files-copy

name	files_copy
description	Maintains the ansible/roles/files_copy Ansible role that copies files/directories (ansible.builtin.copy) and renders templates (ansible.builtin.template) to arbitrary destinations, as part of the Linux SOE. Use when checking or fixing the content of specific deployed config files.

files_copy

Maintains ansible/roles/files_copy/. 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_copy/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_copy/defaults/main.yml:

This is a low-level, list-driven building block used both directly (a host sets files_copy / files_copy_templates 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.

• Two independent lists: files_copy (static source files) and files_copy_templates (Jinja2 .j2 templates rendered on the target). Results registered as copy_files/copy_templates respectively.

This role is sourced from the myllynen/rhel-ansible-roles import (see git log -- ansible/roles/files_copy) 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 purpose-built composite playbooks below, each setting files_copy itself rather than relying on this role's (empty) defaults. Pick whichever playbook matches what the host actually is:

• Load balancer host — ansible/load_balancer_setup.yml copies the keepalived-notify-haproxy script plus renders the haproxy/keepalived config templates.
• NFS server — ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml writes the /etc/exports.d/ansible.exports content.

ansible/load_balancer_setup.yml's files_copy/files_copy_templates entries reference keepalived-notify-haproxy and three .j2 templates that don't currently exist anywhere in this repo — see that playbook's SKILL.md for the verified gap. Its files_copy tasks fail with "could not find src" until those assets are added. This doesn't affect the NFS server use above, which uses inline content: rather than a src: file reference.

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

ansible-playbook ansible/load_balancer_setup.yml --tags files_copy --check --diff
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml --tags files_copy --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/load_balancer_setup.yml --tags files_copy
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml --tags files_copy

If a host needs files_copy 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 — same pattern as load_balancer_setup.yml/nfs_server_setup.yml — via the branch + PR workflow below.

Propose a change to the role itself: never edit and commit directly. On a branch named soe/files_copy/<short-desc>, edit ansible/roles/files_copy/, validate locally (--syntax-check, ansible-lint roles/files_copy/, and --check --diff against a real/test host if available), then push and open a PR titled [files_copy] <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/load_balancer_setup.yml or ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml, and only for the specific files each of those playbooks lists in its own vars:. This repo no longer uses ansible/site.yml; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.