| name | new-conf |
| description | Generate an annotated ansible.cfg for a specific environment. Triggered by /new-conf. Asks for target environment (dev, CI, or AWX) and generates a fully annotated ansible.cfg covering all official sections including defaults, privilege escalation, SSH connection, vault config, callback plugins, and fact caching. Shows summary before writing. |
new-conf
Generate an annotated ansible.cfg for a specific environment.
Required Inputs
- target_path — Where to write the ansible.cfg (default:
./ansible.cfg; warn if one already exists)
- environment — Target environment:
dev — development workstation, local VMs
ci — CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins)
awx — AWX / Ansible Automation Platform
Behavior
Step 1 — Discovery
Run discovery per references/discovery.md. Check if an ansible.cfg already exists at the target path. If it does:
An ansible.cfg already exists at ./ansible.cfg.
Overwriting it will replace all current settings.
Use /ansible-designer:update-conf to make targeted changes instead.
Proceed with overwrite? (yes/no)
Step 2 — Parameter Collection
Ask for environment if not provided. Show options:
Which environment is this ansible.cfg for?
1. dev — Development (local VMs, permissive settings, verbose output)
2. ci — CI/CD pipeline (strict, no interactive prompts, minimal output)
3. awx — AWX / Automation Controller (callback plugins, fact caching)
Enter 1, 2, or 3:
Step 3 — Pre-Write Confirmation
Show summary:
Will create: ./ansible.cfg (dev profile)
Sections:
[defaults] — inventory=./inventory, forks=10, yaml callback, profile_tasks
[diff] — always=True, context=5
[privilege_escalation] — become=True, sudo
[ssh_connection] — pipelining=True, ControlMaster=auto
[persistent_connection] — connect_timeout=30
Security notes:
host_key_checking=False (dev only — NOT for production)
All settings annotated with justification comments
Proceed? (yes/no)
Step 4 — Generate ansible.cfg
Use the appropriate profile from references/ansible_cfg.md:
dev → Profile 1
ci → Profile 2
awx → Profile 3
All non-default values must have an inline comment explaining why.
Security-sensitive settings (host_key_checking=False) must have a justification comment.
Any vault guidance must stay aligned with references/security_vault.md.
Step 5 — Final Output
Show file path:
ls -la ./ansible.cfg
Suggest next step:
Next step: Validate with `ansible --version` to confirm the config is loaded
or use /ansible-designer:review-conf to check for security issues.
Sections to Include (all environments)
Every generated ansible.cfg must include all of these sections, populated with environment-appropriate values:
[defaults] — inventory, remote_user, private_key_file, host_key_checking, forks, timeout, log_path, roles_path, collections_path, retry_files_enabled, stdout_callback, callbacks_enabled, gathering, fact_caching, fact_caching_connection, fact_caching_timeout, error_on_undefined_vars
[diff] — always, context
[privilege_escalation] — become, become_method, become_user, become_ask_pass
[ssh_connection] — pipelining, control_path, control_master, control_persist, ssh_args
[persistent_connection] — connect_timeout, command_timeout
[colors] (dev only) — highlight, verbose, warn, error
- Vault config comment block — vault_password_file or vault_identity_list guidance
Environment Differences Summary
| Setting | dev | ci | awx |
|---|
| host_key_checking | False (dev only) | False (ephemeral runners) | True |
| stdout_callback | yaml | json | minimal |
| callbacks_enabled | profile_tasks, timer | (empty) | (empty — AWX injects) |
| fact_caching | jsonfile | memory | redis |
| forks | 10 | 20 | 25 |
| log_path | ./ansible.log | (empty) | (empty) |
| diff.always | True | True | False |