| name | new-playbook |
| description | Create a new Ansible playbook. Triggered by /new-playbook. Runs discovery to find existing roles and collections, then collects path, filename, target hosts/groups, and roles to include. Generates a complete playbook with header, vars block, pre/post tasks, roles section, error handling, and tags. Shows summary before writing. Never overwrites existing files without confirmation. |
new-playbook
Create a new Ansible playbook following production conventions.
Required Inputs
Collect these parameters (one question at a time, using discovery context for defaults):
- path — Directory where the playbook will be created (default:
./ or ./playbooks/ if that directory exists)
- filename — Playbook filename (e.g.,
site.yml, deploy-nginx.yml)
- target_hosts — Inventory group(s) or host pattern (e.g.,
webservers, all, databases:webservers)
- roles — List of roles to include (suggest roles found in discovery; accept FQCN or short names)
- playbook_type — Site playbook / Component playbook / AWX-ready playbook (suggest based on filename and roles)
If the user provides all of these inline, skip parameter collection.
Behavior
Step 1 — Discovery
Run discovery per references/discovery.md. Report:
- Roles found (in roles_path)
- Collections found (in collections_path)
- Existing playbooks
- Inventory location
Use discovered roles as suggestions during parameter collection.
Step 2 — Parameter Collection
Ask one question at a time. Suggest smart defaults:
- If
site.yml is the filename → suggest site playbook type
- If single role → suggest component playbook type
- If AWX is mentioned or
tower_job_id is referenced → suggest AWX-ready type
- Roles list: show numbered list of discovered roles, let user pick by number or type FQCN
Step 3 — Pre-Write Confirmation
Show a summary:
Will create: ./playbooks/deploy-nginx.yml
Play: "Deploy nginx web server"
Hosts: webservers
Roles: myorg.infra.nginx
Type: Component playbook
Tags: nginx, validate
Proceed? (yes/no)
Check if the file already exists. If it does, warn and require explicit confirmation.
Step 4 — Generate Playbook
Use references/playbook.md as the base template. Select the appropriate template:
- Site playbook → Template 1
- Component playbook → Template 2
- AWX-ready → Template 3
Apply these rules to the generated content:
- All modules use FQCN
- All tasks have tags (component + action category)
no_log: true on any task handling secrets per references/security_vault.md
pre_tasks includes OS version assertion using ansible.builtin.assert
- Include a
post_tasks validation block using ansible.builtin.wait_for or ansible.builtin.uri
- Keep inventory and variable references aligned with
references/inventory.md
- End with validation guidance aligned with
references/testing.md
- Include block/rescue pattern for the main execution block if multiple steps
- Proper YAML comment header (author, version, description, usage)
Write using bash:
cat > /path/to/playbook.yml << 'EOF'
[playbook content]
EOF
Step 5 — Final Output
Show file tree:
find ./playbooks -type f | sort
Suggest next step:
Next step: Validate with `ansible-lint playbooks/deploy-nginx.yml`
or use /ansible-designer:review-playbook to get a structured review.
Example Generated Output
---
- name: Deploy nginx web server
hosts: webservers
become: true
gather_facts: true
vars:
nginx_port: "{{ deploy_nginx_port | default(80) }}"
nginx_enable_ssl: "{{ deploy_nginx_ssl | default(false) }}"
pre_tasks:
- name: Verify target OS is supported
ansible.builtin.assert:
that:
- ansible_os_family in ['RedHat', 'Debian']
fail_msg: "Unsupported OS family: {{ ansible_os_family }}"
tags: [always]
roles:
- role: myorg.infra.nginx
vars:
nginx_port: "{{ nginx_port }}"
nginx_enable_ssl: "{{ nginx_enable_ssl }}"
post_tasks:
- name: Confirm nginx is listening
ansible.builtin.wait_for:
host: "{{ ansible_host }}"
port: "{{ nginx_port }}"
timeout: 30
delegate_to: localhost
tags: [nginx, validate]
- name: Print deployment summary
ansible.builtin.debug:
msg: "nginx deployed on {{ inventory_hostname }} — port {{ nginx_port }}"
tags: [nginx, validate]