files-create

name	files_create
description	Maintains the ansible/roles/files_create Ansible role that creates directories, empty files, and symlinks with specified ownership/mode via ansible.builtin.file, as part of the Linux SOE. Use when checking or fixing the existence/permissions of specific paths.

files_create

Maintains ansible/roles/files_create/. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for the shared conventions (role layout, audit vs. remediate via --check --diff, safety rules, branch + PR contribution workflow).

ansible/roles/files_create/README.md documents this role's full configuration surface (every defaults/main.yml variable, with its original inline comments, rendered as a single reference). Read it before proposing or explaining how to configure this role — it reflects the role's actual current defaults even if a variable summary elsewhere in this file has drifted out of sync with the role.

What the role actually does

Encoded in ansible/roles/files_create/defaults/main.yml:

This is a low-level, list-driven building block used both directly (a host sets files_create in group_vars/host_vars) and indirectly (e.g. certificates includes files_remove internally for its exclusive-mode cleanup). Default is always an empty list — no-op until something sets it.

• Each entry's state (directory/file/link) determines which of three registered result variables it contributes to: create_directories, create_files, create_links.

This role is sourced from the myllynen/rhel-ansible-roles import (see git log -- ansible/roles/files_create) rather than hand-authored for this repo. Unlike the original reference domains (e.g. timesync, usbguard_setup), it applies state declaratively via standard Ansible modules and does not add its own assert-based drift checks on top — an audit here is exactly what --check --diff reports from the underlying modules, nothing more.

What to do

This role is not in ansible/configure_rhel.yml's roles: list at all (not even commented out) — it's currently wired in only by the two NFS composite playbooks, each setting files_create itself rather than relying on this role's (empty) defaults. Pick whichever matches the host:

• NFS client — ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml creates the mount point directory (nfs_mount_dir, default /mnt/remote).
• NFS server — ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml creates the export directory (nfs_export_dir, default /export).

Audit (read-only, safe to run any time):

ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml --tags files_create --check --diff
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml --tags files_create --check --diff

Summarize the diff output and any failed tasks in plain language.

Remediate (modifies the system — only after the user explicitly asks): first summarize what will change from the --check --diff output, then run the matching playbook without --check:

ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml --tags files_create
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml --tags files_create

If a host needs files_create for something outside these two scenarios, either add it (uncommented, with its own vars:) to ansible/configure_rhel.yml, or write a small dedicated playbook via the branch + PR workflow below.

Propose a change to the role itself: never edit and commit directly. On a branch named soe/files_create/<short-desc>, edit ansible/roles/files_create/, validate locally (--syntax-check, ansible-lint roles/files_create/, and --check --diff against a real/test host if available), then push and open a PR titled [files_create] <what changed> with the --check --diff output in the body. Then stop — a human reviews and merges; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md's "Contribution workflow".

Wiring into the SOE

This role has a row in .claude/skills/soe/SKILL.md's domain table but is not part of the general baseline (ansible/configure_rhel.yml) — it only runs as part of ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml or ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml. This repo no longer uses ansible/site.yml; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.