ansible

name	ansible
description	Automate configuration management and application deployment with Ansible. Use when tasks mention ansible-playbook, inventory files, Ansible roles, ad-hoc commands, ansible-galaxy, or agentless SSH automation.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"greedychipmunk","version":"1.0"}

Ansible

Intent Router

Request	Reference	Load When
Install tool, SSH setup, ansible.cfg	resources/install-and-setup.md	User needs to install Ansible or configure control node
Inventory files, group_vars, host_vars	resources/inventory-and-variables.md	User needs inventory structure or variable precedence
Playbook authoring, roles, modules	resources/playbook-patterns.md	User needs play structure, task patterns, or common modules
CLI commands, vault, galaxy	resources/command-cookbook.md	User needs ansible/ansible-playbook/ansible-vault/galaxy commands

Quick Start

# 1. Define your inventory
cat > inventory.ini <<'EOF'
[web]
web1.example.com
web2.example.com

[db]
db1.example.com
EOF

# 2. Test connectivity (ad-hoc ping)
ansible all -i inventory.ini -m ping

# 3. Run a playbook
ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini site.yml

# 4. Dry-run a playbook (check mode — no changes)
ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini site.yml --check --diff

Core Concepts

Concept	Description
Control node	Machine where Ansible runs (requires Python; no agent needed on targets)
Managed node	Target host reached via SSH (Linux) or WinRM (Windows)
Inventory	List of managed nodes (INI, YAML, or dynamic script)
Playbook	YAML file defining ordered plays and tasks
Role	Reusable directory structure (tasks, handlers, templates, vars)
Module	Idempotent unit of work (copy, service, package, user, command…)
Collection	Packaged set of roles, modules, and plugins from Ansible Galaxy

Safety Guardrails

• Always run with --check --diff first to preview changes without applying them.
• Use --limit to target a subset of hosts before running against all inventory.
• Avoid command and shell modules when an idempotent module exists.
• Running as root (become: true) requires explicit approval — confirm privilege escalation scope.
• Protect secrets with ansible-vault encrypt — never commit plaintext passwords.

# Install a role then dry-run the playbook to preview changes
ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.java
ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini site.yml --check --diff

Workflow

1. Define or update inventory.
2. Test connectivity: ansible all -m ping -i inventory.ini
3. Write or update playbook.
4. Dry-run: ansible-playbook site.yml -i inventory.ini --check --diff
5. Run against a subset: ansible-playbook site.yml -i inventory.ini --limit web1.example.com
6. Run against all: ansible-playbook site.yml -i inventory.ini

Related Skills

• terraform — provision infrastructure; Ansible configures after provisioning
• pulumi — IaC with code; Ansible handles post-provision configuration

References

• resources/install-and-setup.md
• resources/inventory-and-variables.md
• resources/playbook-patterns.md
• resources/command-cookbook.md
• Official docs: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/
• Galaxy: https://galaxy.ansible.com
• Jeff Geerling's book/repo: https://www.ansiblefordevops.com/
• Red Hat learning: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/automation/learning-ansible