This repository contains metadata retrieval and manipulation tools for use within guests of the SmartOS (and SmartDataCenter) hypervisor. These guests may be either SmartOS Zones or KVM instances.

There are four commands provided in this consolidation:

• mdata-list(1M): list custom metadata keys in the metadata store.
• mdata-get(1M): get the value of a particular metadata key.
• mdata-put(1M): set the value of a particular metadata key.
• mdata-delete(1M): remove a metadata key.

Manual pages for these tools are available in this repository, and are shipped with SmartOS or in the package (e.g. for Ubuntu). They are also viewable on the web at the links above.

The Joyent Metadata Protocol is documented online. The programs in this repository are clients that communicate using this protocol. The SmartOS (or SmartDataCenter) hypervisor provides a common set of supported base metadata keys for guests to consume, as well as the ability to support arbitrary additional user-provided metadata.

In a SmartOS guest, a UNIX domain socket is used to communicate with the metadata server running in the hypervisor. In a KVM guest, such as a Linux virtual machine, the client tools will make use of the second serial port (e.g. ttyb or COM2) to communicate with the hypervisor.

The tools currently build and function on SmartOS and various Linux distributions. Support for other operating systems, such as *BSD or Windows, is absolutely welcome.

MIT (See LICENSE.)