What does Chef call its task automation scripts?

Chef refers to its task automation scripts as "recipes." In the context of Chef, a recipe defines a specific configuration and the steps required to achieve that configuration on a server. Recipes are written in Ruby and describe how to install and configure software packages, manage files, and specify system settings.

The term "recipes" is significant because it aligns with the culinary metaphor that surrounds Chef, indicating a systematic approach to preparing a desired outcome, just as a recipe outlines the ingredients and steps needed to prepare a dish. Each recipe can contain multiple resources that specify the actions to be taken, allowing for complex workflows in IT automation.

The other terms offered in the choices relate to different automation tools or concepts within configuration management. For instance, "playbooks" pertain to Ansible, another automation tool, which uses playbooks as a way to define configurations and orchestrations. "Tasks" are generic terms that refer to actions but do not specify the Chef context, and "manifests" are associated with Puppet, another configuration management tool, where they define the desired state of resources. Therefore, the unique terminology used by Chef highlights its distinctive approach to system configuration and automation, making "recipes" the appropriate term in this context.