grains.get x
local:
    ----------
    y:
        ----------


# salt-call state.single grains.absent x destructive=True
[ERROR   ] The key 'x' exists but is a dict or a list. Use 'force=True' to overwrite.
local:
----------
          ID: x
    Function: grains.absent
      Result: False
     Comment: The key 'x' exists but is a dict or a list. Use 'force=True' to overwrite.
     Started: 08:02:52.840929
    Duration: 2.984 ms
     Changes:   

Summary for local
------------
Succeeded: 0
Failed:    1
------------
Total states run:     1
Total run time:   2.984 ms


# salt-call state.single grains.absent x destructive=True force=True
local:
----------
          ID: x
    Function: grains.absent
      Result: True
     Comment: Grain x was deleted
     Started: 08:02:59.906776
    Duration: 93.512 ms
     Changes:   
              ----------
              deleted:
                  x

Summary for local
------------
Succeeded: 1 (changed=1)
Failed:    0
------------
Total states run:     1
Total run time:  93.512 ms


# salt-call grains.get x
local:
# 

[thetoolsmith]

This is very helpful.
I have a use case where I need to remove an item from a list nested within another list. I haven't found the best way to do that except to get the values, remove the list grain that is nested in the other list grain, then recreate the nested list grain with the values I want.

example:
The grains looks like this:

myhost.foobar.com:
    ----------
    ztest:
        |_
          ----------
          foobar:
              - value1
              - value2
        |_
          ----------
          foobar:
              - value3
              - value4
        |_
          ----------
          otherkey:
              - value1
              - value2

My goal for example is to remove value4 from foobar which is nested in ztest grain.

[stale[bot]]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

If this issue is closed prematurely, please leave a comment and we will gladly reopen the issue.

[tomlaredo]

This feature still lacks.

[stale[bot]]

Thank you for updating this issue. It is no longer marked as stale.