files-get

name	files_get
description	Maintains the ansible/roles/files_get Ansible role that downloads files onto managed hosts over the network via ansible.builtin.get_url, as part of the Linux SOE. Use when checking or fixing files that should be present via URL download.

files_get

Maintains ansible/roles/files_get/. 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_get/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_get/defaults/main.yml:

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

• Entries map onto get_url parameters directly (url, url_username, url_password, validate_certs, use_proxy, timeout, dest, mode). files_get_no_log (default true) suppresses credential values in output when a url_username/url_password is set. Result registered as get_files.

This role is sourced from the myllynen/rhel-ansible-roles import (see git log -- ansible/roles/files_get) 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 referenced by any playbook in ansible/ right now — not configure_rhel.yml (not even commented out), not load_balancer_setup.yml/nfs_client_setup.yml/nfs_server_setup.yml/ update_rhel.yml. There is currently no ansible-playbook command that will invoke files_get in this repo. Before running it, either:

1. Add it to an existing playbook — most often ansible/configure_rhel.yml's roles: list (uncomment-style, with a vars: entry for files_get set to what's actually needed), if what's wanted is a permanent, repeatable part of the host baseline; or
2. Write a small ad hoc playbook for the one-off task, same shape as ansible/load_balancer_setup.yml/ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml (a vars: block plus a roles: [files_get] list), if it's a one-time or host-class-specific job that doesn't belong in the general baseline.

Either way, propose it via the branch + PR workflow below rather than running an untracked local playbook against a real host. Once wired in, audit/remediate the same way as any other role — --tags files_get against whichever playbook now contains it, --check --diff first:

ansible-playbook ansible/<playbook>.yml --tags files_get --check --diff   # audit
ansible-playbook ansible/<playbook>.yml --tags files_get                  # remediate

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

Notes

• validate_certs: false (shown as an example in defaults, not a default itself) disables TLS verification for that download — flag this explicitly if a proposed entry sets it, since it defeats the point of fetching over HTTPS.

Wiring into the SOE

This role has a row in .claude/skills/soe/SKILL.md's domain table, but (see "What to do" above) is not currently included in any playbook in this repo — neither the general baseline (ansible/configure_rhel.yml) nor any of the composite playbooks. This repo no longer uses ansible/site.yml; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.