What is Vagrant?

Vagrant is an open-source tool for building and managing virtual machine environments in a single workflow. It provides easy-to-configure, reproducible, and portable work environments built on top of industry-standard technology and controlled by a single consistent workflow.

Key Features

  • Reproducible Environments: Consistent development environments across teams
  • Multi-Provider Support: Works with VirtualBox, VMware, AWS, and more
  • Provisioning: Automated setup using shell scripts, Ansible, Chef, or Puppet
  • Networking: Flexible networking options for VM communication
  • Synced Folders: Share files between host and guest machines
  • Multi-Machine: Define and control multiple machines with single Vagrantfile

Vagrantfile Example

                    
# -*- mode: ruby -*-
# vi: set ft=ruby :

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  # Base box
  config.vm.box = "ubuntu/bionic64"
  
  # Network configuration
  config.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.33.10"
  config.vm.network "forwarded_port", guest: 80, host: 8080
  
  # Synced folders
  config.vm.synced_folder "./src", "/var/www/html"
  
  # Provider-specific configuration
  config.vm.provider "virtualbox" do |vb|
    vb.memory = "1024"
    vb.cpus = 2
  end
  
  # Provisioning
  config.vm.provision "shell", inline: <<-SHELL
    apt-get update
    apt-get install -y apache2 php mysql-server
    systemctl enable apache2
    systemctl start apache2
  SHELL
  
  # Multi-machine setup
  config.vm.define "web" do |web|
    web.vm.box = "ubuntu/bionic64"
    web.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.33.11"
  end
  
  config.vm.define "db" do |db|
    db.vm.box = "ubuntu/bionic64"
    db.vm.network "private_network", ip: "192.168.33.12"
  end
end

Common Vagrant Commands

                    
# Initialize a new Vagrant environment
vagrant init ubuntu/bionic64

# Start and provision the vagrant environment
vagrant up

# SSH into the running Vagrant machine
vagrant ssh

# Reload the Vagrant machine (restart with new config)
vagrant reload

# Suspend the machine
vagrant suspend

# Resume a suspended machine
vagrant resume

# Stop the running machine
vagrant halt

# Destroy the machine
vagrant destroy

# Check status of machines
vagrant status

# Show global status of all Vagrant environments
vagrant global-status

Benefits of Using Vagrant

  • Environment Consistency: Same environment across development, testing, and production
  • Easy Onboarding: New team members can get started quickly
  • Isolation: Keep development environments separate from host system
  • Version Control: Vagrantfile can be version controlled with project code
  • Cost Effective: Reduce infrastructure costs for development environments