[rip@nephilim]% ./pi file
file
====
Manages local files, including setting ownership and
permissions, creation of both files and directories, and
retrieving entire files from remote servers.  As Puppet matures, it
expected that the ``file`` resource will be used less and less to
manage content, and instead native resources will be used to do so.

If you find that you are often copying files in from a central
location, rather than using native resources, please contact
Reductive Labs and we can hopefully work with you to develop a
native resource to support what you are doing.


Parameters
----------

- **backup**
    Whether files should be backed up before
    being replaced.  The preferred method of backing files up is via
    a ``filebucket``, which stores files by their MD5 sums and allows
    easy retrieval without littering directories with backups.  You
    can specify a local filebucket or a network-accessible
    server-based filebucket by setting ``backup => bucket-name``.
    Alternatively, if you specify any value that begins with a ``.``
    (e.g., ``.puppet-bak``), then Puppet will use copy the file in
    the same directory with that value as the extension of the
    backup. Setting ``backup => false`` disables all backups of the
    file in question.

    Puppet automatically creates a local filebucket named ``puppet`` and
    defaults to backing up there.  To use a server-based filebucket,
    you must specify one in your configuration::

        filebucket { main:
            server => puppet
        }