diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index ec2a890..75c5f69 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ Berksfile.lock
 Gemfile.lock
 bin/*
 .bundle/*
+.idea
 
 .kitchen/
 .kitchen.local.yml
diff --git a/recipes/default.rb b/recipes/default.rb
index b016a6a..4b682db 100644
--- a/recipes/default.rb
+++ b/recipes/default.rb
@@ -45,9 +45,10 @@
   action :checkout
 end
 
-# needed for python
-%w(build-essential python-dev).each do |package|
-  apt_package package
+build_essentials = node['platform'] == 'centos' ? %w(make automake gcc gcc-c++ kernel-devel python-devel) : %w(build-essential python-dev)
+
+build_essentials.each do |package|
+  package package
 end
 
 python_runtime '2' # requriment of elastalert
@@ -90,6 +91,7 @@
   user elast_user
   group elast_group
   mode '0755'
+  recursive true
 end
 
 managed_directory elast_rules_dir do