What term is used to refer to the instruction files in Puppet?

In Puppet, the term used to refer to the instruction files is "Puppet manifests." Manifests are files that define the desired state of a system and include the specific configurations and resources that need to be managed. These files are written in Puppet's domain-specific language (DSL) and carry the .pp file extension.

Manifests play a crucial role in how Puppet operates, as they describe how Puppet should configure and manage the system, detailing resources such as packages, services, and file settings. When a Puppet agent runs, it pulls these manifests from a Puppet server and applies the declared configurations to ensure that the managed systems align with the specified desired state set forth in the manifests. As a foundational element of Puppet's framework, manifests are essential for automation and infrastructure as code practices.